Symphony Receives Honor

Staff Reports • Argus Leader • June 15, 2009

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra has received an award for programming from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

The annual ASCAP Adventurous Programming Awards recognize U.S. orchestras whose past season prominently featured music written within the last 25 years.

According to the ASCAP Web site, ASCAP and the League of American Orchestras presented 26 awards to orchestras at a presentation Thursday in Chicago.

The South Dakota Symphony won first place in the contemporary music category for orchestras with expenses of $1.8 million to $5.7 million.

"For every year of the past 52 years, the members of ASCAP have presented Adventurous Programming Awards to those orchestras whose commitment to the music creators of our time insures the continuity of our living art form for future generations," said Francis Richard, ASCAP's vice president and director of concert music, in a release.

Letters to the Argus Leader: Lakota Music Project

Chuck C. Tufty
President
Crystal Theatre Board
Flandreau

On May 20, the Crystal Theatre in Flandreau had the opportunity to host the Lakota Music Project, a collaborative effort by the Porcupine Singers and the Dakota Chamber Orchestra to provide music from two distinct and different cultures. The results were wonderful, and the credit goes to symphony Conductor David Gier and Barry LeBeau for the vision to make it happen and to the symphony members, Melvin Young Bear and drummers for putting the music together.

Those in attendance now have a much greater appreciation for the music of both cultures, and we definitely feel the musical gap has been bridged.

The audience truly appreciated the opportunity to attend this premier event in Flandreau, and the standing ovations attested to that.