Posed “behind the scenes” at Music Hall, on the cover, are our 7- to 8-year-old students alongside our professional orchestra members and artistic leaders, a testament that music really is for all. The stories in this issue of Fanfare Magazine continue the vision of the cover by bringing each of our musical ensembles center stage—Nouveau Program, Classical Roots Community Choir, Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestras and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra—and show the full breadth and depth of what we do.

Banks will be touring with Childs’ concerto for another two years, for performances with the work’s 10 commissioning partners. “I want to cement the saxophone’s classical future with music written by the composers at the center of today’s classical music,” he says. “But because Billy is so well known as a jazz figure, a lot of people from that world might come into the concert hall and have their eyes opened.”

The Classical Roots Community Choir remains a staple of Cincinnati’s arts and educational experiences. Through carefully curated programming, each year’s concert embarks on collaborative expressions of Black cultural music and pays tribute to the historical contributions of Black artists and composers.

As the 2022–23 season comes to a close, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra congratulates and honors seven musicians on their retirements—violinists Michelle Edgar Dugan and Sylvia Mitchell, cellist Daniel Culnan, bassist James Lambert, trumpeters Robert Sullivan and Steven Pride, and bass trombonist Peter Norton. Together, they have served within the Orchestra for a combined 246 years, performing in countless concerts, tours and recordings. Five of these soon-to-be retirees offered memories of their time with the Orchestra and discussed their plans for the next chapter.

From full concerts at Music Hall to small pop-up performances in local neighborhoods and everything in between, our generous and dedicated donors, sponsors and concertgoers make it all possible. This series shares the special stories behind why our donors give to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops.