The Andrew J. Brady Music Center has dropped "Icon" from its name in coordination with a number of initiatives the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra announced Monday to honor the city's late "Music Man."
The music center, which opened last July at The Banks by the Ohio River, will modify its name to bring attention to Brady's legacy in the local music scene, Jonathan Martin, president and chief executive officer of the CSO, said Monday.
The venue was previously called the Andrew J. Brady Icon Music Center. And the center's website, which previously referenced Icon in its name, was changed to bradymusiccenter.com.
"It's for the simple reason that we want to elevate and really shine a stronger spotlight on the legacy of Andrew Brady," Martin said.
Rosemarie Moehring, a spokeswoman for Music and Event Management Inc., the subsidiary of the CSO that operates the music center, confirmed the name change, echoing the decision as "an effort to better elevate and pay tribute to the legacy of Andrew J. Brady and his contributions to the community."
In addition to the music center name change, CSO also announced the formation of an inaugural concert series and internship program that will also be named after Brady.
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The Andrew J. Brady Neighborhood Concert Series will present at least five free concerts to the public next summer and each summer moving forward, Martin said. Concerts at Maple Ridge Lodge, St. Aloysius, Laurel Park and Owl's Nest Park have already been scheduled for next summer. Each concert will feature a partnership with the communities it takes place in to provide a needs-based performance fit to each area.
The Andrew J. Brady Internship Program began in the fall and allows interns the ability to gain "direct experience in orchestra administration," according to a news release. The internship is a season-long paid internship that aims to "elevate students from backgrounds not significantly represented in the orchestra industry." The orchestra previously had an unpaid internship but presenting students the opportunity of a unique hands-on experience at a music organization that is paid, was "the right thing to do," Martin said.
The initiatives and name change are part of a broader approach by CSO to reach out to communities in Cincinnati it hasn't fully reached before. It's something Martin said Brady embodied as a longtime teacher.
"The Brady name on this is really very simple," Martin said. "The work that he did in this community, he sort of worked in relative obscurity for decades as a teacher at Western Hills High School. But what drove him was the power of music to change kids' lives."
Who is Andrew J. Brady?
Considered more than a teacher by students, Brady served as the band and orchestra director at Western Hills High School from 1944 to 1976.
Brady was a Cincinnati transplant who made his way to the city through studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He taught music at Rothenberg Elementary School in Over-The-Rhine before landing at Western Hills High School.
Brady also performed in area jazz bands on weekend and led popular band concerts throughout Hamilton County.
CSO's initiatives under Brady's name were made possible with the help of a "substantial" donation from an anonymous donor, Martin said.
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