Chason Goldschmitz will formally assume the role of Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic executive director on Jan. 1.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Philharmonic welcomes new executive director
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Do you believe people become healthier when they listen to music? And when they sing? Or play an instrument? Or visit a museum? Or paint? Or dance?
“There’s a growing body of evidence,” Chason Goldschmitz said, that the arts can ease feelings of social isolation and depression, reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, help people cope with stress and reduce the need for medication.
“Especially when they share these activities with others,” he said.
Poised to formally step into the position of executive director of the Northeastern Pennsyvlvania Philharmonic on Jan. 1, Goldschmitz is already in town, learning about the community and planning ways to help even more people benefit from the art the orchestra creates.
“People with Alzheimer’s Disease who maybe haven’t spoken for a while, who can’t recognize their family members, if they hear music from their youth or young adulthood, they might start to speak or even sing along,” he said. “People with Parkinson’s, who might have trouble walking, are using music and rhythm to help them walk, and dance.”
When children study music, they make strides in reading and math comprehension, he added, pointing out those benefits are especially noticable among children from under-served communities.
And while social isolation was a problem before the pandemic, and became worse after the pandemic, he said,“The arts are here to bring us together. There’s so much we can do.”
Goldschmitz is eager to build on programs the Philharmonic has already undertaken, including sending small groups of musicians to play at public libraries and assisted living facilities, and hosting some 1,400 schoolchildren for a recent Young People’s Concert at the Scranton Cultural Center
“The kids were thrilled,” he said of the Young People’s Concert. “Our brilliant maestra, Melisse Brunet, talked to them about all the things to listen for. They loved her.”
As enthusiastic as Goldschmitz is about the Philharmonic, its board of directors is enthusiastic about him.
“We are so thrilled to have Chason as our new executive director,” president of the board Carol Nelson Dembert said. “We had a nation-wide search with responses from nearly 80 candidates. We had a very comprehensive, thorough and fair search, which resulted in Chason checking all the boxes.”
“He comes to us with a strong educational background, hands on work experience and expertise in all the areas that will truly benefit the Philharmonic,” Dembert said.
Goldschmitz’s qualifications for his new job include what seems to be a unique resume.
When he was a college student with dual enrollment at Julliard and Columbia, for example, he divided his time between the two Manhattan campuses and felt equally at home composing music, playing viola, discussing music as host on a university radio station — and analyzing sediment samples from New Zealand and Antarctica.
“There’s was always a feeling, don’t rely solely on music,” he said with a laugh, explaining he grew up with an appreciation for science and is grateful for the bachelor’s degree in environmental science he earned from Columbia alongside his first master’s degree, which was in music from Julliard.
Now that Goldschmitz is with the Philharmonic, you might think: “Aha! He ended up with music after all.”
But, not so fast. He hasn’t abandoned his interest in science, which included research in neuroscience at the Columbia University Medical Center. Learning more about how the brain works fits in well with his passionate interest in the ways music can benefit health.
Goldschmitz, who grew up in the Philadelphia area, comes to the Philharmonic from the office of internationally famous soprano Renée Fleming, where he served as director of production, music, and arts & health. Part of his job involved coordinating arts and health research, policy, and funding initiatives on behalf of the Renée Fleming Foundation, in partnership with Johns Hopkins University, the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization and other entities.
Goldschmitz said he’s grateful to the Philharmonic’s outgoing executive director, Nancy Sanderson, who has been guiding him through the transition period. And he’s looking forward to the holiday concerts, set for 7 p.m. Dec. 7 at the F.M. Kirby Center and 3 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Scranton Cultural Center in Scranton.
“Santa will be joining us,” Goldschmitz said with a twinkle in his eye. “All the way from the North Pole.”