I remember a local performance of the Psalm a few years ago with the National Cathedral Chorus under J. Reilly Lewis.

I guess I really should call this series music I'VE been missing. Thanks for letting me know about performances around here that have featured composers and works that I think are being underserved. It encourages me to think that other opportunities will open up -- though, I suspect, most of them not in dear old Baltimore. TIM

Just one single performance every n years (decades?) doesn't change the picture too much.

And to really put an unknown work in the repertoire one needs its regular champions. But the performers take immense risks due to not infrequent negative critical reaction. An example is the premiere of Vincent D'Indy's Fervaal last month conducted by Leon Botstein. Notice the negative review of Anthony Tommasini in NY Times. I had the opposite reaction especially for the last two acts (agreed about the weakness in the libretto though.) Thus, I don't think I am going to hear Fervaal any time soon - even the Prelude, once championed by Monteux, Schippers, and Munch is rarely played.

The days of championing offbeat fare will probably not return anytime soon. Everyone's focused so squarely on the bottom line. I do think risk are possible, within reason and with aggressive, imaginative marketing. The starting point, for an orchestra, is for a music director to capitalize on personal popularity by reaching out directly to audiences, effectively challenging them to trust programming decisions and providing all the enticement possible. Soloists, chamber ensembles and opera companies can take this sort of personal approach, too, of course. TIM