Ravinia 2024 Issue 4

fall with Billboard -topping singer John Legend, including July 23 and 24 with the San Francisco Symphony, August 7 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Septem- ber 10 with the Cincinnati Pops. The two men first collaborated about two years ago at the Hollywood Bowl, and they later worked together on a show featur- ing hip-hop producer Metro Boomin at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre. “Eventually, John’s team reached out to me to see if I would like to go tour as his conductor for his orchestra dates, and I was very excited and happy to oblige,” Parnther said. Unlike some classical conductors who might turn up their noses at film or pop music, he relishes such oppor- tunities. “I’ve always tried to be as open to all of these experiences as I possibly could,” he said, “because classical music is not my only love. It is the area in which I work the most, but I just love great music, and I want to share that passion with as many people as I can. So, I wouldn’t say that I’m classical con- ductor. I’m just a conductor, a musician, and all good music is interesting to me.” This unusual scope of activities sparked Swed’s high praise for Parnther, but it also raises an immediate question: Why isn’t he better known? The answer, of course, is that much of what he does is behind the scenes. The names of con- ductors on soundtracks are buried deep in the credits that few people watch at the end of movies, and, during a concert with the likes of Legend, the spotlight is on that headline artist and not on the person leading the accompanying orchestra. But expect Parnther’s profile to rise as his career continues to soar. Born in Norfolk, VA, Parnther moved to the Washington, DC, area as a young child, dividing his time between there and New York City and ultimately graduating from high school in Virginia. Traces of an elegant Southern accent can still be heard when he talks. Growing up, he not only played cello, bassoon, and tuba, but he “became obsessed” with learning how to play many other instruments in the orchestra as well. And he has maintained that versatility, even recently performing on a baritone horn for a television soundtrack. He initially got interested in con- ducting with his high-school marching band, becoming fascinated with the idea of being a drum major, though he never landed the role despite trying out his sophomore, junior, and senior years. At the same time, he was frequently putting together and leading his own brass and woodwind ensembles and even small chamber orchestras in high school and college. He studied music performance at Northwestern University and then went on to obtain his master’s degree in conducting from Yale University. After working with several ensembles at East Tennessee State University in 2004–7, including the school’s Sym- phonic Band and Marching Buccaneers, Parnther decided to try his luck in Cal- ifornia. Now, there is hardly a minute when he is not busy. “It’s wonderful go- ing to work each day and having a new adventure each week. I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. Drawing on his own heritage and some of the challenges he has faced, Parnther has made a point throughout his career of championing music by under-represented composers, includ- ing Zenobia Powell Perry and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor from the past and such current musical voices as Kris Bowers, Chanda Dancy, and Gary Powell Nash. Parnther led Long Beach Opera’s 2022 revival of Anthony Davis’s opera The Central Park Five , which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Music, as well as a soon-to-be-released recording springing from that production. “It’s not been uncommon in my career to be the only Black person in the room,” he said. “It’s also been wildly ap- parent to me that some institutions have done a really poor job of opening up the playing field to people they normally wouldn’t hire. Honestly, to me, if you’re not actively recruiting diverse talent, you are actively prohibiting it. I don’t think there is a gray area in between.” Since 2022, he has also served as orchestral conductor for the Gateways Music Festival, which brings together top musicians of African descent for a concentrated series of presentations in a different community each year. This year’s installment took place at various locations around Chicago in April. Parnther’s career has taken him to places where few Black musicians and conductors have gone before. “I want to make sure,” he said, “that I keep that door open for people who look just like me.” Kyle MacMillan served as classical music critic for the Denver Post from 2000 through 2011. He currently freelances in Chicago, writing for such publications as the Chicago Sun-Times , Early Music America , Opera News , and Classical Voice of North America . Anthony Parnther with composer JohnWilliams and fellow bassoonists and film score session first-calls Rose Corrigan and Damian Montano RAVINIAMAGAZINE • AUGUST 5 – AUGUST 18, 2024 18