The Music of Now: Alexander Shelley on San Francisco Classical Voice
Alexander Shelley discusses his approach toward building a cohesive ensemble and the importance of contemporary programming in conversation with Victoria Looseleaf from San Francisco Classical Voice.
Photo Credit: Doug Gifford
Victoria Looseleaf from San Francisco Classical Voice recently chatted with Alexander Shelley during his first weekend of concerts with the Pacific Symphony as artistic and music director designate. He will become the third music director in the ensemble’s history, following his departure from the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa at the end of this season. Shelley spoke about his approach for working with an ensemble, particularly in the role of music director. “The most important thing in my life is to build the sound of an orchestra, to build the personality of the orchestra, to build the way we make music – the flexibility, the breadth of music we make together.” Ultimately, his goal is to connect with audiences, equating the concert hall to “a religious and spiritual space,” where listeners can connect with “another part of being and consciousness that is ever more important.”
Looseleaf notes Shelley’s penchant for mixing canonical and contemporary repertoire. “All the music we love from the past was written in response to its time,” he said. “The manifestations of life, they kind of vary…But the underscoring motivations of life and the underscoring questions [of] life and hope, loss and mystery, all those things that are actually the nuts and bolts of our interactions with the material world, they have not changed a jot.” Shelley argues that the solution is “to juxtapose the music of then with the music of now.”
Read the full interview here.
Photo Credit: Doug Gifford
Alexander Shelley Featured on "Fred Plotkin on Fridays"
Fred Plotkin, a passionate opera expert, and author of Opera 101 and Classical Music 101, talks with Alexander Shelley, music director of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and Naples Philharmonic (Florida), incoming principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, and incoming music director of the Pacific Symphony.
The celebrated conductor Alexander Shelley appeared on the IDAGIO show “Fred Plotkin on Fridays.” The author of Opera 101 and Classical Music 101, Plotkin is a passionate opera expert who speaks with fascinating people in the music world every Friday.
In this episode, Plotkin speaks with the distinguished English conductor, currently serving as the Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London. Shelley is also the music director of the Naples Philharmonic (Florida), incoming principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, and incoming music director of the Pacific Symphony.
Born in 1979 to concert pianist parents, Shelley studied cello and conducting in Germany before winning first prize at the 2005 Leeds Conductors Competition, which marked the start of his acclaimed international career. A passionate and articulate advocate for the role of music in society, Shelley has spearheaded multiple ground-breaking projects, unlocking creativity in the next generation and bringing symphonic music to new audiences.
Listen to the conversation here.
