Music Australia, which tours music to schools across the vast continent, appears to be the main casualty of the government-ordered cull.

Successful music applicants for 4-year funding from the Australia Council are: the Australian Art Orchestra, the Australian Music Centre, the Australian String Quartet, CAAMA, Ensemble Offspring, Liquid Architecture, Queensland Music Network, the Song Company, Sound Alliance, Speak Percussion, Tura New Music and Victorian Opera.

Defunded organisiations include the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Gondwana Choirs, Music Council, Pro Musica (Canberra international Music Festival), Southern Cross Soloists, Synergy/Taikoz, Topology, Wangaratta Jazz Festival and WA Youth Jazz Orchestra.

sydney opera evacuated

Music Australia CEO Chris Bowen said:
“It is clear the budget decision made a year ago by the then Federal Arts Minister is a key factor in the results announced today. This will see over 20 music and performing arts companies defunded. This will reduce our creative output, jobs, and opportunities for Australian audiences.

“More Australians attend live music than sport, and the live music industry alone employs some 65,000 people. It is vital that we focus our energies on developing and growing the sector. That has been Music Australia’s mission since day one.

“That is a sign of an innovative nation, one that boosts, not cuts its creative sector.

“It is disappointing that this decision comes when the organisation is enjoying substantial uptake in services and engagement following a significant transformation. Over 650,000 Australians accessed Music Australia programs in all states and territories in 2015.”

The Mahler Competition of the Bamberg Symphony, which ended last night, has yielded some outstanding talents in the past decade, and some outstandingly young. This year’s winners are all around 30 and the talent was too sparse to award a fourth prize.

Here are the results:
1st Prize (€ 20,000) Kachun Wong, Singapore (born 24 June 1986)
2nd Prize (€ 10,000) Sergey Neller, Russia (born 27 October 1986)
3rd Prize (€ 5,000) Valentin Uryupin, Ukraine (born 11 December 1985)

No fourth prize was awarded.

 

Bamberger Symphoniker. Mahler Competition 2016. Dirigentenwettbewerb. Kah Chun Wong. Bamberg, 11.-13.05.2016

 

Tonight, Kachun Wong, will conduct the Bamberg Symphony in the closing concert, during which all the winners will also be presented with their prizes. On the programme will be works from the Competition’s set repertoire, by Georg Friedrich Haas, Henri Dutilleux, Gustav Mahler and Jörg Widmann.

Wong-Kah-Chun

Kachun Wong is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Asian Contemporary Ensemble. March 2015 saw his debut with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared with orchestras such as the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. A protégé of Kurt Masur, he studied with him at five masterclasses in New York, Leipzig and Tokyo, and two with the Baltic Youth Philharmonic. In September 2013, he assisted Kurt Masur at the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

Kurt Masur has left a fertile legacy.

 

In their second snatch of the day, IMG Artists have lured Michael Fabiano away from ailing CAMI.

michael fabiano

It’s hotting up out there.

 

The heiress Eleanor McCain has fired back with a second deposition against her ex-husband, the ex-Toronto Symphony president, Jeff Melanson.

The latest round involves relations with their children, a reversible vasectomy and IVF treatment.

Nothing of musical interest. It’s here, if you need to know more.

jeff melanson eleanor mccain

If you’re a vinyl person, you need to be at the auction on June 19 at the Maison de la Radio.

See the catalogue here.

Everything from early Beatles to original musique concrète.

Most are being sold in job-lots. There are bargains to be had.

paris auction

Here’s the statement on her website:

Breaking news: Audra regrets that she must postpone her West End debut in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, but is thrilled to announce that she and husband Will Swenson are expecting.

As a result, Audra will continue performances of Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed through July 24, at which time Grammy-winning singer Rhiannon Giddens will step in as Lottie Gee and choreographer and tap legend Savion Glover will join the cast. Audra will return to Shuffle Along in the winter following her temporary maternity leave.

audra mcdonald

The Brussels decision to end funding for the European Union Youth Orchestra has all the hallmarks of standard practise. It’s why so many citizens of Europe hate and despise its governing bodies.

The cut was arbitrary, unreasoned and intended to be fatal, giving the orchestra no time to find alternative sources of funding.

The men behind the decision are answerable to no-one. They will keep their fat seats regardless of the outcome of any decision they make. Who was the last EU Commissioner to be fired for incompetence?

So let’s name the guilty men: Culture Youth and Sport Commissioner Tibor Navracsics.

Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament and Honorary President of the EUYO,

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission.

