Author: Ginger Dolden

“To get a sense of how much the environment of radio broadcasting has changed in the past half century, one only need ask CRB station manager Anthony Rudel,” writes A.Z. Madonna in Sunday’s (5/15) Boston Globe. “When Rudel took his first radio job at age 19 … the on-air announcers were all men … each boasting the mellifluous baritone voices that modern listeners associate with vintage broadcasts…. CRB … in Boston [now] aims for a friendly, let’s-listen-together vibe…. In February 2014 … the median age of CRB listeners was 74; as of this past February, it was 54…. ‘The overall attitude at the station is that everyone belongs here, because classical music belongs to everyone,’ said Edyn-Mae Stevenson, the newest addition to CRB’s weekday lineup of DJs…. The youngest [on-air hosts are] in their 20s and the oldest in their 80s…. Many hosts are engaging with listeners in different ways, and most are active on Twitter… In the station’s monthly ‘Instant Replay’ blog posts, digital content manager Kendall Todd compiles a playlist of whatever the hosts have been listening to on their own time…. April’s entry features a Bach organ concerto arranged for brass alongside tracks by Nirvana and Japanese Breakfast.”

“The style of electronic music and dance known as footwork might appear a strange bedfellow to classical music, but … Third Coast Percussion embraces the fleet-footed sound on Perspectives, a new album that pushes the notion of a percussion ensemble into fresh territory,” writes Tom Huizenga in Friday’s (5/13) National Public Radio. “The [footwork] style undergoes a mesmerizing transformation in a seven-movement suite called Perspective … by Jerrilynn Patton…. Going by Jlin, the electronic artist… did not score the work on manuscript paper, but instead brought her myriad layers of audio stems to the Third Coast musicians and together they fashioned a version that could be performed on over 30 instruments. Another unconventional partnership on the album finds Third Coast Percussion composing music with … the duo Flutronix, comprised of flutists Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull. Their piece, Rubix, features punchy flutes dancing over a chilled-out vibraphone, and foggy episodes where marimba, whirly tube and bowed flexatone provide an evocative backdrop of light and shadow … For the Third Coast musicians, [Danny Elfman] composed a four-movement piece simply called Percussion Quartet … leaning heavily on the warm sounds of the marimba interlocking with tinkling tubular chimes and pitched metal pipes.”

“On July 1 J. T. Kane will be joining the Manhattan School of Music as dean of the newly created Instrumental Studies and Orchestral Performance Division,” writes Sarah Shay in Monday’s (5/16) Musical America (subscription required). “Kane is currently VP for musician advancement and dean of orchestra at the New World Symphony. At the NWS, he helped design and implement the Fellows’ curriculum in the areas of musicianship and community and audience engagement; organized a roster of 120 distinguished visiting faculty each season; and served as liaison between Fellows and NWS administration…. In his new position, he will oversee the creation of a cohesive pedagogical and performance framework for the MSM’s largest division, which includes more than 80 faculty and approximately 350 students…. An active violist and teacher, Kane has played with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Louisiana Philharmonic, Palm Beach Opera, and Palm Beach Symphony. He also serves as a senior consortium member for the National Alliance for Audition Support (NAAS). He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance from the … the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University and a Master of Music degree in Viola Performance from the University of Miami Frost School of Music.”

“The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, the musical pride of Sioux Falls, … celebrated its centennial this season, in ambitious style,” writes Alex Ross in Monday’s (5/16) New Yorker. “The roster of composers included not only Beethoven, Grieg, and Tchaikovsky but also Stephen Yarbrough, David M. Gordon, Jessie Montgomery, Anna Clyne, George Walker, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, and Malek Jandali…. The season ended with a program that [included] a sprawling new score by John Luther Adams…. [When] Jennifer Teisinger, the orchestra’s executive director, asked former members of the ensemble to stand up … dozens [of audience members] rose to their feet. Nothing of the sort could have happened in New York, Los Angeles, London, or Berlin…. ‘An Atlas of Deep Time’ … lasts around forty-five minutes…. The formal structure is modelled on the basin-and-range topography of western North America…. As often with Adams, I had the sense of entering a physically palpable space… My thoughts went to Willa Cather, who grew up in Nebraska…. In a famous passage in ‘My Antonia,’ Cather contemplated the unending vistas of the plains and wrote of the joy of being ‘dissolved into something complete and great.’… ‘An Atlas of Deep Time’ afforded the same uncanny pleasure.”

