A Life in Music
Charles Ansbacher founded the Boston Landmarks Orchestra in 2001 as an extension of his desire to make the arts a significant part of people’s lives, whether they are rich or poor, educated or not. He has devoted much of his professional life to creating and applying public policy that brings arts to the general population. Following his position as a White House Fellow from 1976 to 1977, he served as co-chair of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Task Force on the Use of Design, Art, and Architecture in Transportation, which led to the allowance of federal funding for arts in mass transit projects, including the MBTA. In addition, he applied these policies as head of the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Design of the new Denver International Airport and as instigator of the integration of art into the Denver Airport, lifting the spirits of millions of travelers each year.
As a conductor he holds titled positions with orchestras in Boston, Colorado Springs, Sarajevo, Bishkek and Moscow. He is the Conductor Emeritus of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra with whom he has made several CDs. He began the Colorado Springs Symphony and still serves as its Conductor Laureate. Ansbacher has ensured that young people in Boston are introduced to orchestral music by bringing music commissioned especially for them to venues in the city including the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston and the Codman Health Center.
Along with his artistic endeavors he generously devotes his time to The Hunt Alternatives Fund where he serves as treasurer to First Night Boston, the International Institute and The Global Post.
Ansbacher's contributions over the years have not gone unnoticed. In 2009, the city of Cambridge honored Ansbacher for his core principal that art must be a part of people’s lives by naming a promontory after him at Fresh Pond Park. The Esplanade Association also honored him for bringing music to significant settings and raising awareness of the importance of open space in society. In 2010 alone, Ansbacher has received the Justine Mee Liff Spirit Award from the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, as well as honors from the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra for his contributions to the cultural life in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony Association for his contributions to the musical life of the Pikes Peak Region, and the Denver International Airport that dedicated the Charles Ansbacher Hall: The Art of Colorado to the conductor for his cultural contributions to the airport. Most recently, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation named a bench in his honor on Boston’s Esplanade.