Thomas Parker ‘72, the successful artistic manager who brought together Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu as a duo (who will be holding masterclasses on Mar. 2nd and performing on Mar. 2nd and 4th), recounts his experiences of flunking out of the music education department at UMass, working at one of the country’s best stations, and shares his thoughts on the state of classical music today.

Where did you grow up?
Springfield, MA….in the East Forest Park area. I attended Holy Family and Holy Cross elementary schools and graduated from Cathedral High School.
 
How did your upbringing affect your musical career?
My father and grandfather were amateur, union musicians, who played in the area bands for holiday parades and summer concerts in the area parks. When I joined them, we were the only three-generations in the Musicians Union. The works played in these concerts (and year-round rehearsals for fun) introduced me to band arrangements of great scores by Beethoven, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Verdi, etc.
 
What was your particular involvement in music before you turned to artistic management?
In addition to the above, I entered UMass as a music education major. I did badly and flunked out of the department in my sophomore year. But, I continued to play in various bands, managed and played in the orchestra, managed the classical division of WMUA. and worked for the Fine Arts Council (helping with the events with visiting artists). After graduation, I had a dream job at WTIC-FM in Hartford, one of the country’s finest and most profitable stations (AM, FM and TV). I programmed all of the classical shows, produced a program called “The Listening Room,” with UMass professor Ronald Steele, and produced many “live” talk shows in any given week. During the week of my second anniversary with the station, I (and several dozen others) were fired as a result of the station’s having been sold. Two weeks later, while unemployed, my work with “The Listening Room” won that year’s Armstrong FM award, the only award this distinguished station had never before won.
 
What do you enjoy most about your job as an artistic manager?
Many artist managers are frustrated artists, and try to live vicariously through their artists’ careers and successes. From my very first day in New York, I realized that I was a frustrated manager, who had tried to be a performer because so many of my friends were – and still are. I love facilitating the connection of worthy artists to presenters throughout the country and world. The end result is beautiful music, movingly and enthusiastically played…and audiences that have experienced something important, on many, many levels.
 
Clarinetist Jon Manasse and pianist Jon Nakamatsu will be performing at the Bezanson Recital Hall this March as a duo. What made you suggest 5 years ago, as their manager, that they collaborate?
About ten years ago, Jon N (who was new to my office) was performing and recording with the Rochester Philharmonic. I was on the scene, and, as Jon M was in Rochester for a teaching day at the Eastman School, I invited him to the concert. Backstage, I said to both Jons, “You have just got to find the time to read through a few sonatas. I really think you would be perfect collaborators.” As they liked each other immediately, they agreed that this was a great idea. It then took over four years for their schedules to get them into the same room with a piano. Afterwards, they called me to say that they must have known each other in earlier lives, as they approached music-making and the particular works they played in exactly the same ways. (This is extraordinary and rarely happens immediately!) When the Duo gave its first public performance on a Friday in December, 2004, people came up to me at intermission and asked how long they had been performing together, because they sounded like a long-seasoned collaboration. When I told them that the Jons had started working together the preceding Tuesday, jaws dropped all around the room.
 
As a graduate of UMass, what was your most memorable experience?
Meeting my “second mom,” the Music Department’s Head Secretary, Helen Perry. She fed me, encouraged me, sewed buttons on my clothes, opened her home to me, loaned me her car and trusted me completely. About five years ago, when she first met my partner, she welcomed him unconditionally and instantly made him a part of the family, too. We remained dear, dear friends until her death, just about two years ago.
 
In 2001, you wrote in a letter in response to a NY Times article that "we are now in the midst of a Golden Age of young American conducting talent." Does this still hold true in 2010?
Yes, but this is can be a difficult to get one’s head around: Conducting is an older artist’s endeavor, although all conductors need to start sometime. We may all be aware of certain young conductors, who are currently considered superstars by managers, publicity offices and audiences who do not always know what they are hearing. I continue to believe that our conservatories and schools of music are turning out fantastically gifted and trained conductors…who then have to gain the years and years of practical experience with thousands of scores, orchestras of varying sizes and artistic capabilities, and soloists, all the while continuing to study their chosen repertoire.
 