“The South Bend Symphony Orchestra wrapped up their Pop music series last night at the Morris Performing Arts Center with an extraordinary performance … devoted … to the music of world-renowned composer John Williams,” writes Matt Gotsch in Monday’s (5/2) WNDU (South Bend, IN). “With May the Fourth, also known as Star Wars Day, right around the corner, it only seemed fitting that they paid their respect to the living legend who created the soundtracks for Star Wars, Harry Potter, E.T., Jaws, Jurassic Park, and so many more fan favorites. ‘It’s music that is the soundtrack of our lives, as Music Director Alastair (Willis) said, and it’s true. I mean, we grew up on Star Wars, and sometimes people don’t realize the quality of the music behind the picture they’re watching,’ … said [Executive Director] Justus Zimmerman…. South Bend Symphony Orchestra violinist Forrest Miesse [said], … ‘His music is not easy to play at all, but we love to play it, we love to practice it…. It was just a great experience for us.’ A happy coincidence from last night; John Williams recently turned 90 years old, and the South Bend Symphony Orchestra is about to celebrate its 90th anniversary.”

“An online breathing program that uses singing techniques and has been developed by the English National Opera, can significantly improve quality of life and breathlessness for people with long Covid, according to the results of the first clinical trial,” writes Tom Bawden in Thursday’s (4/28) iNews (UK). “The program, developed with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, is led by professional singers from the ENO and focuses on breathing retraining through singing techniques, using lullabies as its musical starting point. No experience or interest in singing is required. The trial had 150 participants who had suffered breathlessness for an average of 320 days since the onset of Covid symptoms. It was found after those taking part in the breathing program experienced a 10.48 point (out of 100) reduction in breathlessness while running, compared to people who just continued with usual care alone. They also experienced a 2.42 point improvement in the mental component of quality of life…. The ‘ENO Breathe’ program … has been available free … across England since September 2020…. The six-week program is delivered online…. The majority of participants, 81 per cent, were female, which is broadly representative of the wider population of patients with long Covid.”

“The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra is calling on its audience to hold conversation usually discouraged at the dinner table: the crossover of politics and music,” reads an unsigned article in Saturday’s (4/30) WTRF-TV (Wheeling, WV). “Through the first-of-its-kind Festival of Ideas … throughout the month of May, they are examining three starkly different composers, all whose works will be featured in their concert come May 20th,” featuring music by Florence Price, Richard Wagner, and Dmitri Shostakovich. “Many of [Price’s] pieces were not performed because of the prejudices against her. Richard Wagner, … a horrible anti-Semite, will be examined under the light of Rabbi Joshua Lief…. Dimitri Shostakovich [was] oppressed by the Soviet government…. May 3rd kicks off the Festival of Ideas, starting at noon at Vance Memorial Presbyterian Church. All these discussions are free.” The May 3 event will feature Karen Walwyn, a pianist and Florence Price scholar who recently recorded the composer’s Piano Concerto in One Movement, in conversation with Music Director John Devlin and Assistant Conductor Antoine T. Clark. Panelists on May 9 and 16 will include John Devlin, Rabbi Joshua Lief, Antoine Clark, and Ron Scott, Jr., cultural diversity and community outreach director at YMCA Wheeling.

“The opening lines of French composer Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune could be heard drifting down the steps of last night’s Met Gala 2022,” writes Sophia Alexandra Hall in Tuesday’s (5/3) Classic FM (UK). “But instead of coming from a speaker, perhaps providing background music to the annual high-class event which gathers the brightest lights in fashion, film, television, music, sports, and social media, the music came from R&B American singer-songwriter Lizzo. The classically trained flautist accompanied her stunning black and gold baroque themed hand-embroidered look by American designer, Thom Browne, with an equally beautiful green gold flute…. The flute, titled The Dryad’s Touch, is worth $55,000 (£44,000) and is made out of 18 karat green gold. The musical instrument is the latest addition to Lizzo’s collection, which already includes her trusted solid silver Muramatsu flutes, named Sasha and Blue Ivy. The musical instrument has intricate depictions across its body, including ladybirds, spiders and a web, other beetles, flowers and leaves, bark, a turtle and a fairy. Lizzo originally introduced fans to The Dryad’s Touch ahead of the gala, posting a video on her dedicated flute Instagram account.”

“The Azalea Suite was commissioned by the North Carolina Azalea Festival and was originally slated to be presented March 29 of 2020, but then came COVID and the program was postponed,” writes Cheril Lee in Monday’s (5/2) WHQR Public Media (Wilmington, NC). “Now, more than two years later, the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra will finally premiere conductor Steven Errante’s Azalea Suite. The concert takes place this Saturday. With this work, Errante says he tried to focus on the flowers themselves. He did this by finding pictures of several different kinds of Azaleas, representing a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. He sat with these photos as he composed the work…. Errante explains he created character pieces inspired by what he saw visually in the Azaleas. Each of the movements focuses on a different type of Azalea, including the bright orange Flame Azalea and the purple Formosa Azalea. ‘And a lot of people are familiar with that because it’s kind of a showy, domestic bloom. And I decided for me, that’s joyful. So I wrote a happy piece that I hope projects joy.’ Pieces by Debussy and Boulanger will be on the program as well as Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture.”