The EUYO website is asking supporters to write to these pen-pushers. It also seeks donations to help fight closure. The loss of subsidy amounts to 600,000 Euros.

Check the EUYO website for ways to help the fightback.

Let’s storm the Juncker bunker.

euyo1

 

The National Endowment for the Arts has given $25,000 to the Nashville Symphony to record John Harbison’s post-9/11 Requiem.

It will be released on Naxos.

03 3496-Nashville-Symphony-packed-house-300x300

IMG have signed the remarkable violinist Daishin Kashimoto in a bid to develop his solo career.

Daishin was appointed first concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2009 and has appeared as a soloist with the orchestra under the batons of Sir Simon Rattle and Andris Nelsons.

Daishin Kashimoto

 

San Franciso Opera wants word to get out about its upcoming Carmen.

So it’s handing out free seats to inveterate tweeters for the dress rehearsal.

We want your authentic opinions and thoughts, and perhaps even a scene-by-scene recap of the onstage action. In other words, we’ll give you an opera ticket in exchange for your stellar social media skills!

Apply here if you’re feeling stellar.

Apparently it worked rather well last year with Marriage of Figaro.

What do we think of this initiative (in less than 140 characters)?

 

Audience-tweeting

The European Union Youth Orchestra was the brainchild of Claudio Abbado, a means of bonding young musicians from different countries. In almost 40 years it has helped 3,000 musicians to find their voice.

The EUYO’s Honorary Patrons include heads of Government of all 28 member states, as well as the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Parliament.

Today, these worthies abolished the orchestra.

UPDATE: We’ve been informed that the member governments are each prepared to continue their national subsidy. But the EU Commission withdrew its support. The resistance is organising.

First responses:

Sir John Tusa, Co-Chair said: “For 40 years the EUYO has been the musical expression of European unity, artistic collaboration and partnership. It is a tragedy that the European Community seems no longer to value such work as a key part of the European project.”

Ian Stoutzker, CBE, Co-Chair, said: “I and others became Trustees in 2014 with the sole aim of helping the EUYO to fulfil its mission at the highest level. Recent critical acclaim suggests that we are on our way. Should the Orchestra be abandoned at this point by the EU, the European Union will have scored a spectacular own-goal.”

Marshall Marcus, CEO of the European Union Youth Orchestra said: “If the EU is not able to help fund its own youth orchestra, an orchestra which is the only organisation in the world that recruits and brings together young people every year from all 28 EU member states in support of the ideals of the Union, then the Orchestra will cease to exist. A sad day for the EU”.

euyo1

If you have personal experience of playing in the orchestra, now is the time to speak out.

 

UPDATE: What else you can do.

press statement:

The European Union Youth Orchestra, now in its 40th anniversary year, is to cease operations from 1 September, 2016 due to the lack of funding from the European Union.

For 38 years, between 1976 and 2013, the EUYO was supported by the EU as a Cultural Ambassador for the EU.

Since 2014 a change in the EU’s cultural funding policy meant that the Orchestra was no longer funded by the EU, as funding was no longer given to any cultural organisation, but was only available for projects under the EU’s new Creative Europe programme. Representation was made at the time that this method of funding could not sustain the Orchestra, and that the proposed funding method was inappropriate. With no other option, the Orchestra applied to Creative Europe, and from 2014-15 the Orchestra received funding under the new Programme.

The EUYO was however informed three weeks ago that its Creative Europe partnership is no longer to be in receipt of any funding from the EU. Since that time the Orchestra has been in regular contact with the EU to attempt to find alternative funding from the EU. However, the funding routes so far suggested by the EU do not allow the Orchestra to plan any form of secure future.

Considering the high visibility of many agreed performances this summer – such as the Grafenegg European Music Campus, the Slovak EU Presidency concert, the Wrocław European City of Culture concert, the Alpbach European Forum opening concert and the launch of a major 40th anniversary 3 year tour to all the 28 Capital cities of the EU’S member states – the Trustees of the Orchestra have come to the conclusion that it would be harmful to the long term interests of the Orchestra, and of the EU, for the summer 2016 tour to be cancelled. They have therefore decided to take responsibility for the forthcoming tour, and together with the EUYO’s Residency Partners, to find the monies required to permit this year’s tour to proceed.

The Summer 2016 tour is therefore assured. Details of this tour are attached. Thereafter, without funding from the EU, the EUYO has no alternative but to cease operations.

 

euyo

UPDATE and reactions here.