Members of the NSO talk about the American Residency and some of the programs

At the invitation of the North Dakota Council on the Arts, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts selected North Dakota for its National Symphony Orchestra 2003 American Residency.

The 2003 American Residency is funded by the Kennedy Center through a grant from the United States Department of Education with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional local support for the 2003 North Dakota Residency is provided by the North Dakota State Legislature through a Lewis and Clark Grant to the North Dakota Council on the Arts and by Arts Midwest. Statewide media sponsorship provided by North Dakota Public Radio and Prairie Public Television. Additional assistance is provided by the North Dakota Arts Alliance/Alliance for Arts Education.

The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is scheduled to present more than 200 performance, educational and outreach activities in North Dakota between April 29 and May 9, 2003. During the 10 days, members of the NSO will fan out across the state sharing their talent and their passion with music educators, students, and audiences. There will be a total of 15 orchestral concerts, including 10 concerts for young people. Proceeds from all concerts remain in state to benefit presenting organizations.

The NSO will celebrate a meeting of cultures in a special Prelude Concert entitled "Birds: A Cultural Journey of Discoveries," featuring NSO flutist Alice Kogan Weinreb and traditional Native American flutist Keith Bear, to be performed prior to each of the full Orchestra concerts.

As part of the National Symphony Orchestra's North Dakota Residency, the BECS Quartet, a chamber music ensemble featuring members of the National Symphony Orchestra, will present five chamber concerts and a dozen other events on a tour separate from the full Orchestra's itinerary. The quartet will be traveling to the following towns in North Dakota: Belcourt, Rugby, New Town, Williston, Dickinson, Knife River Indian Villages at Stanton, Carrington, and Jamestown. Of these, three sites - New Town, Williston, and Knife River Indian Villages - are known to have been visited by Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. North Dakota is currently celebrating the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The chamber ensemble will premiere a new composition by North Dakota resident Michael Wittgraf. Mr. Wittgraf's piece, titled The Nature of a Circle: The Cycle of Lewis and Clark, was specifically commissioned by the Kennedy Center and the NSO for the North Dakota Residency. The title refers to the changes inherent in the nature of cycles and, specifically, to the cycle of the year, and of the seasons, that forced Lewis and Clark to spend the winter of 1804 in what is now North Dakota.

A further allusion to the exploration undertaken by Lewis and Clark is in the NSO Young People's Concerts to be led by Assistant Conductor Emil de Cou. He has chosen the theme "Xploring Xtremes" for his varied program, for which he will also provide commentary. 7000 children will attend these concerts in Bismarck alone.

The schedule is intense and the impact is expected to be significant and long lasting.

Summer Music Institute: Since 1992, the Kennedy Center/NSO Summer Music Institute - a training program for young orchestral musicians (ages 14-20) from across the country - has welcomed students annually for three weeks of study, rehearsal and coaching sessions. As part of the American Residency, up to six students from North Dakota will be chosen to receive scholarships to the 2003 Summer Music Institute. Students are selected by taped audition.

Teacher Fellowship: A North Dakota music teacher will be selected by for an individually designed program to further the teacher's professional development. The program will take place in Washington, D.C., under the auspices of the National Symphony Orchestra of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
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The National Symphony Orchestra is scheduled to present more than 200 performance, educational and outreach activities in North Dakota between April 29 and May 9, 2003. During the 10 days, members of the NSO will fan out across the state sharing their talent and their passion with music educators, students, and audiences. There will be a total of 15 orchestral concerts, including 10 concerts for young people. Some of the highlights include: