The Board of Trustees of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra has announced several changes in leadership, as well as the creation of two important artistic positions.
CCM Dean Peter Landgren will be joining the staff in the role of Director of Artistic Planning. He will be responsible for guiding the CCO’s artistic vision and direction of Summermusik 2016. He will work closely with the Artistic Advisor, and staff, board and musicians of the CCO to ensure a successful season.
CCM Dean Peter Landgren.
“I am thrilled that the CCO recognizes CCM’s desire to build collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships between Cincinnati’s arts organizations,” said Landgren. “I had the privilege of performing with the CCO under the leadership of their first music director, Paul Nadler, during my time as a student at CCM. I am honored that the CCO’s leadership feels that my background and perspective will lend a helping hand to this important year as they prepare for the final stages of a search for a new music director.”
Landgren began his tenure as Dean of CCM in September of 2011. During his initial appointment, he secured the internationally acclaimed Ariel Quartet as CCM’s string quartet-in-residence, initiated a number of collaborations with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (including the collaboration with the Cincinnati World Piano Competition and the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship program), partnered with faculty search committees to hire over 20 new full-time tenure-track faculty members, participated in the UC Provost’s Cluster-Hire initiative through the Digital Media Collaborative, enhanced the college’s community engagement efforts through key staff hires and grant support, and much more. He also refocused CCM’s vision and mission for the 21st century through the “ONECCM” initiative. In June of 2015, the UC Board of Trustees unanimously approved Landgren’s reappointment to a new seven-year term, extending his tenure at CCM through June 30, 2023.
Prior to his appointment at CCM, Landgren served as Conservatory Director at Baldwin-Wallace College from 2007 – 2011 after having spent the previous twenty-nine years as a musician with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and twenty-six years as a faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. From 2005-2006, Landgren served the Peabody Institute as the Interim Director. He also led Peabody in an institute-wide Change Initiative from 2003-2005 that was responsible for examining the institute in a quest to increase Peabody’s preeminence amongst its peers. In the spring of 2003, Landgren received the Excellence in Teaching award from The Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association. This was the second time Landgren had been awarded this honor as a Peabody faculty member.
Landgren became a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra when he was 21 years old, before completing his undergraduate training at CCM. Three years later he made his professional solo debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Joseph Silverstein. Landgren has performed with Summit Brass, the Melos Ensemble and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has also performed as Principal Horn with the Cincinnati, Houston and Columbus Symphony Orchestras. An alumnus of CCM, Landgren won the college’s concerto competition three times and regularly performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera and Cincinnati Ballet during his time as a student.
CCM alumnus Isaac Selya has been named as Artistic Advisor for Summermusik 2016. He will work with the Director of Artistic Planning and the CCO staff and musicians to ensure the artistic quality of the highly successful Chamber Crawl festival performances. Isaac will also serve as Associate Conductor, working with the four finalist music director candidates who will be conducting the four Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra concerts at SCPA during Summermusik 2016.
A musician of remarkable versatility, Isaac is a conductor, pianist, vocal coach, cellist and singer. He is the founder and Artistic Director of Queen City Chamber Opera, where he has coached and conducted Walküre Act I and Siegfried Acts I and II from Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Der Schauspieldirektor, Bastien und Bastienne, Zaide, Abu Hassan, and L’amore dei tre re. As of March 2015, he has conducted all of Mozart’s German-language operas. He joined Cincinnati Opera in 2014 as a coach/accompanist, and in September of 2014 he was the featured new artist of the month in Musical America. In the summer of 2015, he joined the Glimmerglass Festival as Assistant Conductor.
Equally at home in the symphonic repertoire, Isaac debuted with the National Symphony of Guatemala in September 2014 with two programs focusing on Beethoven Symphonies 5 and 6.
He holds a BA from Yale College, where he studied conducting with Toshiyuki Shimada. He holds a doctorate from CCM.
CCM alumna LeAnne Anklan has been named General Manager of the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. LeAnne joined the staff of the CCO in 2012 in the position of artistic and orchestra operations manager. She was promoted to acting general manager in July, 2014.
Her professional background includes experience as senior marketing coordinator for FRCH Design Worldwide, public relations manager for the Contemporary Arts Center, and marketing associate for the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra. In 2011, she held the position of festival manager for the successful inaugural season of the Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts. LeAnne serves as vice president of the board of the not-for-profit Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, which she helped to found. She is also a Board member of Cincy Emerging Arts Leaders.
A Cincinnati native, LeAnne holds three degrees from the University of Cincinnati: Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and International Business, Master of Business Administration, and Master of Arts in Arts Administration. A lifelong musician, she also serves as vice president of the UC Band Alumni Association and plays flute and piccolo regularly with the Alumni and Community Bands at UC.
Wes Needham has been elected by the CCO board to succeed Jennifer Funk as board president and assumes his new role November 15, 2015. Wes has been a board member since 2012, and has served this past year as first vice-president, secretary and chair of the music director search committee. He is the Lead Engineer for Distribution Design with Duke Energy and a resident of Northern Kentucky.
“I am honored and humbled to assume the role of board president with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra,” said Needham. “Since becoming a part of the CCO board in 2012, I have come to care passionately about the success of this remarkable organization and about chamber music in Cincinnati. This is a time of exciting change for the CCO and I look forward helping the CCO continue its longstanding tradition of musical excellence.”
About the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra
The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra is an independent ensemble of 32 professional musicians that celebrated its 40th anniversary season in 2014 and launched the critically acclaimed summer music festival Summermusik in August, 2015. The CCO offers a vibrant and fresh musical experience in an intimate and informal setting, for both the seasoned and novice concert patron. The CCO’s size allows for flexibility and creativity in programming, the ideal ensemble for presenting orchestral works ranging from the Baroque and Classical eras to commissioned works by contemporary composers. Collaborations have become a hallmark of the CCO, including ongoing partnerships with VAE: Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble and Madcap Puppets.
For additional information on the CCO, visit www.ccocincinnati.org.
CCM VILLAGE NEWS ARCHIVES 