History
MidAmerica Productions, Inc.
Founded in 1984: Our 29th Season
In 1984, conductor Peter Tiboris organized and conducted his first concert in New York, leading the American Symphony Orchestra, soloists, the Louisiana Chorale of Acadiana, Camerata Singers of Baton Rouge, and Collegiate Chorale of New York in works by Rossini and Dinos Constantinides in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Little did Mr. Tiboris realize then that the first concert, which took place on January 7, 1984, would become the template for MidAmerica Productions, Inc., the country’s foremost independent producer of classical concerts in Carnegie Hall.
Over the course of 29 seasons, MidAmerica has presented soloists and choral and instrumental ensembles from the U.S. and abroad in New York's Stern Auditorium, Weill Recital Hall, and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall; and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. Additional to its New York series, MidAmerica Productions has presented concerts in numerous U.S. cities, and in countries such as Greece, United Kingdom, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Russia.
Concert opportunities for ensembles coming to New York have included choosing from performing choral works with orchestra, led by an array of talented conductors; or appearing as part of MidAmerica's Ensemble Spotlight Series, which has featured Madrigal Festivals, Vocal Jazz Festivals, National Wind Ensemble, National Festival Youth Orchestra, and Sweet Adelines. Among the renowned guest conductors who have led MidAmerica’s concerts are Sherrill Milnes, Lukas Foss, Helmuth Rilling, H. Robert Reynolds, John Rutter, JoAnne Falletta, Michael Morgan, and Jonathan Willcocks. Nearly 700 conductors have conducted on MidAmerica’s series in New York, sharing the stage with 1000 solo artists from the world's greatest opera companies and concert stages, and 3500 ensembles from the U.S. and abroad.
MidAmerica has commissioned new works and presented numerous premieres in Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. World premieres have included Dinos Constantinides' Byron's Greece, Hymn to the Human Spirit, and Midnight Fantasy II for wind ensemble; John Rutter's Cantate Domino, Distant Land, Magnificat, and Mass of the Children; and John Leavitt's A Christmas Garland. U.S. premieres have included Mozart's Die Schüldigkeit des Ersten Gebots, Reimann's Concerto for Violin and Cello, Tchaikovsky's Ode to Joy, Mikis Theodorakis' Electra and Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra, and Rene Clausen's Hellas: In the Name of Freedom.
A strong component of MidAmerica’s identity has been its chamber music concerts in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Inaugurated in 1989, the series has comprised over 350 performances featuring world-class soloists, chamber ensembles, and members of orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Another enterprise created by MidAmerica Productions is a recording label, Elysium Recordings, Inc. Since 1995, Elysium has released nearly 30 CDs in a wide range of styles, from jazz, to cabaret, to operas, oratorios, and symphonies, and solo recitals. For these recordings, MidAmerica has gathered some of the finest talent on the scene today, including Stanley Drucker, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic for more than 60 years; David Chan and Rafael Figueroa, concertmaster and principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; and the late Lukas Foss, eminent composer, pianist, and conductor.
In 1998, MidAmerica presented the first Mykonos International Music Festival in Greece. Later renamed Festival of the Aegean to reflect its broadened scope, the Festival was moved to the picturesque island of Syros, Greece. In 2011, the Seventh International Festival of the Aegean, which took place over two weeks, incorporated opera, choral, symphonic and popular music, as well as dance, theater, and film. The Eighth Festival is on the horizon.
In 29 seasons, MidAmerica has achieved many milestones, including more than 1100 concerts worldwide, 925 in New York, and more than 500 concerts in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium! And MidAmerica Productions pledges to produce memorable concerts for many years to come.
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