Not another calamity at the Oregon Bach Festival….

Not another calamity at the Oregon Bach Festival….

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norman lebrecht

February 11, 2018

Oh, yes there is…

The newly appointed program director of the OBF student academy, Marc Destrubé, has resigned in the fallout from Matthew Halls’s sacking last summer.

Halls had run the academy as part of his job as OBF artistic director.

Destrubé, a Canadian violinist, was appointed in mid-December as program director for the academy. He has now quit over further catastrophic decisions made by the University of Oregon’s hapless managers.

Read the latest lunacies in Bob Keefer’s report.

 

Comments

  • Pianofortissimo says:

    Very difficult not to agree with Mr. Trump this time: “Peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused – life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as Due Process?”

  • Bruce says:

    Ter Linden is probably breathing a sigh of relief that he doesn’t have to be part of the craziness in this crazyhouse.

  • Doug says:

    So sorry to hear that Marc is part of OBF. He deserves better. Great musician. Worked with him in the past.

  • John says:

    I’m an American. I have a good friend, also American, who has lived in Amsterdam for over 20 years. She once mentioned to me that modern Dutch culture has unfortunately retained some racist imagery from the past. This conversation was stimulated by the label on some Dutch-made chocolates she had brought me. She said the characters portrayed on the label (I don’t recall specifically the images) are from a Dutch children’s story, perhaps the same one that Jaap ter Linden knew.
    Isn’t it enough for ter Linden to apologize and explain what he has learned from his unwitting mistake? If he were to display a second racist expression, then that would be something else entirely.
    I am reminded of the time I was visiting Greece in the 1980s. I was in a bus and waved with my typical open hand at some villagers, whose broad smiles immediately dropped into angry scowls. I didn’t know then that showing your open palm to a Greek is a horribly offensive gesture, far worse then extending a certain American finger.
    I believe I am the same age as ter Linden. As all Americans of my generation, I was exposed to countless racist images, words, actions, etc. in the past. Learning the evils of racism is a serious responsibility. Despite our best efforts, none of us is entirely free of the ugly grip of racism.

    • Pianofortissimo says:

      Zwarte Piet, a folkloric Moor from Spain, distributes sweets to children in the feast of St. Nicholas. Nothing racist in that. Maybe you don’t like the personage because you are a dentist and want to avoid caries in the poor children?

      • John says:

        It wasn’t a candy-bearing Moor. Something to do with chimney-sweeps perhaps. I don’t remember the specifics as my friend & I did not discuss it beyond wincing.

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