With a chorus of not only this one city but of the larger, international musical community, I too am shocked and saddened at the termination of Doreen Rao as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus. Dr. Rao is no less than a giant in the field of choral music and education. She is a superb musician of deeply held conviction who embraces the highest standards for herself and her ensembles. Most impressively, she engages both music and musicians with an enthusiasm that knows no bounds. Her removal is a serious blow to a city that can scarcely afford to squander great artistic vision.

Bold artists such as Dr. Rao are often controversial figures; it is hardly surprising that she would have had detractors from within the organization she led. However, the BPC Board's tight-lippedness regarding their reasons for Dr. Rao's termination speaks volumes of the inner-workings of closed institutions. Were there definable artistic differences or improprieties of any kind on Dr. Rao's part, they would have been made public in support of the Board's decision. As for the Board's stated dedication to "moving forward" in continued musical excellence, I fear they have severely compromised this intention through their silence. Any institution that refuses to act with complete transparency concerning personnel matters severely undermines their ability to recruit and retain top-level talent for the future.

Fear not – if the Board will not talk, musicians will. As a result, a whole legion of highly qualified prospective music directors will rightly look the other way upon seeing the job posting for Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus. This is most regrettable.


Tony Arnold, soprano
International Concert and Recording Artist
Associate Professor of Music, University at Buffalo

As a member of the chorus, I would make this observation regarding the board's vote to sever ties to Dr. Rao: Andrea Copley, vice president (who I have known for many years and who I both respect and like), contends above that "anyone in a board-employee relationship would have made the same decisions for the good of the BPChorus under the circumstances the board faced."

But this is clearly not the case. After all, the board voted 11-7 against entering into negotiations for a renewed long term contract with Dr. Roa. If 40% of the board voted in favor of negotiating to extend Dr. Rao's contract, then clearly not everyone in the board's position would have made the same decision.