The Concert Committee Hits the Right Note

When Bill Firstenberger invited me to join the Ruthmere Concert Committee several years ago (I don’t recall exactly when), it seemed the perfect fit for me. I had already been involved in booking musical talent for Coffee on the Piazza, and my love of music—not to mention fine details—made this an ideal challenge. Soon, I found myself more or less running the committee, acting as point person between the museum and the artists who performed here.

The Matchsellers perform at Coffee in the Piazza in 2024.

In the beginning, it was a matter of searching for artists, drawing on talent who had performed here in the past, looking for new names to enhance the list. I love doing research, and this was just another opportunity to put that skill to good use. Little did I know how much fun it would turn out to be!

Anyone who read my earlier series of blogs on running the Beardsley Prize piano competition knows of my love for the movie The Competition (1980), starring Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving. This is how I came to love classical music as a supplement to my usual diet of Abba and Billy Joel. (Remember this was 1980.)

I learned a lot about running a major piano competition from that movie. One of the choicest parts of that project is that I get to be the first to see the entrants’ YouTube videos. Kind of a perk of the job. Well, the same thing applied to searching out talent for our Fall and recently-added Spring concert series. Being able to take such an active role in selecting the artists to perform here was, and is still, an absolute joy.

The committee itself is a blend of Ruthmere staff members and supporters who share a deep love of music and who want to see this special relationship continue to flourish as part of Elkhart’s growing live music scene.

Jeff Barnhart & Bob Milne perform at a Ruthmere concert

As our series grew—not to mention our reputation as a venue for fine entertainment—something unexpected began to happen. All of a sudden, we became juicy! Artists began reaching out to us! We’d made it to the big time! In our own little way, at least. Throughout the year, I get emails from artists and agents seeking to add their names to our growing roster of revolving talent. Again, I get to be the first to experience the genius that’s out there.

The list of potential artists continues to grow. It is my job to bring these fine musicians to the attention of the Concert Committee for us to make a group decision on who gets to perform at Ruthmere. It’s not always an easy decision. It’s quite safe to say that the level of musicianship coming our way is, for the most part, of the highest quality. And, just as with any other meeting of the minds, the Concert Committee is not always unanimous in its likes. We have jazz fans, classical fans, eclectic music fans, and those who embrace it all, as I try to do.

After COVID caused a few headaches in the booking process, I requested the committee to consider a “leap forward,” if you will. Prior to that, we had sought talent for the upcoming calendar year. As of 2023, I began searching for artists to perform two years hence. For example, this year’s meeting in January was to find musicians for the 2027 season.

My reasoning is twofold: First, by booking that far ahead, we can get the best musicians before they are already booked elsewhere. Second, it gives me some breathing space to find replacements in the event of a cancellation. (Fortunately, this has only happened once, and the artist in question was equally eager to find a replacement.)

In another link to the Beardsley Prize, I made the suggestion that we start inviting our competition judges to perform at Ruthmere. I select the judges based on their experience both as competitors in their own right as well as their accomplishments on-stage. So it only seems fitting that, if they’re talented enough to judge other musicians, they must be excellent in their own right. This also gives them an incentive to come back to judge future competitions. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle that benefits everyone.

The Lute Song Trio of the Baltimore Consort.

Another change with the Spring and Fall concert series is widening the diversity of the music itself. Traditionally, Ruthmere has been a venue for classical piano with the occasional foray into strings or brass. The taste of jazz has also spiced things up from time to time. However, as a lover of most types of music, I want to broaden our horizons even more. For instance, a couple of years ago I persuaded the Concert Committee to book The Baltimore Consort, a six-piece ensemble that performs Renaissance music on antique instruments. (In the end, for budgetary reasons, we got three of them, dubbed The Lute Song Trio.) It was a bit of a risk, being outside the traditional focus of our offerings, but I think it paid off. Not only was it musically rewarding for me, but the trio was outstanding, and I think the audience enjoyed experiencing something different as well.

I am currently looking for artists for 2028, and I’ve already found some very intriguing possibilities to present to the committee when we meet again next year. Among those are a jazz/vocal quartet from New York City and a Swedish violinist who specializes in folk music of her native land. And, since it’s only February as I’m writing this, who knows what may come my way in the next eleven months!

(With thanks to the Concert Committee: Bill Firstenberger, Joy Olsen, Gail Martin, Janet Evanega Rieckhoff, Jim Rieckhoff, Dale Seely, Terry Trimmer, Jon Smoker and Tehillah Moses.)