Incoming SPCO president and managing director Jessica Mallow Gulley shares some favorites

Jessica Mallow Gulley hasn’t moved to the Twin Cities yet, but she is looking forward to making it her new home. “This has long felt like it could be a second home for me, and now it'll just be my full-time home,” the Iowa-born Mallow Gulley says.

Mallow Gulley will begin her new role as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s President and Managing Director on Oct. 13, 2025. Before then, however, Mallow Gulley visited YourClassical MPR to be Tom Crann’s guest DJ. In addition to selecting three of her favorite pieces of music, Mallow Gulley spoke highly about the SPCO and what makes it a special and unique organization. Use the audio player above to listen to the interview and music, and find a full transcript below.

Selections Played

Gabriela Lena Frank — Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout
New Worlds
The Knights
Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Richard Strauss — Duet-Concertino: 3rd movement
R. Strauss: Metamorphosen
New Stockholm Chamber Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Paul Meyer, clarinet
Knut Sönestevold, bassoon

Ralph Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending
Pinchas Zukerman: Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon and Philips
English Chamber Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Pinchas Zukerman, violin

Interview Transcript

Tom Crann: I'm Tom Crann, and my guest DJ this afternoon has just been appointed the next president and Managing Director of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Jessica Mallow Gulley. Jessica, thanks for coming in to the studio. You haven't even officially taken over, and here you are being put to work.

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Well, hi Tom, I'm so honored to be here and truly excited to begin learning about this amazing organization. And while I don't start until October 13, really just so happy to start spending time in the Twin Cities and making this my new home.

Tom Crann: So let's talk about this new job of yours and this new orchestra for you. But it's not brand new, you say, because of family connections. You've been in the Twin Cities a fair bit, and have heard the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in concert. What were your impressions?

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Absolutely. Well, I grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the Twin Cities was, I would say, our nearest, best big city to drive to for many a fun weekend, as a young family, or even growing up as an adult, visited so many times, and now with family here in the city, I think I look forward to seeing this orchestra every time I've seen it in my life, and every time I am floored by the artistic brilliance, the incredible uniqueness of this amazing group of musicians and how they lift up one another in these, incredible artistic projects, presentations, artistic world class nature. So every time I see it, it gets better. And this new music hall that I'm so excited to see in person again this weekend.

Tom Crann: Yeah, the Ordway. It was built back, well, it's open 10 years now, and I can't believe it. I was there for the first concert. I can't believe that was 10 years ago, but that's the way life goes, and you can't believe it's a wonderful concert hall. So as a professional in this you come from the Kalamazoo symphony in Michigan. What attracted you to this position with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra? Tell us more about its either reputation or what drew you to it.

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Absolutely. Well, it truly is some of those things I mentioned, the artistic brilliance of this group and the world-renowned reputation working in the field of orchestras for nearly 15 years at this point and growing up coming to this wonderful institution. People know about this orchestra and how amazing it is, and it is a bit of a unicorn in the field of orchestras in the United States. And it is special for all the reasons that it is, but especially the innovation with which the season is programmed and the way that the collaboration is lifted up between the musicians and the organization and the community at the center of a lot of this. And in Kalamazoo, we really focus on a lot of those same areas of accessibility and welcome and the world-class nature of what we can do, and to be drawn here, to the Twin Cities, to many of those elements in a world-class light, it is just the ultimate dream for me to be joining this wonderful institution.

Tom Crann: Tell us about the nature of the SPCO as a unicorn. I like the way you said that. But in that what it does, I mean a chamber orchestra has a different role, a different function. And so how does that unicorn fit into the arts world here in the Twin Cities, as you see it?

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Absolutely. You know, so many of the things that make it special are very unique to this institution. For example, the way that the season is programmed, is led by the musicians themselves, and they are able to wear, through their experience, those hats of being programmers, as well as colleagues to one another and programming repertoire that features the individual talents of all of the members of the orchestra, and you hear repertoire being played at this wonderful organization that you're not hearing in other places. It's uniquely classical. There are some brand-new commissions. There are kinds of innovations happening here within the classical repertoire that you just don't see anywhere else in the country or sometimes even in the world. And it's happening here in the Twin Cities and uniquely here.