What would you like to say about the state of classical music today?
I would not want to be entering the field as a young man now. My late UMass mentor, Terry Charles Schwarz (Manager of the Fine Arts Council) would present locally unknown artists in Bowker Auditorium – and sell-out, because the greater-Amherst community had such “house trust” for his presentations; the artists were ALWAYS wonderful, interesting and well worth the exploration. Our present culture (as reflected by the programming of many performing arts centers around the country) is constantly being “dumbed-down.” Many “distinguished” institutions base their selection of artists, not on artistic worthiness, but on box office reports and/or projections…or whether or not the artists will be “funny.” I also once had a potential presenter ask me how many musicians were in my string quartet (!). Much of this goes back to Reagan-era budget cuts in arts education. As a result, there is a generation of Americans that is not interested in the arts, because they have never had a personal connection with them – i.e., playing in high school bands, singing in school choruses, acting in school plays, working in the plastic arts, etc. Interestingly, if these people are taken to a quality event, they usually love it.

Virtuoso duo to grace Duke stage
By: Amy Bugno, Staff Writer
Issue date: 9/29/06 Section: Arts

Tom Parker, of Parker Artists, a music management firm in New York City, knows a good thing when he hears it.

Such was the case when he suggested that two of his signed artists - clarinetist Jon Manasse and pianist Jon Nakamatsu - join forces and collaborate on a musical journey in December 2004.

Nearly two years later, after many rehearsals, performances and even an album recording, the duo will bring a variety of musical stylings to the stage Saturday at Duke University's Reynolds Theater for the second stop on their four-city fall tour.

Parker said the two artists clicked during their very first meeting, amazing an audience in Boston after only three days of rehearsal.

"It was as if they had played together for years and years," he said. "It usually takes quite a while for two different artists to get to the point where they sound like a unified duo instead of two talented people playing together, but they did this immediately.

"Their personalities are like twins," he added. "It's almost as if they knew each other in a past life."

Manasse agrees that he and Nakamatsu collaborate well musically.

"It just seems to get better and better, and it's a great match," he said. "It's just a great experience to share that kind of music-making with someone who you get along with so well."

The tour is the first extended outing Manasse and Nakamatsu have played together.

The two-hour concert will consist of five pieces, including a solo piece for each artist, and the world premiere of John Novacek's "Three Rags," which was written especially for them.

Nakamatsu said he enjoys being the first to play Novacek's latest piece, even though it is a challenge.

"It's difficult but it's really rewarding," he said. "When you're working with a new composer, whose body of works you may not know, it's difficult because there isn't necessarily a tradition of playing that style, so really you're creating it on the spot." But working with a living composer is nice because you can e-mail him questions about the score if you don't understand, which you really can't do with Beethoven," he added, laughing.

Manasse said the first performance of this piece, which took place Tuesday in Charlottesville, Va., was a definite success.

"The audience went nuts over it - as we expected - because the composer is so brilliant," he said. "(Novacek's) pieces are just an enormous amount of fun to play and to listen to, and it's a great feeling to bring something new into the world."

Also included in the program is the first piece the duo ever rehearsed together, Brahms' "Clarinet Sonata in E flat Major, Op. 120 No. 2," which Parker said is equally challenging for both instrumentalists.

"This is a duo recital, which doesn't mean just two people playing together, or one accompanying the other," he said. "The music for both artists is equally demanding and equally important."

Manasse said the two worked together to come up with a set list that would please all types of audience members, and leave them with a happy and light feeling.

"We wanted to create a program that would show a variety of styles, and basically there's something for everyone on this program," he said.

"It would be very difficult for anyone to not enjoy these pieces, regardless of what kind of music they prefer."


ORIGINAL LETTER OF MAY 14, 2003
SUBMITTED TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
(edited for length and published May 19, 2003)

To the Editor,

As an artists manager for 29 years, I was deeply saddened to read of the latest crop of American symphony orchestra failures and crises ["As Funds Disappear, So Do Orchestras"], rumors of which my colleagues and I hear on a weekly basis.

