Maestro (The Conductor)

As a part of the 2007 Oklahoma Centennial Celebration, a huge surge of public art was scattered all across Oklahoma City. This monument is placed in Bicentennial Park in front of the Civic Center Music Hall. It honors the current maestro of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Joel Levine. Levine is the longest serving music director in Oklahoma City’s history. He has taken a very active role in the cultural life of Oklahoma City since his arrival in 1976. His involvement includes activism for the MAPS 1 project and the renovation of the Civic Center, home of the Philharmonic. In 1989, he received The Governor’s Arts Award. Additionally, he was named Oklahoma Musician of the year in 1991, was a 2008 “Treasures of Tomorrow” honoree of the Oklahoma Health Center Foundation, and received an Honorary Doctorate in Music from Oklahoma City University. The statue also pays tribute to the previous conductors Ralph Rose, Victor Alessandro, Guy Fraser Harrison, Ray Luke, Ainslee Cox, and Luis Herrera de la Fuente. Their names are found on the marble base.