Tom Crann: Well, you brought some music with us as we talked this afternoon, and tell us first here about An Andean Walkabout. This is music by Gabriela Lena Frank.

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Absolutely. So one of my very favorite modern composers, you know, living now, writing with the voice of today. And I was inspired to choose this particular piece, actually by another work that's on the SPCO season this year, coming to us in late January, on the 30th through February 1, a new world premiere of a brand-new commission that she's done really inspired, actually, by the Audubon Society and experience and lifting up some issues of now, including climate change and certain collaborations and influences she's brought into this brand-new world premiere. But this Andean Walkabout, I believe the SPCO played in the COVID time, and it just so happens that this is one of my all-time favorite pieces that she has written, and it brings in so many elements of movement and rhythm and versatility that I think, I hope, in the recording you play, everyone will hear the unique way that the musicians at the SPCO highlight the language of this rhythmic premiere.

Tom Crann: We're going to hear, because the SPCO hasn't recorded it commercially, The Knights. And this is the Andean Walkabout by Gabriela Lena Frank, my guest this hour is Jessica Mallow Gulley here on YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio, she's the incoming president and Managing Director of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

[MUSIC]
Gabriela Lena Frank — Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout
New Worlds
The Knights
Eric Jacobsen, conductor

Tom Crann: Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout by Gabriela Lena Frank. We heard The Knights and Eric Jacobson, but Gabriela Lena Frank's music is also familiar to the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and attendees of concerts over the years. She has been programmed pretty consistently over the last couple of decades, I understand, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra will do a world premiere of hers coming up in January as a Sandbox Concert.

I'm Tom Crann, it's your classical Minnesota Public Radio, and with me this afternoon, our guest DJ who's picked the music, Jessica Mallow Gulley, the incoming president of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. And tell me about the Sandbox Concert and Series where the next new work by Gabriela Lena Frank will be played.

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Absolutely. I mean, we spoke a little bit earlier about the nature of innovation at the SPCO. And I think the Sandbox Series is one of the most unique ways that I'm seeing that we can have a long-term partnership with someone who can return and know the institution and know the inspirations of the world that they would like to bring to the Twin Cities, to our organization, and be able to create something new from their own inspiration. And so, you know, the piece that we'll be playing in January is amazing, you know, looking for, you know, the inspiration of the Audubon, you know, John James Audubon, in context of the ongoing ecological crisis, in this case, all painted through the musical imagery of birds and the story that will be told, much as that amazing piece that we just heard blended different cultures and rhythms and legendary figures that she drew inspiration from. I think we can expect in this world premiere and in this particular concert, all of the colors of the rainbow and all the tools for writing new music to come to life in the Sandbox premiere, but it's one of my favorite things that I see the SPCO doing that you don't see like this in a lot of other places.

Tom Crann: I have some questions for you that I'm sure came up in in your job interview to get this job as a head of the SPCO. But we have to talk about them, and that is this era we are in is not the best time for the arts when it comes to finances and prominence. There are challenges out there. There are headwinds financially and otherwise. So how is that affecting the SPCO? What do you see as the big challenges as you take over?

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Absolutely. This is a very fair question, because I feel like in the arts, we are talking about this a lot, because we have to. But what differentiates the SPCO is this brilliant team and alignment across the organization in taking a long-range view of stability and planning for, quite frankly, the expected and the unexpected. And I've been so impressed to see that there are active conversations about how to keep this institution in strong financial health for the long-range future as well as the short term one. And I know that there's a really important history of stability within this organization financially, but it doesn't negate the climate that we're in in terms of support is changing.

