CONDUCTOR JANE BROWN
Credit: Jane Brown
Does Nevada conjure up images of former Wild West towns and of course Las Vegas? There is more to the so-called Silver State than ringing slot machines and the Cowboy Corridor. With a population of just over 3 million, Nevada offers an active cultural life of which Jane Brown is deeply involved in the musical scene as Music Director of the Reno Pops Orchestra, Ruby Mountain Symphony of Elko and Artistic Director of Northern Nevada Rural Concert Initiative (NNRCI) – in addition to straddling the musical state line as Director of Chester Community Chorus in California’s Plumas County and music instructor at Plumas Unified School District, areas where the now infamous Dixie and Beckwourth fires began a zig-zag path of destruction this summer.
Brown is completing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from University of Nevada, Las Vegas while maintaining a demanding concert schedule. But that has been her raison d’etre early on as bassoonist of the Reno Philharmonic for sixteen years, Nevada Opera Orchestra, among others all of which transitioned into her position as Director of the Reno Pops Orchestra since 2004 - in addition to numerous guest appearances with orchestras in Russia and Ukraine. In fact, in the Spring of next year she will conduct concerts with a mixture of American composers such as Gershwin, Copland and Hollywood hits in Chelyabinsk, Siberia in addition to a series of children’s concerts in Finland, Estonia and St. Petersburg.
Brown describes her Russia and Kazakhstan musical connection. “Russia is home to some of the greatest orchestras and teachers of conducting in the world. I originally started traveling there for instruction in conducting and workshops. As things progressed I have been invited to lead professional orchestras there mostly in provincial capitals but also in major cities in Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. For example, next week I will be guest conducting Tatar symphonic music with the State Academic Symphony in Almaty, Kazakhstan at Kazakh State Philharmonic Hall. It is very exciting to meet different people, experience their culture and make wonderful music together.”
Brown comments that international experiences helped inspire her doctoral dissertation in its interconnection between ethnic folk and symphonic music - of which the Kazakhstan concert next week will act as a recital in fulfillment of a Doctor of Musical Arts degree. While many of us will be enjoying Thanksgiving dinner, she will be feted as guest artist abroad. “People can visit my website {listed at end of article} or my related orchestra websites to watch either my live performance or lecture presentation in Kazakhstan. The links should be posted sometime during the week of November 22,” says Brown.
While stateside, Brown has been a guiding light of the Reno Pops Orchestra and its mélange of classical and pop repertoire that is often based around themes such as Fables and Fairytales, Music of the Silk Road, Poets, Playwrights and Storytellers and Mountains Majestic. In addition, the orchestra’s involvement in community outreach has helped shape the cultural footprint in Reno with a variety of events such as a Solo & Concerto Festival, Summer Music Camp (offered online for the past two years due to the pandemic), Composer’s Showcase, a scholarship for graduating high school seniors and college students and concerts for the homeless at St. Vincent’s Dining Room.
“I believe our work with the Reno Pops Orchestra has been very beneficial for the city’s music scene and the region. It is our goal to make programs very accessible and interesting for those who have little or no experience with this kind of music. For example, I provide a listener’s guide of comments of what to listen for before each piece is performed but the orchestra also has a significant impact on the musicians in the community, giving them the musically satisfying opportunity to play great orchestral literature in a nurturing environment. Many of them have gone on to do great things in music education as well as with professional orchestras or collegiate venues.”
Brown’s work with NNRCI quintessentially symbolizes what living in America’s smaller communities is all about and underscores the importance of providing cultural enrichment to places that might otherwise be ignored or brushed off as not important enough to host concerts that feature Bach, Beethoven, Broadway, Beetles or even Bluegrass music. Brown observes that NNRCI reaches out to audiences of varying age groups in Nevada and Plumas County and that once the organization is more established, master classes and workshops for local music students will be offered. A similar vision is in the works for NNRCI affiliate Ruby Mountain Symphony and its ‘sister group’ Northern Nevada String Serenade in their effort to secure donors and grants.
Fortunately, listeners will be able to enjoy Northern Nevada String Serenade on the Popsapalooza 2021-2022 concert series at Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds in Quincy. The NNRCI selects artist performers for an event which seems like Plumas County’s answer to the Hollywood Bowl, Tanglewood or Ojai Festival in its fusion of high-end classical, jazz and contemporary musical offerings set in a backdrop of idyllic beauty – something that even a wildfire can’t erase. The concert season will include performances by Sierra Brass Quintet, Northstar Chamber Players and The Batamba Collective in addition to Brown conducting the opening concert with Northern Nevada String Serenade November 20 and on January 22, which will feature Carnival of the Animals.
Music has been called a universal language for its communicative powers but also can serve as an element of healing and regeneration in times of stress or loss – which certainly is apparent when thinking about Greenville and some of its neighbors. Brown offers a personal insight about her association with Plumas County.
“Probably like everyone else up here my heart is aching in ways I cannot describe from the devastation of our Elysian home. I’m sure that for all of us the smells, sights and sounds of our forests, rivers and mountains are an integral part of who we are – and for many has been a source of strength and peace in our lives. When I drive from school to school in the county, the devastation around me tears at my soul. Sometimes I actually gag or begin to cry as I drive.
However, when I arrive at each school and see the bright, eager faces of our music students and get to play a small part in helping these beautiful, resilient young people find the healing and the beauty of thought and emotion that only music can portray – it gives me much hope for our future. With the healing balm of the arts, with teamwork and neighborly kindness – both of which are evident everywhere I look in our county in the aftermath of the Dixie fire – and with a lot of determination, positivity and rebuilding we can make our county at least as beautiful again while having the added benefit of having been through this together and seeing it through to the other side.”
To use a musical analogy, I am reminded of the closing words of Puccini’s famous aria Nessun dorma from the opera Turandot – I will win! I will win! Vincero! Vincero! - sung of course by the late, great Luciano Pavarotti.