Remmereit Fever

When the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra announced Arild Remmereit would succeed Christopher Seaman as the RPO’s Music Director in 2011, nearly every media outlet in town sent a reporter or crew to cover the story.  I think that everyone, whether they listen to Jay-Z or Jewel or Janacek, recognizes the importance of the orchestra in any city.  It signifies a healthy economy, it pleases the intelligentsia, and it inspires hundreds of thousands of people, including school-aged children.  An orchestra’s music director, at the head of the organization, becomes an instant celebrity.

So on the day of the RPO’s big announcement, I settled in with my TV remote to flip around, quite happily, watching local news stations explain who Arild Remmereit IS.  After a brief and thoroughly unscientific survey of reports, I’ve created a handy pie chart for you to illustrate Remmereit facts given the most weight by WHAM-TV, 10NBC, The Daily News, City newspaper, the Democrat and Chronicle, and WXXI.