Notes on the
American Wind Symphony Orchestra
American Wind
Symphony Orchestra
IN THE NEWS
MUSIC DIRECTOR:
Robert Austin Boudreau
MUSIC DIRECTOR'S
FIRST MATE:
Kathleen Boudreau
Biography:
Maestro Boudreau
Robert Austin Boudreau is the kind of man one is likely to meet only once in a lifetime. He is a man who makes impossible dreams come true; a man who has committed his life to the arts; a man who never loses sight of the way in which education can propel young people out of a life of poverty and into a life enriched and enhanced by music and art. Chances are he is also the only orchestra conductor in the world who also skippers a 195-foot barge!
Boudreau's biography is a prime example of the way education changes lives. As the son of a chicken farmer-factory worker, Boudreau grew up in Massachusetts with little prospect of leaving his rural roots behind, until the day he picked up a trumpet and began to make music.
His talent soon took him to Juilliard, where he earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees, and then to Paris as a Fulbright Scholar at the Paris Conservatory. He also found time to earn a degree in English literature from Boston University.
Early in his career, Boudreau performed with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Edwin Franko Goldman Band. He taught music in various colleges before taking a position at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. His first sight of that city's three mighty rivers - the Allegheny, the Monongahela and the Ohio - caused him to dream of a floating orchestra of woodwinds, brass and percussion playing free concerts aboard a barge, and traveling to riverfront cities and towns both near and far.
Aided by funding from the Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Company, Duquesne University and others, Boudreau founded the American Wind Symphony Orchestra in 1957, and christened the barge that became his floating stage, Point Counterpoint.
Through the following two decades, Boudreau's reputation and that of his orchestra grew to such an extent that a new vessel became necessary. Famed architect Louis I. Kahn designed a self-propelled work of art that was named Point Counterpoint II. Since its launching in 1976 the ship has sailed more than 500,000 miles, and the orchestra has enchanted audiences in America, Canada, Europe, Scandinavia and the Caribbean.
Taken alone, the travels of Robert Boudreau and his orchestra create an unparalleled saga of arts on the move. But, he has also commissioned an unprecedented 400 works of contemporary music by prominent composers worldwide. And more than 1,500 young musicians have successfully auditioned for the orchestra, many going on to outstanding performing or teaching careers.
Boudreau has formed offshoots of the orchestra into educational, community and school-based initiatives that give young people a chance to turn their lives around through the study of music. And, not least of all, he has been a champion of environmental protection, touring the world's waterways and celebrating the natural beauty of the earth.
Robert Boudreau
(Leningrad, Russia)
Often called the modern day "Music Man", Boudreau has been knighted by the King of Sweden for his universal goodwill efforts. He and his orchestra were allowed into the closed society of Soviet Russia in 1989, and were given extraordinary leave to find housing in private Leningrad homes. Time magazine once wrote,
It may be that there is no greater innovative force in American music than Robert Boudreau.
ABOUT AWSO
For 53 years, the American Wind Symphony Orchestra has been making musical headlines along the waterways of the United States, the Caribbean and Northern Europe. Called “a remarkable cultural phenomenon” by New York Magazine’s music critic Alan Rich, the group continues to perform under the baton of Maestro Robert Austin Boudreau.
American Wind Symphony Orchestra performing aboard their floating arts center, Point Counterpoint II.
Founded in 1957 by Mr. Boudreau, the American Wind Symphony has become an institution known for bringing its music to the masses via its floating arts center and stage. Mr. Boudreau has commissioned over 400 new musical compositions, which have been premiered during each season's concert tour. Each summer over the past half century, Maestro Boudreau, has motivated his top notch young musicians to perform at their highest capacity to the delight of concert goers.
In between seasons, Mr. Boudreau and the American Wind Symphony Orchestra along with special guest artists have recorded many of the commissioned works concert goers have heard during annual performance tours. A diverse collection of recorded music is contained in 10 CDs.
Bringing Music to the People
"Like those old showboats of old, it reached everyone – a wonderful cross-section of ages and backgrounds. It brought new music, challenging music, as well as old familiar favorites. Like a dose of instant culture, it was both festive and fun.”
--Louis Kenngott, Music Critic Milwaukee Journal
The orchestra’s audiences bring folding chairs and blankets to the riverside and watch in fascination as the shell of the orchestra’s floating arts center, “Point Counterpoint II”, opens and the music begins. From that point on, there is a shared experience between audience and performers that is remembered for many years to come. The music is unique and exciting, the floating stage is a one-of-a-kind wonder, and the setting is a harmonious blending of river sounds, the lowering sun, and camaraderie with one’s neighbors. Robert Boudreau has truly found a way to make the arts a part of life.
The Floating Arts Center
Point Counterpoint II
The arrival of Point Counterpoint II at the riverfront always causes a stir. The silver vessel, 195 feet long and 38 feet wide, was once mistaken for a UFO, as it headed for its harbor on a foggy day. This vessel was designed by the renowned architect Louis I. Kahn, subject of the recently released documentary film, My Architect, which was nominated for an Academy Award. On board the vessel, in addition to the central stage, one can find art galleries and a small theatre.
International Acclaim
European and Scandinavian audiences reacted enthusiastically to the wind orchestra and its outdoor concerts during its multi-year international tour. Liz Allen in the Evening Herald (Dublin, Ireland) wrote,
“…a spectacular performance of classics and jazz was given by the American Wind Symphony Orchestra from Pittsburgh – from the stage of a 60m futuristic floating center… ’Fantastic, brilliant, emotional.’ ‘It’s like the start of the Olympics.’ These comments from audience members summed up their reactions to the concert as the orchestra played on.”
Josef Frusch in Limburgs Dagblad (Heerlan, Netherlands) said,
“Clearly the real wind music lover heard what he came to hear with this virtuoso orchestra, which smoothly changed gears from complex modern harmonies to a big band sound, and then back again to a rhythmic pace which highlighted percussion.”
Of a rainy evening concert in Cork, Ireland, Tim Cramer in Evening ECHO wrote,
“For over two hours they stood…and clapped, cheered and whistled in appreciation as the famed American Wind Symphony Orchestra put on a performance that took the gloom out of the night and sent everyone home happy."