Grand Rapids photographer Andrew Terzes has photographed such notable figures as former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, CNN News anchor Anderson Cooper and and retired NFL quarterback Kurt Warner.
Terzes now focuses his lens on Grand Rapids Symphony’s new Music Director Marcelo Lehninger.
Five large-scale portraits by Terzes go on view next week at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. The display titled “Marcelo” can be seen from Tuesday, Jan. 31 through Sun. Feb. 5 at the museum overlooking Rosa Parks Circle downtown.
The series of black-and-white photos portrays “Marcelo as art,” according to Terzes, who owns and operates Terzes Photography in the Heartside neighborhood of downtown Grand Rapids.
“He’s awesome,” Terzes said. “A very kind man, a captivating smile and presence. I thought we had a really nice connection.”
None of the images depict the former assistant and associate conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a concert hall, though several have a musical theme.
Each of the portraits – 5-feet tall, 4-feet wide – occupies 20 square feet of space per photo. Not quite life size, but getting close.
“I wanted to do something a little different,” Terzes said. “I wanted to do something that would be very noticeable, very eye-catching, and very different.”
The Brazilian-born conductor, who was appointed Music Director in June 2016, is settling into his new position and getting to know Grand Rapids. Lehninger plans to move to West Michigan this summer with his wife, Laura Krech, and their daughters, Sofia, age 5, and Camila, who was born in July.
“We’re excited to welcome Marcelo Lehninger to Grand Rapids as our new music director,” said Grand Rapids Symphony Interim President and CEO Peter Perez. “We’re eager to introduce him to the wonderful community that he soon will call home, and we’re grateful the Grand Rapids Art Museum has given us this opportunity to help Marcelo become a familiar face and a well-known name in West Michigan.”
The photo series, which will be unveiled in a private reception on Monday, Jan. 30, will be on view in the upper lobby Secchia Gallery at the museum.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Marcelo to Grand Rapids,” said GRAM Director and CEO, Dana Friis-Hansen. “The Grand Rapids Symphony is a treasured cornerstone of the arts community, and we look forward to his dedicated leadership, energy, and talent as we continue the tradition of arts excellence in Grand Rapids.”
Lehninger will be on the podium with the Grand Rapids Symphony on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3-4, in DeVos Performance Hall for a program of music ititled "Mozart, Mahler & Marcelo," including featuring Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 with guest pianist Andrew von Oeyen and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, part of the Richard and Helen DeVos Classical series.
Andrew Terzes, a graduate of East Grand Rapids High School and Grand Valley State University, formerly served as photographer for Grand Rapids Ballet and served on its board of directors for six years.
He photographed Lehninger in color using old-style, Mole-Richardson Baby Junior lights, often used to create glamour photographs of actors and actresses back in the Golden Age of Hollywood.
“I love the quality of that light,” Terzes said. “I’ve always used it.”
Some of the photos in Terzes’ original series of 11 images are quiet studies; others show the conductor in action. One is of him listening to music, though not the Beethoven or Brahms you might expect.
“He loves to listen to Brazilian jazz,” Terzes said. “I think they’re all fun, and they’re all him.”
Terzes said he enjoyed his time spent with Lehninger who also will be in DeVos Hall on March 3-4 to conduct the Grand Rapids Symphony in a concert including Modest Mussorgsky’s popular “Pictures at an Exhibition.”
“I felt he was the kind of guy I could be friends with,” Terzes said. “Really, a great, great guy.”
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