press release:

Prom 58, 30 August:
We are sorry to announce that Ildikó Komlósi and Ante Jerkunica have had to withdraw from this Prom. We are very grateful to Doris Soffel who will now sing Herodias and Marko Mimica who will now sing First Soldier.

bbc proms

The tragic death of Mary Whitaker, a popular violinist in upstate New York orchestras, remains at this moment unsolved. Mary, 61, was found dead in her isolated summer residence in Chautaqua County, killed by a single shotgun wound.

No motive has been discovered. Her closest neighbours, quarter of a mile away either side, were Amish families. The music world mourns a precious soul.

mary whitaker

 

Katherine Needleman, principal oboe of the Baltimore Symphony, has asked us to share news of the theft of her instrument in Montreal.

A  month ago, we reporteda similar loss suffered by the New York player, Ron Cohen Mann. It could be that some criminal is stealing oboes to order. Katherine’s Yamaha was taken on Tuesday as she and her family were checking out of a Montreal hotel.

katherine needleman oboe

 Katherine is offering a $1000 reward for the return of the oboe and to either contact yamahaoboereward@gmail.com or Montreal Police at 514-393-1133with information or to claim the reward.

 

 

 

 

 

The death has been announced by violin specialists J&A Beare of Michael Carlton Byrd, who maintained and repaired instruments for thousands of players. He worked at Beares for over 20 years, setting up on his own in 1996.

Among the violins that  he made, one was owned by Yehudi Menuhin.

Michael was 62. He died of lung cancer, though he was a non-smoker.

michael boyd

 

The cellist Jacob Shaw writes:

He was a friend of many many many top musicians in the UK and looked after all our instruments – very highly respected both as restorer and a person.

press release:
New York, NY (August 21, 2014) – The Metropolitan Opera and IATSE jointly announce tonight that new labor agreements have been secured with the remaining unions whose contracts had expired. Groups with new agreements include six unions represented by IATSE: Local 751 (box office treasurers), Local 764 (costume and wardrobe), Local 794 (camera operators), Local 798 (wigs, hair, and make-up), Local USA 829 (scenic artists and designers), and Local 829EE (bill poster). The Met also reached an agreement with Local 1456 (painter).

Earlier this week, the Met reached new agreements with IATSE Local One (stagehands), AGMA (chorus, principal singers, directors, and stage managers), and Local 802 (orchestra musicians and librarians). On  July 31, the original contract deadline, the Met reached new agreements with Local 32BJ (ushers, ticket takers, cleaning staff, porters, security guards, and office service workers), Local 210 (call center), and Local 30 (building engineers). 
IATSE International President Matthew Loeb commented, “While cost savings are comparable to other agreements reached, the terms and conditions agreed upon this evening vary greatly. These six agreements were crafted to meet the needs of our members and the Met.” 
met tickets