Robert D. Jorgensen suffered a heart attack in the middle of a July 4th concert in Akron, Ohio. He asked cornet soloist Carolyn Curtis to take over. Later that evening, after surgery, Jorgensen died.
‘The Freedom Brass Band of Northeast Ohio is very deeply saddened …,’ a statement said. ‘Mr. Jorgensen served the band since the fall of 2006… He was also Director of Bands Emeritus at the University of Akron, where he served for 26 years.’
Liz Kendall, who is running for the leadership of the British Labour Party, has said she wants arts money from the National Lottery to be spent on ‘deprived children’
Liz is the lone Blairite candidate in a charisma-free, low-key contest. She may have just blown her credentials as the middle-ground candidate – though we should remember that Tony Blair himself took a populist anti-arts subsidy line in his first years as prime minister.
We hear from Mikkeli, in Finland that Dmitry Masleev cancelled his concert last night. His mother died during the Tchaikovsky Competition and Dmitry is taking time out to mourn with his family.
He was replaced as zero notice by the American prize winner, George Li.
Gemma New has been appointed music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
She is only the second woman to take charge of a Canadian orch, the other being Tania Miller at the Victoria Symphony Orchestra*.
Gemma, 28, a New Zealander who studied at Peabody, is presently associate conductor with the New Jersey SO. ‘She’s everything we want in a music director,’ says the Hamilton board chairman.
UPDATE: Apparently not; there are more.
The Russian pianist Boris Berezovsky has given his views on the judging process:
‘I’m not satisfied with the results of the competition in the sense that our beloved Frenchman Lucas Debargue who deserved as a minimum a bronze, in my opinion even silver, was shifted to the fourth. Surprisingly, it was the decision of non-Russian jury members. The fact that we should respect audience as well who appreciated him and greeted him rapturously didn’t convince them. They said he’s not professional.
‘For me, the best pianists were these who placed first and last.’
Not professional? Maybe that’s why he’s so appealing.
UPDATE: Better to be unprofessional, here.
A South African tenor, Levy Sekgapane, last night won the 34th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, which was held in Amsterdam.
But the second-placed Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen won both the audience and the international media prizes, demonstrating perhaps a wider public appeal.
The jury was chaired by John Mordler, the former Monte Carlo intendant.
First prize (7,000 euros)
Tenor Levy Sekgapane
Second prize (3,500 euros)
Soprano Lise Davidsen
Third prize (2,500 euros)
Tenor Their Ki Park
Audience Prize (2,000 euros)
Soprano Lise Davidsen
Price of the international media jury (1,500 euros)
Soprano Lise Davidsen
Culture Minister Monika Grütters has secured a 60m boost to the culture budget in the coming year.
Much of the money (38m Euros) will go to cover rising wage and pension costs, but two Berlin institutions – the Martin-Gropius-Bau and the Jewish Museum – have been earmarked for extra support.
The Grand Prix at the Tchaikovsky Competition – a record $100,000 – was awarded to the winner of the male vocal section, the Mongolian baritone Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar.
The decision confirms public disenchantment with the results of the instrumental juries
A very long list of musicians has written to the Guardian, telling the Royal Opera House not to accept sponsorship from the oil company, BP.
We wonder, with respect, how they heat their houses, drive their cars… and why they clamour for public subsidy from bad Governments.
Below the list of names. And here’s the letter.