This is a difficult environment to be fundraising in, and it can be a difficult environment for donors to choose what is the most important thing to them when they're making those decisions about what to support right now as the world around us is shifting so quickly, you know, what will help someone choose the arts? And I think that's a question we're all asking as institutions: Why us? And it's not always the case that someone will wake up every day and just decide to give a gift to the orchestra. We have to fight for relevancy in the time of now, and that means being a welcoming institution where people feel that we can be a regular part of their lives in a way that matters. We're talking about that human experience. There are a few things now outside of the arts that can bring communities together, that can change the way people feel about where they work, where they live, and how they choose to spend their waking hours, than gathering together to hear live music, and the SPCO takes our own spin on that with things like Sandbox, with the unique nature of the way our musicians work together to bring world-class art here. And you just, when you feel that live, you feel a connection to something much bigger than any one moment, right?

And so as we look at the financial future, we're leaning into accessibility. We'll be leaning into some of the models that have differentiated this organization across the country, in terms of broad audiences being welcome here, going to other communities to make homes in those places as well, and just trying to ingratiate the organization into daily life in as many ways as possible. You can be a world class organization without standing apart in an elitist way. And I'm so impressed that this organization has been able to be welcoming to all, really.

Tom Crann: So in this age of streaming and a million things on demand right on our couch, and then also on our laptops, right, and on our phones, including the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, a very great collection of performances that are available for streaming. Make the case for getting in the car or on the bus and coming to Downtown St. Paul or out to St. Andrews in Mahtomedi and actually sitting there and hearing it live.

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Absolutely. Well, if you haven't done it before, it's worth the trip to feel the live human experience, because we know, even through science now, the way that music can resonate in your body, in your soul, in your connection to the energy of people in the lobby of the place that you are and the musicians on the stage, what you get from that experience is more than just what your ears take in. You're being part of a community that says that music belongs in humanity, and you're voting with your time and your dollars that it's worth having in the place that you live and that for your own wellbeing. There's something more there, tangible or intangible, that while I love the digital options, and we all need these as well, even however many times in a year or a season, you can make that trek, whether it's five minutes or 25 minutes to come and see it. It's worth it, and music can lift up a community or even your own being in a way that we're just starting to discover scientifically, is true, right?

Tom Crann: The incoming president, Managing Director, Jessica Mallow Gulley, is here with us this afternoon, and we are putting her to work before her even official start date, but she's here for, we should say, the first weekend of concerts, opening weekend by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Thomas Zehetmair and Mozart's Jupiter on the program and the Brahms Double Concerto with principals from the SPCO. Steven Copes, right?

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Yes, absolutely. Oh, I'm so excited that I could be here for this weekend, of all the weekends, to join the community in welcoming a brand-new season. My first season here with SPCO, we have Steven Copes, of course, on violin, and Julie Albers on cello in that Brahms double. So we're in for a treat. I heard a little bit of it this morning, and I can say, if you don't already have your tickets, there may not be many left, but you get three chances to come by and check it out.

Tom Crann: Right. It's tonight, tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon, right?

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Yes, all at the Ordway here in downtown.

Tom Crann: All right, what's next musically? What did you bring and why? Because this one I personally love, but it's a curiosity.

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Sure! Well, the Richard Strauss, the Duet Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon with String Orchestra. So I chose this piece for a couple of reasons. One, I personally love it. I love the music of Strauss. It's so musically complex. It's it's dense in all the right directions. You know you hear the dance between the instruments of the orchestra, and I love that you hear it not just in this piece between the clarinet and the bassoon, but in a duet-type fashion, with the strings that are not merely just an accompaniment behind this incredible duo. You do not hear this piece live very often — a sign of the brilliance of those who come together to do the unique programming of the organization at Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, but also featuring two of the principals. You know, here we have Sang Yoon Kim on clarinet and Andrew Brady on bassoon. And for me, coming into this organization now, I mentioned how special it is that so often we feature the talents of the musicians of the SPCO from every seat in the orchestra, and this, for me, really highlights how unique and special that can be — two words I've said a lot in this interview, but I hope you can feel my energy for just how incredible it is that we can play a piece like this here live for our audiences.

