NHSO Photo
Laura Adam
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra has appointed Laura Adam as its new education director, the organization announced on Monday. Adam most recently served in a similar capacity at the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, in Michigan. She succeeds Dan Kinsman, who NHSO Marketing Manager Nicole Gallego said was with the organization for about a year.
A press release issued by the NHSO on Monday indicates that Adam “spent 2008-11 with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra overseeing education programs in area schools and developing a community concert series across southeastern Michigan, serving an annual audience of over 35,000.”
At the NHSO, Adam “will be responsible for the creation, implementation and management of a broad range of educational and community engagement programs,” according to the press release.
During a telephone conversation on Wednesday, Adam said an orchestra’s success is inextricably linked to the connection the organization has with its audience. In part, that means developing informed listeners and educating people, from the “cradle to the grave,” about orchestral music.
Symphonic-music education, Adam said, is “a good way to supplement the goals of a classroom music teacher.”
The NHSO’s educational programming is supported, she said, by the organization’s “staying power” and the fact that “there’s an energy and a passion for what we do that everyone (in the organization) shares.”
An important area of focus, Adam said, is “educating … the New Haven community about composers we don’t hear about and should.” That includes American and contemporary composers.
Adam said the organization is also committed to involving the area’s public-school students in as many orchestra concerts as possible and aligning the NHSO’s educational programming with state music-education standards.
Gordon Ambach, who chairs the NHSO’s education committee, was quoted in the above-mentioned press release as saying, “(Adam) comes with an excellent background in music education and outstanding leadership experience. We look forward to Laura’s leadership in realizing our objectives for increased student appreciation of their American musical heritage and expanded opportunities to hear and play orchestral music.”