Over the years, I have often seen deservedly rising musician wages, bloated front office staffs and salaries, and sky-rocketing guest "star" artists fees all contribute to the bottom line problem, which has different set of causative variables in every locality.

As every orchestra, large and small, has tried to determine what "community outreach" should mean in its community, one bedrock element is often overlooked: The reason a symphony orchestra exists is so that live performances of a wide variety of music written specifically for its artistic forces can be presented to an interested public. It demeans the entire organization to try to sell more tickets, based solely on popular classical repertoire or guest artists. If the symphony orchestra, in and of itself, is not considered an important and attractive local entity, inspiring support and attendance, then it will wither and become ever more irrelevant to its community's needs.

Any organization's first responsibility is to perpetuate its own existence. But, if its offerings are not highly regarded in, and sought after by, its community, all efforts to prop up its financial underpinnings will ultimately be wasted. For American orchestras the beginning of a solution lies in returning to a basic concept: Perform the most meaningful music - old and new - at the highest level of artistic achievement possible. Otherwise, it is all PR.

Thomas F. Parker

WHERE ARE THE YOUNG CONDUCTORS?
EVERYWHERE - JUST LOOK AROUND!
+
By Thomas F. Parker
August 1, 2001
+
+On June 24, 2001, The New York Times published a heartening article on the work of the National Conducting Institute and its collaboration with the American Symphony Orchestra League's Orchestra Leadership Academy. Implicit in the "story behind the story" is the idea that there is a dearth of talented and well trained young American conductors. This is a refrain I have been hearing for most of my quarter century in New York City's classical music business, first as an artist's representative, later as a manager. I do not believe it to be true.

+In my view, we are now in the midst of a Golden Age of young American conducting talent. The reasons are multiple and varied, but include everything from the artists' early experiences as members of better and better youth orchestras to an expansion over the past generation of the number and quality of conducting teachers and mentors, as well as more and more orchestras (regardless of size or budget) to be conducted. And these young conducting artists are incredibly self-motivated: While an instrumentalist or vocalist can always refine technique or expand repertoire in his or her studio, a conductor needs a podium for growth; so it is no longer surprising to note how many young conductors's resumes reveal that they have founded chamber orchestras or new music ensembles, creating for themselves the opportunities to learn and hone their craft from actual rehearsal and performance experiences.

+Why (should they have to do this)?

+For many years now, the arts business has been more about celebrity than artistry. We all know this, but we prefer not to mention it. More and more frequently, orchestras' artistic decisions (at least the ones that directly interface with the public) are relentlessly driven by marketing decisions. Colleagues my age and older can remember the days when a new season of programs, soloists and guest conductors was drawn up, approved and turned over to the orchestra's promotional department to be "sold." If there were any doubts by the "marketers" that there would be a problem in successfully promoting and selling this season, they would be replaced with those who could do the job. Now, we function solidly in an age when the music director will be told to revise plans because, as the season - or a given program - is constituted, it just will not sell.

+The "what" of what will not sell is usually one or more of three components: repertoire, conductor, soloist. Too often, this results in the quick fix of falling back on standard repertoire and engaging guest conductors or soloists who are household names and instantly recognizable. This does a grave disservice to two types of music-lovers - the loyal supporters of the orchestra, who attend concerts with frequency and devotion, and the potential first-time ticket buyer, who may not know Beethoven from Bartok or a superstar personality from a debut artist, but could favorably react to on-going promotion of and by the local orchestra as a purveyor of events both culturally stimulating and socially exciting. But it does even more harm to those artists of the younger generation, eager to share with a music-loving public what they can offer as developing masters of a body of repertoire, old and new. (And I have not even touched on how the reliance on established "names" impacts budgets and development imperatives!)

