Music students in the Sioux Falls School District were recently treated to an amazing opportunity. The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra held an event where students got to hear from a world-renowned French pianist, an award-winning historian, a former Russian diplomat, and the SDSO music director. As an added bonus, SFSD Fine Arts Coordinator Shane Wuebben also invited members of the Community Education Gold Card group to the event. Multiple generations got to hear some amazing stories on culture and politics from the people who helped shape them.
This event coincides with the SDSO's upcoming performance entitled "New World Encounters: American mavericks shake up the Old World". SDSO conductor Delta David Gier and Joseph Horowitz, a cultural historian and composer, provided attendees with an overview of the themes they will be exploring. John Beyrle, former US ambassador to Russia, spoke on diplomacy between nations and how politics and culture have the ability to affect the music and art that are being produced at a give time in a specific area.
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is a world-renowned French pianist. He has a lengthy list of professional accomplishments and will be playing with the SDSO as they perform "New American Encounters". He performed a piano arrangement by Maurice Ravel that had the complete and utter attention of every person in attendance. If you would like to view this performance, and the entire presentation that was given on the morning on Thursday, February 27th, you can find it on the SFSD YouTube page here! https://youtu.be/2Ln5Z-D_7js
Each person who spoke at this presentation brought their own level of expertise to the table, and many themes were discussed throughout the talk, but they all harken back to a universal basic truth - that everything is connected. Politics influences art, art influences culture, culture shapes history, history guides the future, and so on. One connection we will continue to be thankful for is the connection between the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and the Sioux Falls School District. The ongoing gift of music SDSO brings to students will undoubtedly create a new generation of our own American mavericks who are well-prepared to shake things up in their own way.