America’s foremost music publishing house now comes with added hip credentials. He’s a hire from UE.
G. Schirmer, Inc./AMP Appoints Robert Thompson Vice President
G. Schirmer Inc./Associated Music Publishers and The Music Sales Group, the world’s pre-eminent classical music publishing house, announces the appointment of Robert Thompson as Vice President. Thompson will be based in G. Schirmer’s New York headquarters.
Thompson comes to G. Schirmer with a wealth of experience in the classical field having served for over 10 years as the Managing Director of Universal Edition. During his tenure, he expanded the operations of Universal into film and production and spearheaded the signing of new composers including: Osvaldo Golijov, Maria Schneider, Johannes Maria-Staud, and Daniel Schnyder.
Thompson is a double Grammy nominee, producer, musician, publisher, and educator. He was a co-founder of ArtistShare.com and served as Dean of the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase College as well as the inaugural director of the College’s arts management program where he taught arts entrepreneurship and arts & entertainment law.
“The Schirmer team is a dedicated, passionate group of professionals, and I’m honored to be joining them and the Music Sales group of companies in publishing and representing a dynamic and growing roster of esteemed composers and artists who are at the global forefront of contemporary classical music,” commented Thompson.
“I’m delighted to welcome Robert to G Schirmer and to the Music Sales family,” said Tomas Wise, President of Music Sales Corporation/G. Schirmer Inc./AMP. “His knowledge and experience in the industry and his creativity and enthusiasm will make him a tremendous asset to the Group worldwide.”
When the maestro goes on tour, he takes no chances. Here, in Tokyo last weekend, is Thielemann with his medical team – four physicians and scientists from the Medical University of Vienna who performed Beethoven ninth with the Vienna Philharmonic (one concert in Kawasaki, one at Suntory Hall in Tokyo). These 2 concerts were part of the Wiener Phil Asia tour with Thielemann performing the Beethoven symphony cycle.
L-R: Dr. Thomas Prikoszovich (Nephrologist, Singverein baritone), Prof. Dr. Bernhard Voller (Neurologist, Singverein tenor), Maestro Christian Thielemann, Ass.Prof. Dr. Dietrich Haubenberger (Neurologist, Singverein) and Dr. Manfred Hecking (Nephrologist, Wr. Philharmoniker)
The fellowship and organist at New College, Oxford, is as close as it gets to an archbishop’s post in music.
Edward Higginbottom is retiring, we hear.
The seat’s vacant. Apply here.
New College, Oxford, in association with The Faculty of Music in the University of Oxford, proposes to appoint a Tutorial Fellow in Music and Organist at New College, with a University Lectureship in Music, with effect from 1 September 2014, or as soon as possible thereafter. The combined University and College salary will be on a scale from £43,312 to £58,157 per annum (as at 1 August 2012). Additional allowances are provided by the College.
The Watford employment tribunal, considering a claim for unfair dismissal and sexual discrimination, has demanded the recall of Peter Crook to give evidence at a 13-day hearing in May. Mr Crook disappeared from the school with a £200,000 payoff after being videod in what appeared to be inappropriate conversations with students. His testimony would cause extreme embarrassment to the institution.
In this week’s tribunal hearing, barrister Tom Coghlin successfully argued that there had been a four year campaign of events against a teacher, Ian McMillan, initiated by the former Head Peter Crook and continued after Mr McMillan’s dismissal by the current Head, David Thomas.
Mr Coghlin highlighted numerous examples of discrimination by the school towards Mr McMillan.
Access was requested by Mr McMillan to an Independent Review commissioned by Purcell school Governors in September 2009, following two investigations by Watford Police and Hertfordshire Social Services which resulted into the dismissal of Head Peter Crook in October 2011. It is thought the report contains homophobic evidence relevant to this case. Forty eight members of staff at the school contributed to this report, which was conducted by two retired Headmasters. The Review has never been made available to staff or new Governors.
It is proposed to call Mr Crook to the full Tribunal in May, next year, and the logistics of bringing him from Dubai, where he is now still teaching in a British school, was discussed.
It just gets worse and worse for the Purcell.
Bennett Reimer, professor of Northwestern University and one of the foremost propagators of the public need for music education, has died, aged 81.
He was among the authors of the first National Standards for Music Education in 1994. His book, A Philosophy of Music Education, published in 1970, was translated into French, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Greek.
New research claims to show that audiences are more attentive to musical improvisation than to scripted performance. Really? We’ll ask the leading improviser (pictured).
Here’s the summary. And here’s some video.
Nicole Cabell is in Detroit, rehearsing Traviata.
