(Posted this afternoon on the TONY Blog)

That
seismic ripple you just felt rumbling through New York City's
classical-music community was the bombshell announcement that George
Steel, daredevil impresario of the Miller Theatre at Columbia University, has accepted the position of general director at the Dallas Opera,
effective as of October 1, 2008. Steel, a 41-year-old Maryland native
and Yale University graduate, is set to become the company's sixth
general director in its 52-year history, and will take over in plenty
of time to usher it into its new home, the Margot and Bill
Winspear Opera House at the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, in Fall 2009.

"I have family connections in Dallas as far back as the 19th
century, so coming to Dallas is something of a spiritual return," Steel
said in a press statement circulated this afternoon. "Yet in many ways,
Dallas will be a 'Brave New World.' The challenge to build a 21st
century opera company equal to its remarkable new venue proved
impossible to resist."

We have to confess that we're pretty torn up about the news. On the
one hand, we can't possibly begrudge Steel such an amazing career
opportunity; this is, without a doubt, the next rung on an inevitable
ascent to a national arena.

The down side is that Steel is among the handful of New York arts
presenters who have truly made a lasting impact on the city's artistic
profile: first through his innovative early work at the 92nd Street Y
(where the Dawn Upshaw series "Voices of the Spirit" is still fondly
remembered by everyone who attended), and later with his complete
revitalization of the Miller Theatre as a hothouse for major
contemporary composers and rising new performers. Steel's expansive
tastes saw him devoting evenings at Miller to Elliott Carter and Steve
Reich, Milton Babbitt and John Zorn, as well as rising young composers
like Huang Ruo and Jefferson Friedman.

To the amazement of all,
Miller became a hot destination, packing houses with beards and
backpackers alike. A recent move into opera saw the city's first
productions of Carter's What Next? and Olga Neuwirth's Lost Highway, and the current season will open in September with Xenakis's Oresteia. Under
Steel's watch, Miller also became a major producer of early-music
concerts, many of which featured his own outstanding Vox Vocal Ensemble.

We're
sorry to see George Steel go, then, though it was likely inevitable
from the minute he started attracting attention. Columbia will have to
look hard for someone of his caliber. Dallas, meanwhile, gains a true
lone star — and becomes the odds-on favorite for a full-scale revival
of A Quiet Place, the misunderstood final opera of Steel's mentor, Leonard Bernstein.

Update: New York musician, musicologist, educator and recording-industry professional Roger Evans has some insightful thoughts to share on Steel's ascension and the house he is soon to command.