UT’s nationwide search unearths an orchestral beacon
by Steve Row
Somewhere between Mr. Holland and a young Leonard Bernstein, you could find James Fellenbaum.
Fellenbaum, the new conductor of the University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra, is a passionately committed teacher and leader of young musicians. Seven months into the job, he’s having a great time and getting high marks from his boss.
“You can see from the concert that the students love playing for him,” says Dr. Roger Stephens, director of the UT School of Music, referring to the symphony’s Feb. 22 concert. “We are so far beyond my expectations for his first year. They definitely were playing all the right notes, but they were playing more as a team. They had esprit de corps, warmth and musicianship together.”
Fellenbaum, 35, succeeded Jorge Richter as UT’s director of orchestral activities at the beginning of the 2003-04 school year. He came to Knoxville from Chicago, where he held a variety of conducting and playing positions in university, community and professional musical organizations.
A native of Northern Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in cello performance from James Madison University, Fellenbaum seems to be injecting new life and spirit into a program that, in Stephens’ words, was “good but not where I’d like it to be.
“I felt we were not competitive,” Stephens said. “Could we look down the road five years or so and see an orchestra as good as we would like? We were struggling with that.”
To strengthen the orchestral program, the music school hired a viola instructor, increased the number of string scholarships, sought financing for faculty and graduate student string quartets and proposed implementing a graduate certificate program in music performance. Stephens says a certificate program could prove especially attractive to international students who have completed their undergraduate degrees but want additional training, and an alternative to a master’s degree, as preparation for professional performance.
The university also instituted a nationwide search for a director of orchestral activities, a junior-level, tenure-track position. After whittling down the initial list of 80-100 applicants to a handful, four finalists came to UT. Stephens says all were “solid on paper.”
A search committee headed by Dr. Gary Sousa, director of bands, wanted to see how the hopefuls worked with students and faculty. Finalists led a two-hour rehearsal last spring, after which students’ comments were solicited. Stephens said Fellenbaum “was right at the top” in all categories.
Now that he’s arrived, Fellenbaum has set goals of his own.
“For the university, I’d like to develop an orchestra program to be competitive in the state and the Southeast region, so that it is the best program in the region. The School of Music already is well known as quite strong in the Southeast, as a real beacon of quality music instruction,” Fellenbaum said.
He is also starting a chamber orchestra, an ensemble smaller than, and, ultimately, separate from the symphony orchestra to concentrate on a different musical repertoire. (The first performance by the new group is scheduled April 13 at the UT Music Hall.) He also wants to broaden the symphony orchestra’s repertoire.
The Feb. 22 concert consisted of a familiar musical chestnut, Rossini’s Overture to “William Tell,” along with Haydn’s Symphony No. 92 (the “Oxford”) and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra. Under Fellenbaum’s graceful and spirited direction, the 60-member orchestra gave an expert reading, both on their own and in support of violinist Mark Zelmanovich and violist Sheila Browne.
“That program was difficult because of the demands of the classical style. It involved delicacy, precision and nuance that students need to know and need to master,” Fellenbaum said.
In the next few years he wants to add meatier symphonic works by Tchaikovsky and Brahms and tone poems by Richard Strauss. Joint concerts with UT’s choral music program are likely, and he wants to begin programming more modern works, as well as works by contemporary composers.
“Maybe in two or three years, we could do Stravinsky and Bartok. This is substantial literature, and it is educational for music students,” he says.
Although Fellenbaum says he is doing what he loves, he knows that the future of serious music in this country is uncertain. He is unsure what this future means for him as a player and conductor, and what it means for his students, many of whom aspire to be classical musicians.
“The classical music landscape has changed a lot, due in part to 9/11. Orchestras are either folding or having severe financial hardships. The future of classical music is changing, and that’s happening right now,” he said. Prospects for today’s music students to join professional musical organizations are not bright, he says.
“The job market is unbelievably competitive. Just like athletes trying to make it to the pros�maybe one or two percent make it�it is the same for professional musicians. You can be one of 200 violinists trying for one position.”
In the meantime, however, students need to be taught, and orchestras need to be led. And Fellenbaum sees himself doing both at UT for quite some time.
“I want to bring a different style, attitude and approach to develop the whole of the orchestra while still taking care to develop each individual part,” he says. “What I enjoy about this university position is that not only is this a good orchestra, but I can help teach students how to learn, how to put musical pieces together, how to be part of the growth of a program.”
March 18, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 12
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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