+All of this to say that most of our orchestras (regardless of size or historic cultural importance and influence) seek out music directors who will "sell" the organizations' products: Concerts, whether the high-profile public masterworks and Pops programs or the lesser-known educational packages to school systems, chamber music concerts by orchestra members, or regional run-out performances. This leaves precious few slots in any season's schedule to offer worthy young artists debuts and re-engagements. It also means that so much of the available time of any orchestra's artistic administration is committed to a formulaic approach to programming that it can be virtually impossible to bring new conducting talent to the serious attention of those making the decisions. When it works best, respected artist management or representation is able to cut through the deluge of unsolicited suggestions, presskits and recordings and secure consideration of particular artists. And, while I join my manager-colleagues in welcoming all appropriate invitations for our artists' employment, I know from personal experience that a solid "maybe, he/she is interesting" from a major orchestra is potentially just as important to an artist's long-term career as a signed contract for any engagement from a smaller orchestra. But back to my original assertion that we are living in a Golden Age of young American conducting talent. ( Let me preface the following remarks by emphasizing that the situations and experiences I describe are not unique to conductors under my representation; indeed, I know both artists and managers at other firms who have first-hand knowledge of the same phenomena.) My firm now represents 13 conductors, all in the age range of 35 to 48. As several of these artists have been with me for over five years, I can confidently assert that they all qualified as "young American conducting talent" when we first associated. As their guest conducting and music director opportunities grew, they proved themselves deserving of the professional attention. Some became music directors of orchestras that were either in the doldrums or poised for explosive growth. In each case, the conductors fulfilled their expanded rolls as music directors - off as well as on the podium! - resulting in more energized orchestras that played better-prepared and more exciting performances. These attracted larger audiences and positive reviews which, in turn, drew more donors and, often, the interest of community leaders to provide the orchestra with better facilities. This sequence results in a higher-quality pool of musicians auditioning for the orchestras....getting us back to even better-prepared and performed concerts that continue this upward spiral of excellence. But, even with the documentation of the conductors' input into these exciting developments, the national business imposes a glass ceiling, making it virtually certain that they do not rise to primary positions with the majors. Many of my conductors do frequently work as guest conductors with the major orchestras, usually leading children's, Pops or parks concerts. And, even though their work is admired by both the musicians and administrations of these orchestras AND are invited back for additional programs, they are rarely offered the holy grail of a set of subscription concerts. Again: Why? Hint: celebrity vs. artistry.

+Think also of Music Director Search Committees: When is the last time anyone heard that one of these committees had not received enough interesting and qualified submissions? Typically, orchestras receive 150-200 applications for every announced search. The conductors on my list are often among the finalists for several searches each season. When my office has been fortunate enough to have had more than one finalist conductor in a search, I have actually received phone calls from committee chairpersons, asking if I would rank one higher than another, because his or her committee was having a difficult time making a decision. While I always decline the chance to influence the committee against any of my conductors, I do take the opportunity to remind them that having a surfeit of acceptable talent is a blessing, a good thing - really!

+Besides being numerous and qualified, the young American conductors of today are excited, committed and dedicated, when it comes to the extra-podium elements of music directorships. Most of the ones I know are ready to pack their bags, scores, recordings and concert clothes and move to cities whose orchestras would welcome them as music directors. They can't wait to stand in front of Rotary and Lions audiences, visit schools, radio/television stations and newspaper offices, testify before municipal and state committees on funding for the arts and education, and help with the orchestra's fund-raising activities - as well as staying alert for possible new auditioners for the orchestra, studying repertoire for up-coming programs, investigating scores and tapes of new New Music, planning for commissions, being aware of rising talent for soloists, programming new seasons or series and generally being Booster-in-Chief for the orchestra. All, I might add, in addition to rehearsing and leading concerts!

+The young American conductors I have been describing so enthusiastically also leave their marks in another significant way. In working from a "non-celebrity" base, their orchestras are the immediate and enduring beneficiaries of their locally focused talent and energy. Artistic excellence, community enrichment and fond memories of exciting nights at The Symphony add up to a pretty stunning legacy.

+With all of the purveyers of doom and gloom for the classical music business often attracting the lion's share of media coverage, I think we all should be excited about the existence of such a large pool of young American conducting talent, ready, willing and able to serve and lead.
Just give them the chance!

© 2001 by Thomas F. Parker