St. Paul Chamber Orchestra to do without music director

In a striking departure for an American orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra has eliminated the position of music director. Beginning with the 2004-05 season, it will rely for leadership on a team of orchestra musicians and five outside artistic partners.

“In Europe, this would not be big news at all,” orchestra managing director Bruce Coppock said Thursday. “The Vienna Philharmonic musicians vote on every single item concerning the orchestra. The London Philharmonic and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe have a coterie of conductors who work with them.”

The orchestra’s first set of artistic partners will be made up of conductors Nicholas McGegan and Roberto Abbado, oboist-conductor Douglas Boyd, pianist Stephen Prustman and violinist-conductor Joshua Bell.

“The artistic partners will work three or four weeks a year, in staggered two- or three-year terms, which will ensure continuity and allow us to add new people to the process as it progresses,” Coppock said.

St. Paul is currently led by music director Andreas Delfs, who helped engineer the new model. Delfs will serve as artistic consultant for the next two years and conduct two programs.

Published reports that his departure would save the orchestra about

$1.4 million a year are untrue, Coppock said.

“The new organization doesn’t cost us any more money, but it doesn’t save us any money either,” he said. “Another misconception is that we traded artistic say for pay cuts, which the entire staff and orchestra took last year.

“Through all of this,” he added, “there’s been the recognition that the creative energy of the orchestra needed a big jolt to get unleashed. The musicians now are over the moon, they’re so excited.”