Recognizing, Honoring, Celebrating, and Thanking Robert Capanna on the Occasion of his Retirement as Executive Director of Settlement Music School.

WHEREAS

, Robert Capanna was born in 1952 in Camden, New Jersey, spent his early musical life commuting to Philadelphia for music lessons, and ultimately received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in composition from the Philadelphia Music Academy; and

WHEREAS

, In 1974, he was the Bruno Maderna Fellow in Composition at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood where he worked with Jacob Druckman and was awarded the Koussevitsky Prize in composition; and

WHEREAS

, Mr. Capanna is an active, widely respected, award-winning composer whose works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Concerto Soloists, Penn Contemporary Players, Orchestra 2001, Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, among others, as well as in numerous chamber music and broadcast series, and is president of the Presser Foundation Board of Directors as well as a member of the Board of Directors for New Sounds Music; and

WHEREAS

, In 1976, Mr. Capanna came to Settlement Music School, a community school of the arts, as director of the School's Kardon-Northeast Branch, and, in 1982, was named executive director, a position he held for twenty-seven years before retiring on December 31, 2009; and

WHEREAS

, During his tenure, the Jenkintown, West Philadelphia, and Camden Settlement branches opened, and, between 1982 and 2008, enrollment rose from 2,700 to 15,000 as the school's endowment grew from $1 million to $10 million; and

WHEREAS

, Mr. Capanna launched the school's Kaleidoscope Preschool Arts Enrichment Program, a daily arts-based experience for low-income children, greatly expanded a program for advanced students, and started a chamber-music program for adults; and

WHEREAS

, Founded in 1908 and attended since then by close to 300,000 students, Settlement, the largest employer of musicians in the region, with 325 dedicated faculty members, most of whom hold advanced degrees, is also the largest community-based school of the arts in the United States, awarding nearly $2 million a year in financial aid and enabling people of all abilities, age, race and financial means to participate in programs in music and dance to help them fulfill their greatest potential.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,

That it recognizes, honors, celebrates, and thanks Robert Capanna on the occasion of his retirement as Executive Director of Settlement Music School.

FURTHER RESOLVED,

That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to

Robert Capanna, further evidencing the sincere admiration and gratitude of this legislative body.

End