There's tension inside the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.  New director James Burton is cutting a number of singers, making others re-audition, and some are simply quitting the chorus.

Some are calling it a purge.

The Berkshire Eagle has details here.www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/tanglewood-festival-chorus-undergoing-major-transformation,543356

Got a few million dollars for the best seats in the house?

(I receive nothing financial or otherwise from this, but found the press release interesting, so here we go...)

Harrods Estatesis delighted to offer to the market, a rare opportunity to purchase a twelve-seat Grand Tier Box at the world famous Royal Albert Hall, London, which hosts what is arguably one of the World’s greatest classical music festivals, The Proms. 
The 2018 Proms start on 13th July and run through to the 8thSeptember, when the famed last night concert is held and televised.  A Grand Tier Box affords an excellent view of the stage and auditorium, providing some of the best seats in the house.This particular Grand Tier Box has twelve seats, rather than the more usual ten, and places guests in close proximity to The Royal Box, providing an enviable view of many of the world’s most anticipated music concerts and events. In 2017 the Grade I listed Royal Albert Hall hosted over 390 shows and events, including the EE British Academy Film Awards, Titanic Live, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s The Music Of Bond and the European Premier of the latest installment of the Star Wars saga, The Last Jedi. 

The future owner and their lucky invited guests will have the opportunity in the coming year to see The Proms, Morissey, Toto, Dionne Warwick, Gregory Porter, Sheridan Smith, Foreigner, Marti Pellow, Art Garfunkel, Joan Baez, Level 42, Europe, Cirque Du Soliel’s Totem and such events as The Olivier Awards to name but a few: all of which can be enjoyed from some of the best seats in the house.  There is also the opportunity to support and attend the Teenage Cancer Trust’s annual concerts, which this year included Kasabian, the Courteeners, Roger Daltrey and Nile Rodgers and Chic.
The Grand Tier is best known for being occupied by the monarchy, with the Queen’s Box located on this level. The Hall’s long history with the Royal family stretches back to its opening in 1871 by Queen Victoria. The Hall was originally to be named the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but was changed to the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences in 1867, in memory of her husband and consort. Upon the Hall’s opening, Queen Victoria acquired 20 boxes on this tier.     
In purchasing the box, the owner will automatically receive a membership to the Corporation of the Halls of Arts and Science. The membership was granted to the individuals who put up the capital to fund the building of the hall in the 1860s, who then acquired seats in return for governing the Hall for the nation’s benefit. As a member, the owner of the Box will be responsible for such duties as electing the Council and the Hall’s President, approving the level of the annual contribution, and ensuring that the purposes and traditions of the Corporation are upheld.             
Jake Irwin-Brown, Sales Negotiator, Harrods Estates commented: 

“Grand Tier Boxes at The Royal Albert Hall rarely come to market, this is only the second in nearly a decade that Harrods Estates has been instructed on and this particular Box is located only two boxes away from The Royal Box: perhaps Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex will be part of the audience at The Proms or future events.“
“Boxes of this nature tend to appreciate greatly over time and are a genuine generational purchase: ideal for entertaining, with twelve seats, it provides enviable views over the main stage and auditorium. Harrods Estates has become the agent of choice for the sale of seats and boxes in the Royal Albert Hall and has successfully handled a number of sales, with the last box having sold to a true lover of the arts. I would anticipate that this will go to a similar investor.”                                                                    

This is only the second Grand Tier Box to have been made available through Harrods Estates in almost a decade and is offered for sale leasehold (848 years unexpired).  Available exclusively through Harrods Estates, offers in excess of £3,000,000 are invited.  

You can learn more at www.harrodsestates.com.                                                                                                       

I spoke a short time ago with Frank Christel of the Wind & Rhythm organization.

Doug passed away unexpectedly in his sleep.  He was in good physical condition, working out regularly, so his passing was quite a shock to everyone who worked with him.

At any rate, plans are being made to continue the program with a new host, but with very much the same format. There will be a few encore episodes in the meantime while the staff works through the details, but the show will go on.

I imagine Doug would have wanted that.

Doug Brown, host of Wind & Rhythm, a program of wind band music carried on a number of public radio stations across the country, passed away suddenly.

We have no information at this time regarding the future of the program, but it is certainly hoped that someone else will pick up the baton.

Dallas Symphony Association Chairman of the Board of Governors Sanjiv Yajnik and President & CEO Kim Noltemy announced yesterday that conductor Fabio Luisi has been appointed to the Louise W. & Edmund J. Kahn Music Directorship of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO), giving his first performance as Music Director Designate next spring. His tenure begins in the 2019-20 season, and he assumes the title of Music Director in the 2020-21 season, succeeding Jaap van Zweden, who ended his decade-long tenure as Music Director in May 2018.

Best known to American audiences for his acclaimed work as Principal Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera and guest engagements with leading U.S. orchestras, Fabio Luisi currently holds three key European positions: Principal Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, General Music Director of the Zurich Opera, and Music Director of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. His previous orchestral posts include tenures as Chief Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, General Music Director of the Staatskapelle Dresden, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, and Musical Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. He is also Music Director of the summer “Festival della Valle d’Itria” in Italy’s Martina Franca.

Luisi was born in Genoa, Italy, and currently resides with his wife, celebrated photographer and violinist Barbara Luisi, in New York and Zurich. Off the podium, he is something of a renaissance man, whose passions range from literature and cinema to cooking and perfumery; his personal perfume line was featured on CBS Sunday Morning in 2015. As Vanity Fair observes, he is a “remarkable man, who in person is modest, impeccably turned out, and immensely likeable.”
 
Luisi first appeared with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 2002, and made his long-awaited return to the Meyerson Symphony Center on March 8 of this year, when his “brilliant and elegantly detailed” performance of Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben highlighted “one of the most compelling guest conductor appearances in recent memory” (Dallas Morning News).
 
Luisi will return to Dallas next spring to lead a special concert. He will begin his official tenure as Music Director Designate in the 2019-20 season and looks forward to taking on the title of Music Director in the 2020-21 season, when he will conduct the DSO for seven weeks. Luisi will expand his concert week count in Dallas throughout the initial five-year contract period, which runs through 2023-24. He will conduct concerts in the Texas Instruments Classical Series, programs in the Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family SOLUNA International Music & Arts Festival and other performances throughout the North Texas community and beyond.