Music: “Chicago Symphony Orchestra Librarians Know the Score”

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Shortly before each Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert is set to begin, someone discreetly walks onstage to place a score on the conductor’s music stand, then returns to retrieve it when that first piece is over — a process repeated for each selection on the program.

Those brief, easy-to-ignore trips across the stage are the only times that audiences get a glimpse at the three staff members who work in one of the CSO’s most important if little-known behind-the-scenes departments — its library.

Located one floor below the Orchestra Hall stage, this windowless space serves as a repository for the music the orchestra owns and a work space for three librarians.

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The current librarians have been together since April 2000, but things are about to change after the 2022-23 season ends in June. Principal librarian Peter Conover is retiring. The process to fill his position is well underway. The search is being handled much the same way the CSO handles player auditions because the librarians are considered members of the orchestra, with union representation and the same pay and benefits.

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A big transformation in how orchestra libraries function could come with the potential switch from paper scores and parts to electronic tablets, often with wireless pedals to turn the pages. Many chamber ensembles and college musicians use such tablets, and a few recent soloists, like artist-in-residence Hilary Hahn, have employed them during appearances with the CSO.

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