San Francisco, CA – March 2, 2020 – Long-standing President and General Director of Chanticleer Christine Bullin announced today that she will retire from her position September 1, 2020. Board of Trustees Chair Keith Jantzen announced the appointment of Philip Wilder as the ensemble’s new President and General Director. After six years as Executive Director of New Century Chamber Orchestra, Mr. Wilder makes his Chanticleer return after previously serving as a member of the ensemble, Assistant Music Director, Artistic Administrator and Director of Education from 1990 to 2003.
“Over the last two decades, the prominence of this fine organization has continued to expand throughout the world under Christine’s expert leadership, creativity and steadfast commitment,” said Mr. Jantzen. “The entire Board of Trustees, ensemble members and staff would like to express our deepest gratitude for her unwavering loyalty and years of hard work. As we look toward the future, it is with immense pride that we welcome back one of our own family with Philip Wilder ready to lead us into the next phase of evolution and prosperity. In addition to an impressive wealth of experience in arts leadership, management, fundraising and publicity, Philip brings existing knowledge not only of Chanticleer’s operations but the core of what makes this ensemble beloved by audiences all over the world.”
“It has been an enormous honor to work alongside the immensely talented artists of Chanticleer, the Board of Trustees and staff,” said Christine Bullin. “The past two decades have taken me all over the country and abroad, watching first-hand as the ensemble has shared its unique artistry with an ever-increasing audience and I will forever cherish these memories. I look forward to taking my place in Chanticleer’s audience, rejoicing in its continued success.”
Ms. Bullin joined Chanticleer in 1999 and led the organization for 20 seasons. Under her leadership, the ensemble has expanded its touring territory in Europe, Asia, and South America; commissioned and premiered over 20 new works including John Tavener’s Lamentations and Praises; established its Chanticleer Live in Concert recording label releasing more than ten albums; won numerous awards including two GRAMMY awards and Musical America Ensemble of the Year; celebrated its milestone 40th anniversary season; created education programs that have served thousands of students each year through its Youth Choral Festivals, the Louis A. Botto (LAB Choir) Skills/LAB as well as Chanticleer in Sonoma for adults. Further highlights throughout Ms. Bullin’s tenure include Chanticleer’s continued commitment to recording and performing the music of the South American baroque including a noteworthy appearance at the Festival de los Chiquitos in Bolivia.
Philip Wilder stated, “I am honored to be returning to Chanticleer to assume the role of President & General Director. In 1990, Chanticleer launched my career in music when its Founder Louis Botto and legendary Music Director Joseph Jennings hired me to become part of the ensemble. Over the following 13 years, I had the privilege of serving in both artistic and administrative roles, which have provided the blueprint and inspiration for my 30 years in the classical music industry. In the intervening years, I have watched Chanticleer continue to grow and strengthen as a global force of innovation and artistic excellence. I assume my new role with a deep sense of awe and gratitude for the commitment of the Ensemble, Board of Trustees, and Staff to preserve Chanticleer’s beloved legacy while pushing the boundaries of repertoire and vocal virtuosity.”
With a career spanning over 30 years in the classical music industry, Mr. Wilder leaves his post as Executive Director of New Century Chamber Orchestra after six years of unprecedented growth. During his time, Mr. Wilder increased charitable contributions by 30% and ticket sales by 21% and founded an education outreach initiative entitled “Hall Pass” offering free access to over 1,500 students and at-risk seniors at 31 Bay Area schools and service organizations. Under his leadership, the Orchestra appointed internationally renowned violinist and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist Daniel Hope as the Orchestra’s fourth Music Director, embarked on its debut European tour and commissioned four major new works for string orchestra. Mr Wilder’s previous positions include Vice President of 21C Media Group, Executive Director of Communications for the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, and Associate Director of the capital campaign for the Harman Center for the Arts.
Over a 13-year period at Chanticleer, Mr. Wilder served as the founding Director of Education, Artistic Administrator and Assistant Music Director, as well as singing as a counter tenor with the ensemble in more than 1,000 concerts around the world. He was also responsible for launching the annual Chanticleer Youth Choral Festival for SF Bay Area high school students and led its workshops and masterclasses nationwide.
Chanticleer concludes its 2019-2020 season June 6-13 with five Bay performances entitled “Paradise” featuring a vast selection of sublime choral works such as Tchaikovsky’s Cherubic Hymn, Byrd’s Justorum animae, Victoria’s Ascendens Christus in luctum as well as works by Mendelssohn, Brahms and Schumann, and world premieres by Steven Sametz and Ricky Ian Gordon. Following these performances, the ensemble will return to Australia throughout July 2020, with appearances in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle and Canberra, followed by a debut in New Zealand.