Tom Crann: We're going to hear a recording made in Stockholm, the chamber orchestra there with Paul Meyer clarinet And Knut Sönstevold playing bassoon. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts.

[MUSIC]
Richard Strauss — Duet-Concertino: 3rd movement
R. Strauss: Metamorphosen
New Stockholm Chamber Orchestra
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Paul Meyer, clarinet
Knut Sönestevold, bassoon

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Well, one of my favorite pieces, and again, you don't get to hear it live very often. So when you asked me to pick some inspiration today, the beauty and the uniqueness and the dancing lightness of that, combined with the two wonderful principals from Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, who will bring that to stage this April, 10 and 11, I believe. I hope others will come and join us.

Tom Crann: Well, let's talk about this model that the SPCO has had. It is not like other orchestras. It does not have the maestro, the music director, the one person who is the public face of the orchestra and chooses the music in the season. But it's done in conjunction with the musicians and artistic partners. The newest one, I'm looking forward to hearing Richard Goode this season. But that model, do you see that working in the future? And how do you see — how does it work?

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Absolutely. Well, just welcoming myself into this model for the first time, I think it's beautiful and brilliant that the organization has this unique model where the musicians can pull from their experience and their artistic inspirations and lift up one another through programming that highlights their talents in these unique ways with pieces that you're not otherwise going to hear. You know, in a traditional model, of course, as you mentioned, a music director will often make most or all of the classical programming and a lot of the personnel decisions around guest artists and collaborators in that way. But at SPCO, musicians are making these decisions in collaboration with the organization and the staff. And of course, the board is involved in the conversation to some degree as well, and it really brings alignment to a lot of what gets lifted up in live performance in that really, that unique way. So, you know, you don't see it a lot of places, but I think the size and the flexibility and the innovative culture of this organization allows it to work and thrive. And I look forward to getting acquainted with all the ways it's working now, and as we talked about the future for the organization, being really a partner for the organization in those conversations as it continues and evolves into the future. So really excited to get to know people and these inspirations and this model a little bit better.

Tom Crann: Well, Jessica, I can tell from talking to you, you're excited to take over as the head of this orchestra, and also in joining the community here in the Twin Cities and moving here. So I wish you the best of luck with that.

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Oh, thank you so much. This has long felt like it could be a second home for me, and now it'll just be my full-time home, coming back to the Midwest after being afield on the East Coast for nearly 15 years with different orchestras. But I think there is so much excitement and ease of living in this amazing place that it feels like it could be today. I know I'm working on it a couple of weeks from now.

Tom Crann: Well, welcome to it. Good luck with all of that, and good luck with this season. And tell us about the last piece of music you picked, because I have a wonderful memory from many years ago of hearing the past concertmaster. This is now — we looked it up — 28 years ago. His name was Romuald Tecco, and he played this as his last concert with the SPCO. And it was moving and wonderful. And I've heard it many times since. It's Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams.

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Yes, well, Vaughan Williams, just a personal favorite composer of mine. There are so many directions I could choose, but for me, as a musician, as also a vocalist, the treatment of melody with Vaughan Williams and the inspirations from folk culture in his writing really draw me to his work. And this piece is a special favorite, and I love that you have that memory. Hopefully, we can make a new one with you on March 13, I think it is, coming up this early this year. But to have Nina Fan playing, violinist with the SPCO, this work, I think all of the beauty of the treatment of the way the pastoral nature and the bird and the ascension of the lark quite literally portrayed through melody in his writing, an all-time favorite for me, and I hope you'll make a new memory when you hear it again.

Jessica Mallow Gulley: And this is Pinchas Zuckerman once upon a time with the English Chamber Orchestra. Jessica, thanks so much.

Jessica Mallow Gulley: Thanks Tom.

[MUSIC]
Ralph Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending
Pinchas Zukerman: Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon and Philips
English Chamber Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Pinchas Zukerman, violin