In a dark suit and a white open-collar button-down, Music Director Russell Ger bounds down the isle of Pleasantville’s St. John’s Episcopal Church. A small leap and he’s on the podium facing the 41 musicians of Orchestra 914. He lifts his white baton and with a nimble swish the sold-out crowd is soothed by the serene sound of Humperdinck’s Hansel & Gretel Evening Prayer/Dream Pantomime as the fairy tale comes to life on this frosty evening.
Moments before, the Mayor of Pleasantville, Peter Scherer, welcomed the holiday audience to the handsome landmark church. He expressed delight that the rebranded and expanded Orchestra 914 (o914), previously The Chappaqua Orchestra (TCO), has set down roots in Pleasantville. “We welcome Orchestra 914 as they help us usher in this season of hope and opportunity,” he says. “May they do so for many years to come.”
Orchestra 914 Co-Executive Director, David Restivo, explains, “The 2021/2022 season heralds three major changes for The Chappaqua Orchestra (TCO); a new name, a new home base and a new musical director.”
Founded more than 60 years ago by Boris Koutzen, the Chappaqua hamlet has served as home base to TCO’s mix of local amateur and professional musicians who have performed with direction from many notable conductors. In a change of direction, in 2002, under the baton of Michael Shapiro, the goal was to make the orchestra a fully professional orchestra.
BRANCHING OUT
The pandemic curtailed TCO’s performance schedule but provided time for orchestra leaders to develop plans that have been under consideration for some time. One was a name change. “Our goal is to reach a wider audience and a more regional name reflects that intention,” says Restivo, who is also a violinist with the orchestra.
By moving their home base to Pleasantville, o914 plans to expand their community and their audience. Many of the town’s other organizations, the Jacob Burns Film Center, the Pleasantville Music Festival and ARC Stages, are also focused on the arts. o914 does not have a physical facility in Pleasantville.
Right now, their goal is to perform throughout the county. This season, o914 performs at various Westchester venues including Paramount Hudson Valley, Chappaqua Performing Arts Center and St John’s Episcopal Church.
The orchestra also sought the leadership of a new Music Director. “It was a big search,” says Restivo. “Some 80 to 90 people applied from around the world and in the end, it came down to five who auditioned for the position.”
Australian-born conductor Russell Ger made the cut. Ger, who is an alumnus of Symphony Australia, the leading conductor-training program in Australia, also earned a Master in Music in Orchestral Conducting at Boston Conservatory at Berklee. He has conducted orchestral, operatic, and choral music across Europe, North America and Australia. Ger also serves as Music Director for the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, Norwalk Youth Symphony and Park East Synagogue in New York City.
AN AMBITIOUS DEBUT
For his debut concert with o914, Ger selected an ambitious program, Shubert Death and the Maiden and Schoenberg Transfigured Night, that he says, “put the orchestra through their paces.” He came away acknowledging the orchestra’s “huge amount of ability, and huge amount of possibility.”
As o914 expands their reach, the energetic Ger is excited to have “different communities come together to explore and expose themselves to music of other cultures that they may not have experienced.” A case in point is their upcoming March concert, Celebración! This tribute to Latin-American composers includes the music of Carlos Gardel, Ginastera, Villa-Lobos, Piazzolla and Arturo Márquez.
Ger comes from a musical family including his talented grandmothers, mother and younger sister, who he says has a lovely soprano voice and performs with an a cappella group in Australia. Ger’s baritone, he’s also studied voice, was in fine form at the holiday concert as he encouraged the audience in a grand finale sing-along.
He was introduced to music at a young age. To entertain him during car drives, his Mom, who was passionate about classical music, would play the game “Guess the Composer”. With delight, he recalls he learned if he said Mozart eight out of 10 times, he’d be right. He grew up playing the piano and tuba and was just 17 when he became interested in conducting.
Ger says conducting is the non-verbal reinforcement of what happens in rehearsal. He describes a conductor’s job as someone who establishes and maintains tempo; sets the mood, atmosphere, and energy of a piece; and controls pacing, unity, and precision.
But there is more to it than that. He also says a conductor must be an excellent communicator, have physical endurance, aural perception, and posses the ability to inspire. “A conductor is part musician, teacher, historian, actor, politician, detective and a mind reader all in one,” he says.
CAPTIVATING AUDIENCES
The affable, outgoing Ger seems to have no trouble filling those shoes. To see him conduct is to enjoy how he encourages, inspires, and implores the orchestra to create a sound of unity and beauty. At the holiday concert, his comfort level on the podium, his enthusiasm and his sense of humor all captivated the crowd.
These days Ger lives in Brooklyn with his wife Kirsten Hicks, an Australian painter and Interior architect whom he met in New York, and their two children Caleb, age 4, and Malu, 9 months old. In his good-natured way, Ger says “kids have not slowed us down, sometimes to our detriment.” The couple enjoys cooking, particularly Asian cuisine, and entertaining. When he’s not reading scores or related non-fiction, Ger is a voracious fiction reader. Still, as you might expect of a conductor, most of his life is dedicated to making, inspiring, and enjoying music.
Orchestra 914 Upcoming 2022 Events
Music is Science – (Family Concert)
Saturday March 5 at 3 p.m.
Chappaqua Performing Arts Center
480 Bedford Road, Chappaqua
ORCHESTRAL SERIES:
Celebración!
Sunday, March 20 at 3 p.m.
Paramount Hudson Valley
1008 Brown St., Peekskill
Together in Music (Family Concert)
Saturday, April 23 at 4 p.m.
Chappaqua Performing Arts Center
480 Bedford Road, Chappaqua
Concerto Winners’ Concert
Saturday, May 21 at 7 p.m.
Paramount Hudson Valley
1008 Brown St., Peekskill
CHAMBER SERIES:
Piano/Clarinet
Sunday, April 3 at 3 p.m.
St. John’s Episcopal Church
8 Sunnyside Ave., Pleasantville
O914 String Quartet
Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.
Bedford Playhouse
633 Old Post Road, Bedford, N.Y.
Flute, Clarinet & Cello Trio
Sunday, Oct. 17 at 3 p.m.
St. John’s Episcopal Church
8 Sunnyside Ave., Pleasantville
For tickets and further information visit www.orchestra914.org.
