Joseph Horowitz has long been the nation's most prominent advocate for re-conceiving orchestras as humanities institutions.  During his 1990s tenure as CEO, the Brooklyn Philharmonic became the first orchestra to receive NEH Public Program grants.  He currently administers "Music Unwound," a national consortium of orchestras and universities (including SDSO).  He regularly produces "More than Music" documentaries for NPR - including "Shostakovich in South Dakota" via the daily news magazine "1A."  His recent "manifesto" for American classical music, in The American Scholar, cited SDSO as a template for the future.  In Sioux Falls (he is a regular visitor), he most recently took part in presenting Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony and related South Dakota State University and University of South Dakota events.  As a cultural historian, Horowitz is the author of a dozen books dealing with the American musical experience.  His most recent books are The Propaganda of Freedom: JFK, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and the Cultural Cold War, and a novel, The Marriage: The Mahlers in New York.  His books have been named "best book of the year" in The Economist, Editors' Choice in the New York Times Book Review, and best book of the year by Society for American Music.  The New York Times has called hims "a force in classical music today, a prophet and agitator."