John Luther Adams Composer
Paul Griffiths Opera librettist and writer
Simon Holt Composer and professor of composition, Royal College of Music
Trevor Wishart Composer
Maja Ratkje Composer
Jem Finer Composer
Boff Whalley Composer
Georgina Born Professor of music and anthropology, University of Oxford
Max Paddison Professor of music aesthetics, Durham University
John Pickard Professor of composition & applied musicology, University of Bristol
Paul Whitty Composer and sonic arts researcher, Oxford Brookes University
Joe Duddell Composer and professor of composition, Bath Spa University
JPE Harper-Scott Professor of music history and theory, Royal Holloway, University of London
Niels Rosing-Schow Composer and professor of composition, Royal Danish Academy of Music
Dr Jonathan Hicks Musicologist and Research Fellow, King’s College London
Dr Anna Bull Sociologist and researcher in music, King’s College London
Dr Eric Egan Lecturer in composition, Durham University
Dr Geoff Baker Reader in musicology and ethnomusicology, Royal Holloway, University of London
Dr John Croft Composer and reader in music, Brunel University
Dr Stephen Graham Lecturer in music, Goldsmiths, University of London
Dr Simon Mills Lecturer in Ethnomusicology, Durham University
Dr Duncan Williams Research fellow in music and AI, University of Plymouth
Dr Sam Wilson Lecturer in music aesthetics, Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Dr Chris Garrard Composer and musicologist
Dr Graham Lack Composer
Dr Richard Bullen Composer
Dr Adam Harper Musicologist and music critic
Dr Jacob-Thompson Bell Composer and principal lecturer in postgraduate studies, Leeds College of Music
Anna Appleby Composer
Eden Bailey Musicologist
Tim Bamber Composer
Alan Bowman Conductor
Ethan Braun Composer
Leah Broad Musicologist and DPhil student, University of Oxford
Chris Brody Musician
James Bull Musician and sound recordist
Rob Burbea Composer
Lucy Cadena Musician and composer
Manos Charalabopoulos Composer and pianist
Ben Comeau Composer
Athena Corcoran-Tadd Composer and musician
Alex Cowan Undergraduate music student
Andrew Crossley Composer
Becky Dawson General manager of music at Oxford
Genevieve Dawson Musician and campaigner
Mudge FM Musician and songwriter
Robin Grey Musician
Martin Hagfors Musician
Kate Honey Composer
Owen Hubbard Musicologist
Marie Incontrera Composer and bandleader of the Eco-Music Big Band
Dan Jeffries Composer
Darragh Kearns-Hayes Composer
Alice Kelly Undergraduate music student
Luke Lewis Composer and DPhil student, University of Oxford
Sarah Loader Theatre Producer and musician
Ben Lunn Composer
David McFarlane Composer
David Mears Musician
Sally Mears Conductor
Aubrey Meyer Musician and climate campaigner
Mette Nielsen Composer
Lola Perrin Composer and pianist
Benjamin Picard Composer
Owen Roberts Composer
David Roche Composer and PhD student, University of Cambridge
John Rodge Composer, musician and teacher
Katie Rose Singer and musician
Susannah Self Composer
Julian Skar Composer and multimedia artist
Martin Stauning Composer
Isa Suarez Composer and sound artist
Anna Tam Composer and musician
Elin Vister Musician
Heather Young Musician
Signore Grigolo has been talking to Italian Vanity Fair. Indiscreetly.
I’m difficult to be with. I believe in fidelity, but that’s easier said than done. I like women. Yesterday I went out with a friend and he asked me how was it possible not to fall in love and become imprisoned by a woman; I told him, “Fall in love with another.”
The comments were intended light-heartedly, say Team Grigolo.
Read more, click on Gramilano.
Happens all the time. But not with a Supreme Court justice as the officiant.
Congratulations to David Daniels and William Scott Walters.
Full story here.
Just in:
he Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra – with music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin – is one of Europe’s top orchestras. Every year the orchestra gives over 100 concerts, ranging from appearances in Rotterdam to major foreign tours, for audiences totalling more than 150,000. The orchestra’s ambition is to bring symphonic music to as broad a public as possible. In addition, the orchestra focuses on adventurous and innovative projects. The orchestra is based at ‘De Doelen’ in Rotterdam.For our orchestra we are looking for talented, flexible and committed musicians who work with joy in a changing environment.
For our orchestra we are looking for talented, flexible and committed musicians who work with joy in a changing environment.
Currently the orchestra has the following openings:
