By Estes Gould - The Daily News -

The Memphis heat may be a new and uncomfortable feeling for Chicagoan Brandon Knisley, but the city has something that still makes him feel at home: a strong music culture.

The city has a real identity,” he said. “You can immediately grasp that feeling.”

Knisley moved to Memphis about a month ago, joining the Memphis Symphony Orchestra as vice president of artistic engagement. He formerly worked in the artistic planning department of the Chicago Symphony, where he handled logistics and communication with guest artists who performed with the symphony.

“He is extremely dedicated to making sure everything is of the highest quality,” said Martha Gilmer, vice president of artistic planning at the Chicago Symphony and Knisley’s former boss.

Knisley’s passion for music has been a lifelong one, but it wasn’t until college that he developed an interest in the classical genre. Since receiving degrees in performance and music business, he has worked to support musical institutions and their engagement with the public.

“He just loves music, and he’s anxious to convey that to audiences of today and of the future,” Gilmer said.

Fittingly, in his new position, Knisley manages the Memphis Symphony’s logistics of performances, planning the season’s concerts and serving, again, as a liaison to guest artists and collaborators.

“Because the position has to interact with so many artists, our 75 musicians and conductors and guest artists … the ability to have a calming presence and demeanor is an ideal function,” said Ryan Fleur, president and CEO of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. “He demonstrated that he can be calm and accommodating, yet firm when he needs to.”

Fleur said Knisley’s leadership potential was a key factor in his getting the position – the head of a department of 80 people and about three-fourths of the organization’s budget.

“Right now he’s just getting his sea legs, but he’s really been building the team and getting set for this year,” Fleur said. “He has a very high bar in his mind for what to do and what to expect.”

Knisley said he is especially excited about one guest performing with the symphony in November: rapper Al Kapone. The concert is part of the Opus One series, which is organized by musicians and performed in non-traditional venues. The concept ideally makes orchestral music more accessible to audiences that typically wouldn’t see classical music as a part of Memphis’ musical culture.

Performing in places like the New Daisy, where the collaboration with Kapone will be held, demonstrates the connection between all types of music, Knisley said.

“Music is music, and there’s not that great of a distance between classical music and any other type,” he said.

But the ability to break from tradition was an attractive quality of the city’s orchestra, he said.

“There’s a willingness to try new things,” he said. “Music is such a rich part of Memphis’ heritage that a lot of the projects and initiatives that the symphony is doing couldn’t be tried elsewhere.”

The Chicago Symphony’s innovative Beyond the Score series has influenced his work with new and non-traditional projects. A program designed by Knisley’s department in Chicago, it emphasizes the creative process behind a piece of music. The Memphis Symphony will perform Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” in this style, acting out Stravinsky’s composing process as part of the concert.

His work there also strengthened his sense of community outreach – something he identified with in the Memphis symphony.

“The symphony doesn’t just put on concerts at the Cannon Center (for the Performing Arts),” he said. “And it’s not only the organization that has that mission. The musicians themselves are really passionate about the city.”

In Chicago, Knisley worked on a chamber music project, offering concerts to the public for free, and he worked to bring artists into schools and other venues. He said he hopes to bring that same sense of community involvement to his work in Memphis.

“I think that was something that meant a lot to him when he was looking at the position, and he was really enthusiastic about moving to Memphis,” Gilmer said. “He went there during the floods, but he’s seen all of its great potential.”

Knisley said he has been exploring and enjoying the city in his short time here – even the heat, as he and his wife enjoy biking and running in Shelby Farms Park and on the Greenline.

“With as much time as I spend in a concert hall, I like to get outdoors whenever possible,” he said. “And we’ve been making friends since we’ve been transplanted here, so I enjoy spending time with them.”