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To the Beaver Dam Area Orchestra Musicians
This letter is to inform you of my intent to retire as music director of the Beaver Dam Area Orchestra following our December concert of this year 2021. While the decision to retire has been a difficult one, it is the right one for me and my family. We will eventually be relocating to western Wisconsin to be closer to our kids and grandkids.
I accepted the position of music director of the BDAO in the spring of 1991 and began my tenure in September of that year. I was a confident and cocky kid of just 31 (yes, a kid!) who was replacing Maestro Glenn Wood; our orchestra’s founder, master teacher, remarkable musician and a man adored by our community. I could not imagine that I would continue in this role for the next thirty years! With the encouragement and support of my family, Mr. Wood, music colleagues, thirty BDAO boards, hundreds of orchestra patrons and scores of remarkable musicians, I have been blessed to participate in the orchestra’s growth in size and quality of musicianship, community popularity and ongoing financial good health. It has been wonderful being a part of countless rehearsals, hundreds of concerts with dozens of special guests and several world premiere works. It is important to me that I leave things better than when I found them and to stop while I still enjoy the work. The time is right to pass the baton!
It has been the privilege of my life to make music with you. I greatly value your musicianship, your encouragement, your friendship and our remaining time together. It is my sincere hope that what we have built together in the BDAO is only the beginning and that this remarkable ensemble will prosper for another 67 years!
Sincerely and musically yours,
Rich Zeman
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