The board is hiring a mediator to hopefully settle the dispute. You can read a local report here.
In the wake of the firing of the San Luis Obispo Symphony Music Director by the board, it appears that the musicians are attempting to fire the board. They've taken a vote of no confidence in the board, stating that they can no longer work with the board.
The board is hiring a mediator to hopefully settle the dispute. You can read a local report here.
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I received this the other day regarding an opening for a classical music announcer/music director:
Kansas Public Radio at University of Kansas in Lawrence is seeking a charismatic, passionate individual to serve as Classical Music Director. Duties for this full-time position include hosting daily classical music programming on KPR stations, plus building community around it through the presentation of in-studio performances with area musicians and other live events, as well as outreach through other digital platforms. The Classical Music Director supervises the presentation of classical music on KPR, working with other program hosts to ensure that the format is successfully implemented at all times, and participates in the development and production of classical programming for KPR. Candidate must have previous radio hosting experience, plus a commitment to and passion for presenting classical music. Position is supervised by the KPR Program Director. Apply at http://jobs.ku.edu. Position #00007129, Official Title: Program Assistant. Review 7/1/15. KU is an EO/AAE. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, national origin, disability, genetic information or protected Veteran status. Applicants should also send a non-returnable aircheck CD to: Darrell Brogdon, Program Director, c/o Kansas Public Radio, 1120 W. 11th Street, Lawrence KS 66044. I never cease to be amazed at the poor way in which organizations handle issues. The most recent case in in San Luis Obispo, where the board of the Symphony has dismissed their music director.
According to reports in the local paper The Tribune, no one (except the board) had any prior knowledge that this was coming. Michael Nowak, the Music Director, was invited to a board meeting and at that time was informed that by unanimous vote of the board he was being terminated. To compound matters, the musicians of the orchestra weren't properly informed of the board's actions--some of them found out what had happened by reading the newspaper the following day. Musicians are demanding answers, and threatening to quit. You can read the whole story here. Here's a little article on the history of viola jokes.
I'm still wondering about all those trombone jokes... The Boston Early Music Festival will be June 7-14 this year, and among the offerings will be 16 concerts. Many leading performers in early music will be there, including Monica Huggett, Paul O'Dette, Sequentia, Hesperion XXI and more. A majority of the concerts will take place at Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory.
You can read more about the festival here. Now that I've disparaged one of Bach's sons, I'll say something good about another--this one considered by some to be the son who got the least attention.
I received a review copy the other day of a new disk of symphonies by Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (Brilliant Classics, catalog number 94780). The music is just delightful! These are early-classic period symphonies, well-played and a lot of fun to listen to. If these symphonies are an indication of the rest of J. C. F. Bach's music, I'd say he is undeserving of the lack of attention he receives. Bring on more of this! I'm prompted today to reflect on the music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach--mostly because I'm at this moment airing a selection composed by him.
I'm certainly a big fan of the music of J. S. Bach, and always have been. And so I'm trying--really trying--to like the music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. He was the second child and eldest son of J. S. and Maria Barbara Bach. There were other Bach sons who became composers as well, and to my taste, none of them ever achieved what their father could. But to me--well, I just think that Wilhelm Friedemann is deservedly obscure. The liner notes of this album state: "...his bold ideas were far ahead of his time...It is a rare concert today that includes music from his pen". I think the reason for that is that his music just isn't very interesting. You are certainly entitled to form your own opinions regarding his music, but if there are any W. F. Bach fans out there, I'd like to know what you hear in his music that I don't. Pensacola Opera’s Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of Maestro Jerome Shannon as the company’s new Executive Director. Shannon has been acting as Interim Executive Director since January, and has been involved with the Opera as Music Director and Principal Conductor since 2002. Pensacola Opera Board Chair, Lois Benson, comments, “…during his tenure as interim we discovered that not only is Jerry a talented maestro and a gifted raconteur, but he is also an inspirational leader of people. He has incredible business savvy, and he is witty and level-headed. An artsy guy with business acumen—think right brain left brain. When our search committee screened the applicants and conducted the interviews, we collectively arrived at the conclusion: we already had our guy.”
Praised for his “skill and verve” (New York Times), Shannon celebrates nearly 30 years as a professional operatic pianist, vocal coach, conductor and administrator. During this time, Maestro Shannon has held leadership positions with Sarah Caldwell’s Opera Company of Boston (Artistic Administrator, Assistant Conductor, Conductor), Virginia Opera (Artistic Administrator, Associate Artistic Director, Conductor), Pensacola Opera (Music Director and Principal Conductor), Shreveport Opera (Music Director and Principal Conductor), Mobile Opera (General and Artistic Director, Principal Conductor) and the Janiec Opera Company of the Brevard Music Center (Resident Conductor and Vocal Coach). An active vocal coach and pianist, Jerome Shannon has served as a judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and numerous regional opera voice competitions, an On-Site Evaluator and Reporter for the National Endowment for the Art and is the recipient of OPERA America’s BRAVO Service award for dynamic leadership in the industry. Shannon is a graduate of the College of Creative Arts of West Virginia University where he was a scholarship student of Metropolitan Opera soprano Frances Yeend and her husband, coach/pianist James Benner. On May 12, the 70th annual Prague Spring International Music Festival opens at Smetana Hall of the Municipal House in Prague. The opening concert will feature Ma Vlast (My Country) by Smetana as performed by the North German Radio Symphony led by Thomas Hengelbrock. Artists from all over the world will appear at the festival, which runs through June 3.
For more details on the festival, go here. If you haven't seen it yet, check out Google's tribute to Bartolomeo Cristofori, inventor of the piano (or generally considered so) on his 360th birthday. The doodle is interactive. You can see it here.
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AuthorI'm a classical radio announcer, blogger, and musician. Archives
April 2022
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