But when they offered her the usual five-star downtown, she demurred. She’d found Suzanne Scoville’s duck farm and is much more comfortable there. Read.
This weekend at the Kennedy Center, Fleming has put together a celebration of genuine American vocal achievements. It’s called American Voices and it celebrates the diversity of American signing styles — spanning pop, country, musical theater, classical music, gospel and jazz.
She’s been chatting about it to fans on Reddit. Some gleanings:
– I think performers now are getting away from the straight jacketed limitations of genre, and wanting to stretch more – sometimes it works, and sometimes not – however, there’s no substitute for focusing fully on the thing you want to be best at first – there just aren’t enough hours in the day…
– I have a spreadsheet of about 120 (US) composers, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg – there are so many worthy and cultivated composers out there – wish there was as much interest from the public in hearing new things – I’m currently excited about Jimmy Lopez and Bel Canto – we are producing his first opera in Chicago, and it’s exciting indeed!
– Taste can be developed at any time – I discovered that I loved contemporary music when I was a student; obsessed with Stravinsky and George Crumb. Same with artistry and interpretation, however, your job as a student is to understand and absorb as much information from your experienced professors, coaches and teachers as you can – no sense in disagreeing with them, although offering your own opinion can give an opportunity for discussion. They’re trying to help – and there’s plenty of time for you ultimately to absorb what you’re learning and send it back out through the prism of your own thoughts, opinions and experience….. hope that’s helpful?
Seiji Ozawa came to visit the Berlin Phil in Tokyo.
We were particularly pleased to see this VIP visitor: Our old friend Seiji Ozawa listens backstage to our performance of Boulez’ Notations in Tokyo. Also on the programme: Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony.
Über diesen Stargast haben wir uns besonders gefreut: Unser alter Freund Seiji Ozawa hört sich backstage unsere Aufführung von Boulez’ Notations in Tokio an. Ebenfalls auf dem Programm: Bruckners Siebte Symphonie.
Photos: Monika Rittershaus
We hear he also came backstage at Suntory Hall to see the Wiener Philharmoniker, Singverein and Christian Thielemann the previous night, after Beethoven’s 9th.
Milwaukee photographer Rick Wood has been given all-areas access for a full working day with the musicians. His image galley is intimate and often unexpectedly touching. Watch here.
Violinists Joanna Grosshans and Alexander Ayers tune up for “Fliter Plays Chopin” at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. photo (c) Rick Wood
A former conductor of the Ulster Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic has been named as one of four men bailed by Greater Manchester Police in the course of investigations into child abuse at Chetham’s and the Royal Northern College of Music during the 1970s and 1980s. The other three have been previously named by police.
Nicholas Smith, 65, of Macclesfield, Cheshire, had his bail extended yesterday to February 2014. He has been questioned about alleged offences against a girl of 15.
Police said they were investigating 10 key suspects. None has yet been charged. Presumptions of innocence apply.
The U.S. Appeals Court this morning upheld US Federal District Judge Richard Sullivan’s
order to revoke bail for Alberto Vilar, sending the former philanthropist back to prison to complete his nine-year sentence (we are informed by a friend of the defendant). He had been out on bail since October 2012.
The order means that Vilar, 73, and his former partner Gary Tanaka, 70, must surrender to Pre-Trial Services in downtown Manhatttan by 2 pm local time where two Federal Marshals are expected to pick them up.
The three-member appeals panel also denied the defendants’ request for a stay of Sullivan’s order to remand the two to prison by today, pending re-sentencing which isn’t expected until early next year. In September the panel upheld the convictions, but ordered the district court to recalculate fraud-related losses which could reduce Vilar’s nine-year sentence. He has served four years already.
No all is lost, said Vilar’s lawyer Vivian Shevitz. Vilar and Tanaka could be freed within a week if agreement is reach on new bail packages, she said. In Vilar’s case, three of his friends had signed a personal recognizance bond for a total of ten million dollars.
Vilar was convicted by a jury in 2008 on all 12 counts, including investors fraud and conspiracy charges. Sullivan sentenced him to nine years under federal guidelines. Tanaka was found guilty on three counts and received a five-year sentence.
The government charged that the two former principals of Amerindo Investment Advisers Inc with have stolen $22 million dollars from a handful of offshore clients. Shevitz argued unsuccessfully that there were no losses, and accused the government of hiding material exculpatory facts from the jury.
The jury never learned that more than $40 million were left in frozen accounts at JPMorgan Chase, more than enough to make all “victims’ whole. This fact come out at Vilar’s sentencing hearing long after the jury had been dismissed.
The money was never managed and JPMorgan to this day has not paid any interest on these funds.
