Young baton gets big calls to London and Paris
mainLast week George Henry Jackson, assistant conductor at Opera North, got an early morning call from the London Symphony Orchestra asking if he was free to stand in on a new-music rehearsal until the travel-delayed French conductor turned up.
That went well.
So now he has been asked to stand in for Daniel Harding this week at the Orchestre de Paris.
Hmmm. A look at George Jackson’s website indicate that his accomplishments are rather more than assistant at Opera North. And he now looks rather older than the (presumed) teenager in the photo.
I’d suggest the real news here is that he’s not Venezuelan.
He‘s stepping in with 24 hour notice not just to the Orchestre de Paris, but the Ensemble Intercontemporain and Les Arts Florissants as well, all in one concert with two new works and the Ives Fourth Symphony. A huge gala concert uniting the breadth of the Parisian music scene – a mind–blowing opportunity for George Henry Jackson!
They’re playing Ives’ 4th symphony, which requires two conductors, so I believe he’ll conduct alongside Harding rather than stand in for him.
Not true @BP: Harding HAS cancelled the whole concert, meaning that they are also calling in a new second conductor to replace George, who was originally scheduled to be the second conductor.
No! Harding cancelled, Jackson takes over the whole concert.
Thanks. The public has not yet been informed. Pretty tough big on short notice.
*gig*
Because of the spacing on the home page, I keep reading this as “Young Baton Gets Big Balls To London and Paris.”
And just for a moment, I think “well, of course — you need those to be a conductor.” :-/ (Also: “did he have to pay extra to travel with them in the cabin?”)
Interesting sidenote – he is the son of acclaimed British character actor, Philip Jackson.