Brian Frederick Dallow 1943–2024

How does one even begin to acknowledge the debt one owes to a dear friend who helped you found a professional symphony orchestra? Having just been appointed assistant conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and founding music director of the New Jersey Youth Symphony, I met Brian Dallow and his wife Rena Fruchter in the summer of 1979. Rena, who was writing for The New York Times and The Home News, called to interview me. It wasn’t long before Rena invited me to meet her husband Brian and their four remarkable children at their home in Plainfield.

In 1981, when I was appointed music director of the Plainfield Symphony, the Dallow family became my home away from my NYC home. Rena and Brian, both wonderfully gifted and accomplished musicians, introduced me to new people, new ideas and new musical resources, sprinkled with lots of laughs along the way.

Brian, born in London, was a pianist, composer, educator and arts administrator who had studied at the Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, London School of Economics, Brandeis University and Rutgers University with degrees in music performance, composition, theory and musicology. A true renaissance individual, Brian also enjoyed painting, sewing and baking bread! In those early days of our friendship, it was not uncommon to find Brian helping to prepare dinner in the Dallow kitchen, having just commuted home from teaching music theory at Temple University in Philadelphia.

After the Plainfield Symphony’s weekly Monday night rehearsal, there was an open invitation to stop by their home. So … I frequently would. And it was there, over many conversations, that Brian and I hatched the idea of founding the Philharmonic Orchestra of New Jersey (PONJ). It took until 1987 for us to feel ready to go public with this plan. By then Brian had already co-founded a professional chamber orchestra in New York City and brought a lot of experience to our process.

It also doesn’t hurt to have a spouse who writes music reviews and feature stories for two newspapers. Rena was incredibly supportive in getting the word out. Brian’s connections with other business leaders and politicians in New Jersey were also invaluable. He was perfectly comfortable picking up the phone and calling Malcolm Forbes and his son Christopher, or later-to-be New Jersey Governor, Christine Todd Whitman. For my part, I enlisted the help of Summit-based individuals who were part of the New Jersey Youth Symphony’s support network.

The founding of PONJ was an arduous journey. It was filled with long days commuting from Manhattan, meetings, word-processing, phone calls, ‘dog and pony shows’ and other presentations for potential trustees and major contributors by the two of us. But, on January 9th 1988 – through the good graces of advocates Nan Mantell, Betse Gump, Mary Horn, Marina Zazanis, Kasandra Romas, Kathleen Winell, and a host of other dedicated friends … and I dare not fail to mention our supportive, long-suffering spouses Rena and Marcia – Brian and I presided over the Philharmonic Orchestra of New Jersey’s First Annual Viennese Ball fundraising event at the Chubb Corporation Headquarters in Warren. We knew we had done it. We were on our way!

With revenues from that initial Viennese Ball, we produced our first full-length symphonic concert just two months later. Featuring music by Smetana, Brahms, Dvořák and Rachmaninoff, this event premiered an orchestra of 85 musicians – to a standing ovation and rave reviews – in the Hauser Auditorium of the Pingry School in Basking Ridge. This coincidentally is the same site where The Discovery Orchestra recorded its most recent production nationally distributed by American Public Television, Discover Saint-Saëns’ “Organ” Symphony, in September of 2022.

In 1991 Brian and his wife Rena founded Music for All Seasons (MFAS), an organization dedicated to the belief “in the power of music to heal, bring solace and to change people’s lives.” “Providing live, interactive musical programs to those members of society who have no regular access to the arts in hospitals, hospices, shelters, prisons and jails, halfway houses for foster children, and geriatric centers is at the heart of the work” produced by MFAS. Recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as a leader in “the arts in healing and wellness movement,” MFAS, with the support of Johnson & Johnson, has done groundbreaking research on the effects of live music on children living in shelters and for victims of domestic violence.

The thirty-three-year-old organization’s programs are tailored to meet the needs of at-risk youth, seniors with mild dementia, patients facing end-of-life issues, as well as those dealing with various kinds of trauma. Their professional musicians provide music as an active part of the healing process in five states–New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and California. Their groundbreaking initiative, Voices of Valor, began in 2011. This program brings small groups of six to ten veterans together with two musicians/facilitators for ninety minutes weekly over eight weeks. During this time, they use their shared experiences to write lyrics to a group song, set it to music, and record it in a professional studio. The final session is a CD release party for the friends and family of the participants.

I remain forever grateful to Brian for co-founding The Philharmonic Orchestra of New Jersey. The Discovery Orchestra could have never evolved without the prior existence of PONJ. And I am certain there are countless individuals who are deeply indebted to Brian and Rena for the creation of Music for All Seasons. He will be greatly missed.