ABOUT CHANTICLEER
Called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by the New Yorker, the San Francisco-based GRAMMY® award-winning ensemble Chanticleer has just celebrated the 40th anniversary of its 1978 founding. During the 2019-20 season Chanticleer will perform 57 concerts in 28 of the United States and Puerto Rico, 21 concerts in the San Francisco Bay Area, and 10 on a European tour to Germany, France, Poland, and Italy. At the end of the 2019-20 season, Chanticleer will return to Australia for the first time since 1997 for 10 concerts in 8 cities, and make its debut in New Zealand.
Chanticleer’s education programs engage over 5,000 young people annually. The Louis A. Botto (LAB) Choir—an after-school honors program for high school and college students—is now in its eighth year, adding to the ongoing program of in-school clinics and workshops; Youth Choral Festivals™ in the Bay Area and around the country; Skills/LAB–an intensive summer workshop for 50 high school students; master classes for university students nationwide. Chanticleer’s education program was recognized with the 2010 Chorus America Education Outreach Award.
Since Chanticleer began releasing recordings in 1981, the group has sold well over a million albums and won two GRAMMY® awards. Chanticleer’s recordings are distributed by Chanticleer Records, Naxos, ArkivMusic, Amazon, and iTunes among others, and are available on Chanticleer’s website: www.chanticleer.org.
Named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer was founded in 1978 by tenor Louis A. Botto, who sang in the Ensemble until 1989 and served as Artistic Director until his death in 1997. Chanticleer became known first for its interpretations of Renaissance music, and was later a pioneer in the revival of the South American baroque, recording several award-winning titles in that repertoire. Chanticleer was named Ensemble of the Year by Musical America in 2008, and inducted in the American Classical Music Hall of Fame the same year. William Fred Scott was named Music Director in 2014. A native of Georgia, Scott is the former Assistant Conductor to Robert Shaw at the Atlanta Symphony, former Artistic Director of the Atlanta Opera, an organist and choir director.
ABOUT PHILIP WILDER
Philip Wilder is a classical music industry specialist with over 30 years of multifaceted experience as an artistic programmer, educator, fundraiser, marketer, PR consultant, recording & film producer, and musician. A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, the Eastman School of Music, and the DeVos Institute for Arts Management, Mr. Wilder began his professional career as a member of the San Francisco-based vocal ensemble Chanticleer, where he became Artistic Administrator, Assistant Music Director and founding Director of Education.
During his 13-year association with Chanticleer, He performed in more than 1,000 concerts worldwide, and fostered collaborations with many composers and performers, including Sir John Tavener, Frederica von Stade and Dawn Upshaw. He performed on 14 Chanticleer recordings for Warner Classics and Chanticleer Records, which garnered four GRAMMY nominations and two GRAMMY awards. As Chanticleer's Founding Director of Education, he developed and implemented programs for music students in San Francisco and across America, including its Singing in the Schools program and the Chanticleer Youth Choral Festival, an annual event for San Francisco Bay Area high school students.
After leaving Chanticleer in 2003, Wilder was named Associate Director of the Capital Campaign for the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C., and was awarded a fellowship at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts's DeVos Institute for Arts Management. During his fellowship, he managed the first American tour of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra for the United States Department of State, and collaborated with Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser on an instructional workbook for strategic planning for emerging arts organizations.
In 2005, Wilder joined 21C Media Group, the New York-based independent public relations, marketing, and consulting firm specializing in classical music and the performing arts, and in 2012 he was named Executive Director of Communications for the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. During his 7 years with 21C Media Group, Mr. Wilder developed an impressive roster of clients, including Grammy Award-winners Yefim Bronfman, Susan Graham, and Joyce DiDonato; Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky, and MacArthur “genius” grant recipient Jeremy Denk. He also advised organizations, including the Dallas Opera, the Grand Teton Music Festival and Google’s YouTube Symphony Orchestra. In 2009, founder Albert Imperato named Wilder Vice President of 21C Media Group.
Currently, Mr. Wilder serves as executive director of the New Century Chamber Orchestra, one of the world’s few conductorless chamber orchestras, guiding the strategic planning and day-to-day business of the orchestra. Wilder works closely with New Century’s Music Director Daniel Hope guiding the orchestra’s ambitious artistic programming, recording activities, and growing concert seasons both in the Bay Area and on tour.
Wilder is a passionate advocate for classical music and music education, and has teamed up with documentary filmmaker Owsley Brown III on film projects that share stories of the profound impact of music on people and their communities. He served as Series Producer of the PBS web series Music Makes a City Now, which chronicled the first season of the Louisville Orchestra’s dynamic Music Director Teddy Abrams, and music consultant for the award-winning documentary film Serenade for Haiti, which received its world premiere at HBO’s Doc NYC Festival in 2016. Wilder served as a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, and was Executive Producer of the GRAMMY nominated recording Gods and Monsters, and the complete Benjamin Britten songs for tenor for the London, England-based AVIE recording label.
Press and Media Relations Contact:
Brenden Guy Media
Marketing & Public Relations
(415) 640-3165
brendenguy@gmail.com
marketing@chanticleer.org