In The Spotlight

A Conductor W ho Knows the Score

On the Fourth of Jul) Erich Kunzel '57 dressed patriotically in a rod bow tie. white tuxedo shirt, and bluedouble-breasted coat. Before an audience of millions watching on TV and gathered on D.C.'s National Mall, he kicked off the annual "Capitol Fourth" concert by conducting the Natonal Symphony Orchestra in a stirring rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner."

Kunzel has become America's national conductor and its leading champion of the pops repertoire. After graduating from Dartmouth, Harvard, and Brown, he joined the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 1965. As conductor of the Cincinnati Pops sincefounding in 1977, he has released 60 Telarc recordings, which have been nominated for five Grammy Awards (winning once), and selling more than seven million copies worldwide.

His latest allium is Play Ball!, a compilation of film scores and crowd noises from America's A lifelong Red Sox and adopted Reds fen (during ing the 1975 World Series he rooted for both teams). Kunzel watched 55 baseball films before selecting excerpts from Field of Dreams, The Natural, A League of Their Own. Cobb, and The Babe for the CD. The last track is "Hooray for the Cincinnati Reds, "Kunzel and arranger Steven Reineke's march-like tribute to the first professional baseball team in the country, f Dartmouth has 'As The Backs Go Tearing By' and 'Dartmouth's In Town Again,' so why shouldn't a professional baseball team have a fightsong?" says Kunzel.)

Whe's he's not at the ballpark or on the podium. Kunzel is instrumental in tile effort to expand Cincinnati's arts magnet school. To bolster aits education in the city, Kunzel hopes to build the school a neW home near the CSO's music hall, where students will learn directly from arts professionals. It should be a hit.

America's conductor Erich Kunzei turns his baton to nation's favorite pastime.