The National Orchestral Institute Announces Recording Contract with Naxos, World's Leading Classical Music Label

David Allan Miller

David Alan Miller photo by Gary Gold
 

Beginning in the summer of 2015, the UMD School of Music’s National Orchestral Institute (NOI) will partner with the internationally renowned classical music label Naxos to record one concert of all-American music per year. This relationship with the label will elevate NOI to the international stage through the recording’s distribution and advances NOI’s commitment to providing professional development opportunities for its participants. This partnership marks Naxos’ first with a student-based summer music festival.

“We at the National Orchestra Institute and Festival are delighted to forge this partnership with Naxos, one of the leading classical labels in the world. By their actions, Naxos not only demonstrates its commitment to American composers, but to the education of our next generation of orchestral performers,” says James Undercofler, NOI’s artistic director.

School of Music Director Robert Gibson has stated the Naxos/NOI partnership “is wonderfully consistent with the School’s mission to serve as an advocate for American music through commissioning, performing and recording new works from promising younger composers and the work of American masters.”

The inaugural recording, which will occur live on June 13, 2015, features Albany Symphony Music Director David Alan Miller conducting Michael Torke’s Bright Blue Music; Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring; and John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1. In the following season, the partnership will continue with UMD’s Director of Orchestral Studies James Ross leading the next NOI recording.

Each year, NOI conducts a rigorous national audition process to select orchestral musicians on the threshold of their professional careers. They participate in a four-week intensive program to hone their skills as musicians in chamber music, unconducted chamber orchestra, and orchestral performance and career management, studying under the tutelage of distinguished musicians who help them polish their ensemble skills. Each week culminates with a public performance in The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Launched in 1987 and now offering more than 7,500 album titles, Naxos is the world's leading classical music label in terms of the number of new releases and the breadth of repertoire covered. Its strategy of recording exciting new repertoire with exceptional talent has been recognised with 19 Grammy awards, over 800 Penguin Guide 3-star the recommendations, over 150 Gramophone Editor's Choice awards and numerous other honours. Naxos is a truly international label and produces over 200 new recordings a year in more than 30 countries. Please visit www.naxos.com.