On Sunday, September 19th, the Lenox Library Association will kick off the 2010-11 season of its Distinguished Lecture series. The opening speaker for this year’s series is Mark Volpe, Managing Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Volpe will speak on the delights and challenges of running the largest orchestral enterprise in the world. The lecture will take place in the Library’s Sedgwick Reading Room, 18 Main Street, Lenox, MA from 4:00-5:00 PM. The doors will open at 3:30.
Mr. Volpe has been the Managing Director of the BSO since 1997. He also runs the Boston Pops and the Tanglewood Music Center. He is a former clarinetist, a lawyer, and has worked in the administration of the Baltimore, Minnesota, and Detroit orchestras. As the Managing Director, Mr. Volpe oversees an organization with an operating budget of nearly $100 million, and a staff of over 100 people. He has raised more than $150 million for the BSO’s endowment, capital improvements, and annual fund, and presided over two successful labor negotiations, resulting in a four-year collective bargaining agreement with the orchestra. Also under Mr. Volpe’s management, the BSO developed its website, www.bso.org, into the largest and most visited orchestral website in the country, with close to 3 million visits each year; celebrated the centennial of Symphony Hall, widely regarded as one of the three finest concert halls in the world; and greatly enhanced the orchestra’s exposure on major media outlets.
Mr. Volpe’s appearance at the Lenox Library is the first of the 2010-11 Distinguished Lecture series. All programs in this series are free and open to the public thanks to donor contributions.
The Distinguished Lecture series is organized and hosted by Professor Jeremy Yudkin of Lenox. Lectures are held monthly in the Lenox Library Association’s Sedgwick Reading Room at 18 Main Street Lenox, MA. No reservations are required. For information about future lectures in the series, please visit the Library’s “Calendar of Events” at www.lenoxlib.org .