Melissa Smey Appointed Columbia University's New Director Of Miller Theater
By: Gabrielle Sierra Mar. 31, 2009
Columbia University announces the appointment of Melissa Smey as the new Director of Miller Theatre, effective immediately. Ms. Smey has been in the role of Acting Director of Miller since October 1, 2008.
An accomplished and experienced arts administrator, Ms. Smey has served as General Manager of Miller Theatre for eight years. Working closely with the former Executive Director George Steel during his tenure with Miller, she was an integral part of the growth of the Theatre as it developed into one of New York City's leading showcases for adventurous artistic programming.
"After eight years as General Manager, I am excited and honored to become the new Director of Miller Theatre," says Smey. "Miller holds a very special position in the cultural life of New York City. This is not just a place where music and the lively arts are presented, but where they are produced with vision and innovation. I look forward to charting Miller's future course while deepening its relationship with Columbia University."
"Melissa Smey is an outstanding choice to guide Miller into the future," says Provost Alan Brinkley. "She has years of experience guiding the Theatre, and a deep commitment to the innovative programming that has made Miller such an important asset to the University and the city. I have complete confidence in Melissa's ability to lead and strengthen this important institution."
A few words from George Steel, now General Manager and Artistic Director of New York City Opera: "It is very good news for Miller Theatre and for New York City that Melissa Smey will be taking the helm. Having been instrumental in running and programming Miller for eight years, she has a strong and personal vision for its future, and will continue to build a wonderful institution."
As General Manager at Miller Theatre, Ms. Smey was responsible for administrative, financial, marketing, and production operations. She developed long-range strategic plans, overseeing a threefold growth in Miller's operating budget during her tenure. She assisted in creating the concert seasons, programming Miller's Jazz series, producing touring concerts in Boston, MA, and Berkeley, CA, and overseeing major commissioning projects. Prior to her work with Miller Theatre, Ms. Smey held positions at the New York Public Library and the Metropolitan Opera.
Melissa Smey
Melissa Smey, 37, is currently the Acting Director of Miller Theatre at Columbia University, where she has worked as General Manager since 2001. Ms. Smey is responsible for artistic programming, fundraising, and operations at Miller Theatre. She has held positions at the New York Public Library and in the press office at the Metropolitan Opera. A member of the 2007 class of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Emerging Leadership Institute, she has served as a panelist for the Multi-Arts Production Fund, ASCAP-Chamber Music America Adventurous Programming Awards, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's community arts regrant programs, among others. Ms. Smey earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Connecticut and an MFA in performing arts management from Brooklyn College.
Miller Theatre at Columbia University is the most acclaimed venue for new music in New York City, celebrated for innovative approaches to programming and an ability to reach new audiences for culture. Respecting both tradition and invention, Miller surveys a wide field, but with a tight focus, raising the notion of thematic and conceptual programming to a fine art. Whether it's a Composer Portrait, an evening of jazz, or a newly commissioned ballet, each receives the Miller treatment: a collaborative approach to carefully crafted programming, with Miller working closely with the creators to achieve their dream projects. Established in 1988 with funding from the Kathryn Bache Miller Fund, Brooke Astor, and John Goelet, Miller Theatre is located on the Columbia University campus in New York City.
Miller Theatre's mission is to develop the next generation of cultural consumers, to reinvigorate public enthusiasm in the arts nationwide by pioneering new approaches to programming, to educate the public by presenting specialized, informative programs inviting to a broad audience, to discover new and diverse repertoire and commission new works, and to share Columbia University's intellectual riches with the public.
Below is an outline of the 2009-2010 Miller Theatre season. The complete release will go out shortly.
To receive this as an attachment, please e-mail a@alebagartner.com.
OPENING NIGHT PROGRAM & DATE TBA
WORDLESS MUSIC MEETS MILLER FESTIVAL
Tuesday, September 8 - Saturday, September 12
Program details TBA
Presented in collaboration with Wordless Music
COMPOSER PORTRAITS
Saturday, October 17, 8:00PM
Iannis Xenakis
Échange (1989)
Palimpsest (1979)
Akanthos (1977)
Thalleïn (1984)
O-Mega (1997)
Steven Schick, conductor/percussion soloist
International Contemporary Ensemble
Saturday, November 7, 8:00PM
Galina Ustvolskaya
Trio (1949)
Piano Sonata No. 6 (1988)
Octet (1949-1950)
Composition 2 (1972-1973)
Piano Sonata No. 4 (1957)
Composition 3 (1974-1975)
Fifth House Ensemble
