Stephen Johns, V-P of artists and repertoire for EMI Classics, is on his way out. Before the axe starts falling in the next wave of Terra Firma cutbacks, Stephen has lined himself up a new venture as artistic director of the Royal College of Music.

The idea is that he will train students to find a foothold in the performing sector – and, perhaps, in whatever corners are left of the mainstream record industry.

It’s a smart move by the College and its principal, Colin Lawson, and a sad day for EMI where Stephen looked after, among others, Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink and the Belcea Quartet. Would the last one to leave please turn out the lights?

Press release follows below.

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Royal College of Music

appoints Artistic Director

 

The Royal College of Music (RCM) is delighted to announce the appointment of Stephen Johns as its first ever Artistic Director.

 

Stephen Johns is currently Vice-President, Artists and Repertoire, at EMI Classics.  In his twelve years with EMI, Stephen has worked with artists including Sir Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink, Leif Ove Andsnes, Evgeny Kissin, the Belcea Quartet and the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras. In 2000 he was Guest Artistic Director for Spitalfields Winter Festival. During his career he has earned numerous accolades including three Grammy Awards, four Gramophone Awards and a Diapason d’Or.

 

Stephen read music at Cambridge where he was an organ scholar, and spent a short time teaching at Trinity Boys School early in his career.  He now looks forward to returning to education: “I am pleased to be moving into an area where I can share what I have learned working with artists at the highest level in the studio and beyond.  I hope also to help to provide the framework and to inspire the next generation of musicians to find new, exciting and innovative ways to perform their art.”

 

Director of the Royal College of Music Professor Colin Lawson said: “We are very excited to have appointed someone of Stephen’s calibre and reputation.  Creating a role of Artistic Director is a radical new step for a UK conservatoire, one which underlines the College’s commitment to the very highest artistic standards. In Stephen, we have an outstandingly well qualified candidate and I am confident that under his guidance the RCM’s performance profile will grow ever more illustrious.”

 

Stephen joins the RCM on 13 September. 

The American Classical Orchestra is offering free – or rather 2-for-1 – tickets to Europeans who can’t catch a flight home by Saturday night. You will need to show a passport to gain entry.

The program is an all-singing, all-dancing Beethoven 9th with Handel Coronation anthems, conducted by Thomas Crawford (details below). Whether it will be improved by a bunch of castaways checking their blackberrys between movements for signs of life in the skies is a matter of conjecture. Anyway, if you make it to St John’s, enjoy!

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Beethoven’s 9th is the FINAle of the American Classical Orchestra‘s Silver Anniversary season; Program to feature 250 musicians and dancers AT st. john the divine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: All European-nationals who are stranded in the NYC area are invited by the American Classical Orchestra (“ACO”) to be their guest at the finale concert of their 25th anniversary season on Saturday, April 24 (8 PM). Bring your European-country passports and you’ll receive 1 (one) free ticket per person. The music director Thomas Crawford statedSome of our musicians are stranded in Europe. We are re-enacting a European coronation in a stunning cathedral (help them feel at home!). Beethoven Ninth is a people-uniter, prompts people to want to reach out with gestures of love and humanity. It refers to the power of nature (not volcanoes but the starry firmament). This is an overwhelmingly ‘happy’ concert, thrilling, uplifting, so it will bring joy and familiar ground to those stuck here.”

The American Classical Orchestra will also feature Handel’s Coronation Anthems with 60 dancers, and for the Beethoven 9th, four soloists will be joined by three different choirs, totaling 150 singers. The Coronation Anthems were written for Westminster Abbey, on the occasion of the coronation of King George II in 1727. The performance at St. John the Divine will feature dancers from the Purchase Dance Corps from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College, SUNY, and students from the Ballet Hispanico School. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony will feature 150 choristers from Trinity Princeton, Trinity New Haven, and the Cathedral Choir (of St. John the Divine), joined by soloists Arianna Zukerman (soprano), Heather Johnson (alto), Choong Lee (tenor) and Camille Reno (bass). For more information, please visit www.aconyc.org.

About the church: The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine contains the largest nave in the world, and has been the site of some of New York City‘s most breathtaking concerts. Its recent renovation was completed in November 2009, restoring the Cathedral to its original glory, following substantial damage from a fire in 2001.

About ACO: Founded by Mr. Crawford in 1985, the ACO performs classical music on authentic period instruments, specializing in repertoire from the 17th to 19th centuries. The orchestra’s mission is to render music faithful to the Baroque, Classical, and early Romantic eras.

Tickets are $75, $50, $35, Student $15 and can be purchased through the website at www.aconyc.org or please call (212) 362-2727.

St. John the Divine: 1047 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025