White named artistic director of Clarion Concerts

Melissa White, Grammy-award winning violinist and UB professor of music, has been appointed artistic director of Clarion Concerts, a chamber music series based in New York’s Hudson Valley.

The appointment marks a significant step in White’s career and in the evolution of Clarion Concerts, a series she has long admired and participated in as a performer.

“I’ve known about and have been performing at Clarion Concerts for years with my string quartet,” White says. “It’s always just a nice trip to go a couple of hours upstate from the city and play for a very friendly and generous audience. It was really exciting, and I got to work right away.”

White, a founding member of the Grammy-award winning Harlem Quartet and an accomplished soloist, learned about the opportunity through her manager nearly 18 months ago. Although she had been considering a leadership role in the arts for some time, the timing of the Clarion opening worked well for White. Following a competitive selection process, she was named incoming artistic director in mid-2024 and immediately began programming for the 2025 season.

White says it’s a good fit for her schedule and vision.

“To start, it’s a smaller series — about four to five concerts per season. They were also going through a transition and looking at their mission statement, trying to clarify their identity,” she says. “That really resonated with me. Their new mission statement has a specific commitment to presenting, commissioning and fostering chamber music works by Black composers and showcasing Black musicians.”

White’s plans for the role include expanding the definition of classical music while remaining committed to its highest standards of performance. “A lot of times classical music gets put into a box,” she explains. “But the artists I know — many of whom I hope to bring to Clarion — are wildly talented and have so much creativity to share.”

As part of Clarion’s mission, White plans to integrate outreach into public schools and eventually involve UB students in internships and collaborative opportunities.

“Taking artists into schools helps me show my students that it’s really a 360 — a full-circle operation. We’re eternal learners. I’d love one day to even bring my students on for internships, so they can get firsthand experience.”

Adding the role of artistic director to White’s long list of accomplishments continues to benefit those who spend time with her — especially her students.

“This appointment strengthens what I bring to the classroom,” she says. “Whether my students want to be performers or arts administrators, I now have firsthand experience in presenting concerts and curating programming that I can share with them.”

White emphasizes the importance of modeling professional engagement.

“It’s important for students to see [their professors] doing the work — not just teaching about it.”

As a presenter of concerts, White says she has a new lens through which she views and hears students putting together their recitals and stage presentations.

“I can offer new advice and hopefully more inspiration for them to craft what they want to do — to strengthen their individual voices.”

White hopes to introduce new commissions and broaden the stylistic range of performances while continuing to share her ever-growing knowledge and experiences with her students.

“My students, in my eyes, can do anything. They can create and thrive in a career that brings them happiness and lets them pursue their passion. Any doors I can open for them to have that opportunity — that makes me feel privileged.”

White’s tenure as artistic director began with the presentation of PUBLIQuartet at Clarion Concerts’ Benefit Performance on June 14 in Ancramdale; her inaugural season will begin with a Sept. 14 performance at Hudson Hall by the emerging string quartet ABEYO. The season continues with an Oct. 19 concert at the Stissing Center for Culture and Arts in Pine Plains featuring an Argentine bandoneon player and a cellist — a cross-cultural combination that reflects White’s broader goal to infuse classical presentation with modern and global perspectives.

Her appointment is open-ended, with mutual hopes for a long and fruitful partnership. “If we both like the direction, it could be for a while,” she says.