Tuesday, November 17, 8:00PM
Ralph Shapey
Five for violin and piano (1960)
Interchange (1996)
Movements (1960)
Etchings (1945)
Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Group (1954)
Three for Six (1979)
Miranda Cuckson, violin/viola and artistic director
Charles Neidich, clarinet
William Purvis, horn
Blair McMillen, piano
Argento Chamber Ensemble
New York Woodwind Quintet
Talujon Percussion Quartet
Donato Cabrera, conductor
Michel Galante, conductor
Sunday, November 22, 8:00PM
Kaija Saariaho
Terrestre (2002)
Lichtbogen (1985-1986)
Graal théâtre (violin concerto) (1994; rev. 1997)
Jennifer Koh, violin
International Contemporary Ensemble
Friday, February 5, 8:00PM
Lou Reed: Metal Machine Music
Metal Machine Music (trans. Ulrich Krieger)
Fireworks Ensemble
Ulrich Krieger, conductor and saxophone
Benet Casablancas (b. 1956)
New Epigrams (1997)
Little Night Music (1992)
Four Darks in Red (World premiere, Miller Theatre commission)
Seven Songs from Hamlet (1988-1989)
Perspectives Ensemble
Angel Gil-Ordóñez, Conductor Friday, March 5, 8:00PM
Sebastian Currier
Night Time (1998)
World premiere (world premiere, Miller Theatre commission)
Piano Concerto (2006 Miller Theatre commission)
Christopher Taylor, piano
Manhattan Sinfonietta
Jeffrey Milarsky, conductor
Thursday, April 1, 8:00PM
Helmut Lachenmann: 75th Birthday Celebration
Wiegenmusik (1963)
Pression (1969-1970)
Guero (1970, rev. 1988)
Ein Kinderspiel (1980)
String Quartet No. 2 "Reigen seliger Geister" (1989)
"...Zwei Gefühle..." (1991-1992)
Helmut Lachenmann, piano and speaking soloist
Lauren Radnofsky, cello
JACK Quartet
SIGNAL
Brad Lubman, conductor
BACH AND THE BAROQUE
Saturday, November 14, 8:00PM
Bach and the Bohemian Gypsies
J.S. Bach Polonaises
Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056
Italian Concerto, BWV 971 (arr. Matthias Maute)
Georg Philipp Telemann Concerto in E minor
Anonymous Selections from the Uhrovska collection of 1730
Ensemble Caprice
Matthias Maute, artistic director, recorder, and flute
Friday, December 4, 8:00PM
Chamber Music of Germany: J.S. Bach and Friends
Johann Schop Nobelman
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer Sonata in D minor
Georg Muffat Sonata in D major
Johann Philipp Krieger Sonata Seconda
Philipp Heinrich Erlebach Sonata Terza
J.S. Bach Fugue in G minor, BWV 1026
Sonata in E minor
Dietrich Buxtehude Sonata in G major
Johann Georg Pisendel Sonata in D major
Trio Settecento
Bach and the Concerto
J.S. Bach selections from the Well-tempered Clavier
selections from Die Kunst der Fuge
Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052
Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056
Simone Dinnerstein, piano
American Contemporary Music Ensemble
EARLY MUSIC
Saturday, December 12, 8:00PM
Church of St. Mary the Virgin (145 West 46th Street)
Josquin's Mass for the Virgin Mary
Josquin des Prez Missa de Beata Virgine
John Nesbett Magnificat
Thomas Tallis Tunes for Archbishop Parker's Psalter
William Byrd Ye sacred muses
Tribulationes civitatum
Vigilate
The Tallis Scholars
Peter Phillips, director
Saturday January 23, 8:00PM
Church of St. Mary the Virgin (145 West 46th Street)
Cavalieri Lamentations
Emilio de' Cavalieri Lamentations of Jeremiah
Le Poème Harmonique
Vincent Dumestre, conductor
Saturday, February 6, 8:00PM
Church of St. Mary the Virgin (145 West 46th Street)
The Art of the Canon
anonymous Sumer is icumin in
Guillaume de Machaut Ma fin est mon commencement
Jean de Ockeghem Prenez sur moi
John Dunstable Gloria in canon
Josquin des Prez Ave Maria (a 4)
Jean Mouton Nesciens mater
Thomas Tallis Miserere nostri
William Byrd Miserere mihi, Domine
W.A. Mozart Kyrie in G, K. 89
Johannes Brahms Canons for women's voices (selections)
Joseph Haydn Canons on the Ten Commandments (selections)
Anton Webern Entflieht auf leichten Kähnen
Richard Dirksen Proverbial Canons
Vox Vocal Ensemble
George Steel, conductor
Saturday, February 20, 8:00PM
The American Academy of Arts & Letters (156th Street between Broadway and Riverside Drive)
Circa 1600
Matthew Locke Suite I in D minor
Josquin des Prez Scaramella va alla guerra
Comment peult haver joye
Costanzo Festa Contrapuncti sopra la spagna
G.P. da Palestrina Ricercar del quarto tuono
Johann Hermann Schein Suite No. 20 in D minor
Tarquinio Merula Canzon la marcha
Flanders Recorder Quartet
Church of St. Mary the Virgin (145 West 46th Street)
The Birth of the Renaissance: Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay Missa Sancti Jacobi
Orlando Consort
JAZZ
Friday, October 9, 8:00PM
Cyrus Chestnut Trio
Cyrus Chestnut, piano; Dezron Douglas, bass; NeAl Smith, drums
Saturday, October 24, 8:00PM
The Rites Quartet
Rites Quartet
Marty Ehrlich, saxophone and leader; James Zollar, trumpet; Eric Friedlander, cello; Pheeroan akLaff, percussion
special guest Ray Anderson, trombone
Friday, December 11, 8:00PM
A Christmas Journey with Eric Reed
Eric Reed, piano and leader
Allan Harris and Bettina Pennon, vocals
Dezron Douglas, bass
Willie Jones III, percussion
additional special guests
Friday, February 12, 8:00PM
Carla Cook Quintet
Friday, February 26, 8:00PM
Damien Sneed Gospel Extravaganza
Damien Sneed, piano and organ
Nikki Ross, voice
Ebony String Quartet
additional special guests
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