Rising Stars in...Radio & Recording

Marc Geelhoed
CSO Resound Label Coordinator, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Marc Geelhoed, 34, was hired in 2008 to run the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s CSO Resound, label, founded a year earlier. “The Chicago Symphony didn’t make any recordings with Warner Classics after 2003,” says Geelhoed of the need for CSO Resound’s launch. “Major labels weren’t working with American orchestras, and the CSO had seen that the London and San Francisco symphonies had started their own labels.” Geelhoed notes that the orchestra as a whole “sees having our own label as a real badge of honor. It’s a point of pride to be making our own recordings,” especially since some have already won Grammy awards.

The CSO records everything it performs in Symphony Center for its archive, and concerts are post-produced to air on local classical music station WFMT (and syndicated nationally) three to four weeks after a performance. Additionally, all broadcasts are streamed on the orchestra’s web site for six weeks after airdate. Regarding streaming rights—which can often be a point of contention—Geelhoed said, “Musicians want to be heard, but they want to make sure their work is being respected. As management, we feel a great deal of pride in the broadcast as well, so it doesn’t make sense for us to toss things into the void without keeping track of them. Any broadcast is available for a defined period and when it’s gone, there will be something else. These conversations are always on-going—but everyone seems happy with six weeks.”

CSO Resound recordings are downloadable from a number of sources and are distributed by Naxos in North America and by Harmonia Mundi France in the rest of the world, meaning that the task of marketing and promoting the albums does not fall entirely on the orchestra staff, though they do work in tandem. Orchestra executives, Geelhoed, and a group of musicians look at each
concert season and identify what the high points will be. A producer—usually from outside of Chicago, Geelhoed notes—will be in the hall from the beginning of a rehearsal week to get a sense of the hall.

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Amanda Ameer is a publicist who started First Chair Promotion in July 2007. Among the clients she represents are Jonathan Biss, Lawrence Brownlee, Michael Gordon, Hélène Grimaud, Hilary Hahn, David Lang, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Eric Owens, and Julia Wolfe. She previously worked at McCarter Theater in Princeton, NJ, and IMG Artists in New York City. She graduated with a degree in history from Dartmouth College. She writes a regular blog on ArtsJournal titled, Life’s a Pitch.