This summer, the New Albany Symphony Orchestra is transforming New Albany into the City of Music. That doesn’t just mean a series of concerts: the symphony is bringing Viennese culture to New Albany for the first Rose Run Fest June 13-18.
The inaugural festival centers on Rose Run Park and the Charleen & Charles Hinson Amphitheater with collaborations across a number of organizations including Healthy New Albany and the New Albany branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
The debut Rose Run Fest, titled Summer in Vienna, will highlight the musical culture of Austria’s capital city.
Vienna earned the City of Music title for its association with iconic composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven and for raising composers such as Franz Schubert and both Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II. Many others, including Johannes Brahms, Arnold Schoenberg and Gustav Mahler are associated with the city.
During Rose Run Fest, New Albany residents will be transported to the center of that culture.
“Travel has been on pause the last few years,” says Heather Garner, executive director of the symphony. “We thought this might be fun to bring this great city to a more accessible locale.”
Rose Run Park Fest will culminate in the symphony’s Summer in Vienna concert on Saturday, June 18. The program for that evening will include many of the most recognizable musical pieces from Vienna. That includes classical works by Strauss II such as “The Blue Danube Waltz” and “Champagne-Polka” as well as selections from The Sound of Music, which takes place throughout Austria.
The idea first came from a series of 12 chamber music performances in Rose Run Park last summer. The recently opened Hinson Amphitheater presented an ideal setting for a larger, multi-day event. The concept of bringing Viennese culture to New Albany soon expanded far beyond music, though.
“Originally I thought we would do a weekend, a little music festival,” she says. “You know how these things go. All of us creatives start brainstorming and a three-day thing turns into a week-long thing.”
That week-long thing became Rose Run Fest. The week of events will celebrate Viennese food, art, dance and more.
“We did a lot of research into Vienna,” says Healthy New Albany Executive Director Angela Douglas. “We didn’t know much about it at first, honestly.”
Beyond its iconic classical music, Vienna is well known for its arts and culture as well. Important figures such as painter Gustav Klimt, psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and writer Stefan Zweig are associated with the city.
These individuals were inspired by Vienna’s rich culture of iconic fashion and brilliant architecture, not to mention its distinct and delicious cuisine.
“Always in my mind the first thing is music,” Garner says, “but I also thought of the food.”
Festival attendees can take cooking classes through Healthy New Albany focused on beer and pretzels or crisp apple strudel and schnitzel with noodles. For those interested in learning more about Vienna, the library will host curated book selections.
Inspired by the Viennese, many of the events will take place outdoors.
“Being out in nature is really important to their culture,” Douglas says. “One of their most beloved pastime activities is blanketing.”
That Viennese activity is similar to American picnicking. It’s common there to lay out a blanket for lunch or a glass of wine while listening to music or connecting with friends. One event during Rose Run Fest offers a hike that culminates with blankets and wine while the symphony rehearses.
In other events, toddlers can enjoy a nature class inspired by The Sound of Music, a yoga class poses in the park and musicians perform outdoors.
The performances during Summer in Vienna will be just as varied as its other events. The symphony will be joined by vocalists and ballet dancers for part of the June 18 concert and throughout the week, visual and performing arts converge in the form of plein air painters.
Throughout the festival organizations including the New Vision Dance Company, Hayley Gallery, Ohio Plein Air Society and Central Ohio Plein Air will collaborate on programming.
Together, all of these events and activities offer a chance for New Albany residents to refocus on the many aspects of well-being and mindfulness.
“We might be out sitting or walking in nature listening to music, and although that doesn’t necessarily overtly feel like mental health it surely is,” Douglas says. “All of those things contribute to wellness so it’s a perfect way to engage people.”
The symphony intends to bring Rose Run Fest back to New Albany for years to come, highlighting a different city each year. For an orchestra, though, there are few better places to start than the City of Music.
“The culture in Austria is so arts centric and music centric,” Garner says. “Everything centers around the arts and it’s a great atmosphere. I hope we can bring some of that atmosphere to New Albany.”
Find more information about Rose Run Fest at roserunfest.newalbanysymphony.com.
Cameron Carr is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at ccarr@cityscenemediagroup.com.
