“Carnegie Hall has announced plans for its first-ever digital festival,” writes Brian Wise in Tuesday’s (3/31) Musical America (subscription required). “ ‘Voices of Hope,’ originally scheduled to run in-person from March through May, is to move online with plans for more than 100 mostly free events, from April 16-30. The festival … has gained a newly topical thrust, focusing on how artists have addressed themes of war, political oppression, social injustice, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Each of the 16 evenings will feature a different performance, filmed in venues from Fez, Morocco, to Washington, D.C. (though not Carnegie Hall itself, which remains closed). There will also be afternoon documentary and concert film screenings, and programming from some 40 partner institutions.… [The festival] includes the premiere of a performance piece by violinist Jennifer Koh and bass-baritone Davóne Tines on the history of Asian-American oppression and solidarity between Asians and the Black community…. The festival opens on April 16 with Andris Nelsons leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4, filmed at Tanglewood. Other featured artists include … the National Symphony Orchestra led by Music Director Gianandrea Noseda…. Carnegie Hall plans to return to in-person performances this fall.”
Author: Joanna Bettelheim
Dallas Symphony announces fall 2021 return of full-orchestra concerts—some with chorus
“Hoping for much better control of the coronavirus pandemic by fall, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra has announced a 2021-22 season of full-orchestra performances,” writes Scott Cantrell in Thursday’s (4/1) Dallas Morning News. “No DSO classical season in memory has been as progressive in its mix of genders and ethnicities among composers, conductors and soloists… Music director Fabio Luisi is also living up to his promise to program lesser-known earlier 20th-century American works … and recent compositions. But there’s no shortage of standard rep.… The Dallas Symphony Chorus … is scheduled for Eugene Onegin, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the Mozart and Maurice Duruflé requiems and Christmas pops concerts…. The season will include world premieres by American composers Jessie Montgomery, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and … Xi Wang. Works by American composers Bruce Adolphe, Mason Bates, Aaron Jay Kernis, Kevin Puts, Joan Tower and John Williams round out newer offerings. The Bates and Puts works will be multimedia presentations…. Black composers represented include … the Englishman Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Americans Florence Price, William Grant Still, Ulysses Kay and Adolphus Hailstork. Xi Wang and Korean-born, German-based Unsuk Chin supply Asian perspectives…. The schedule also includes the third annual Women in Classical Music Symposium.”
Nevada’s Henderson Symphony performs at COVID vaccine clinic
“People who receive the COVID-19 vaccine are asked to wait for 15 minutes after receiving a shot, to monitor possible side effects,” reports Shannon Miller in Wednesday’s (3/31) KVVU-TV (Las Vegas, NV). “But that can be boring. So the Henderson Symphony Orchestra entertained patients waiting at the Las Vegas Convention Center vaccine clinic on Tuesday. Sarah O’Connell, executive director of Henderson Symphony Orchestra, said she hopes the orchestra’s presence calms patients. ‘People can be anxious about things like getting a shot or being in large groups after all of this isolation. Seeing people playing together in ensemble reminds us that coming together is a good thing, and getting the vaccine is a good thing to help heal us,’ O’Connell said.” The Henderson Symphony Orchestra in southern Nevada is led by Music Director Alexandra Arrieche; in addition to performing concerts, the orchestra presents free events for schoolchildren, plus a young artist competition and conducting camp.
Spokane Symphony streams five “Symphony @ Home” filmed concerts
Spokane Symphony Music Director James Lowe (back to camera) and Hannah Sander, video editor for Hamilton Studio, assemble “Symphony @ Home” performances on March 30. Photo by Libby Kamrowski
“After more than a year, Spokane Symphony Music Director James Lowe returned to the stage of the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, ‘and there was music again,’ a video posted to the symphony’s Instagram account announced,” writes Stephanie Hammett in Thursday’s (4/1) Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA). “Audience members may not be allowed back into the downtown theater just yet, but …for the past few weeks, limited, socially distanced groups of musicians have been gathering to record live performances for a series of [five] virtual spring concerts [using a] complex multi-camera setup … ‘Symphony @ Home’ themed concerts … will be broadcast every two weeks [and] remain available for repeat viewings online for at least a year…. Organized around the theme of ‘Folk Roots,’ the opening concert will include classic works by Antonin Dvořák (‘Serenade for Winds’), Bela Bartok (‘Rumanian Folk Dances’) and Ralph Vaughan Williams and newer works by McKay Stout, a traditional folk duo from Scotland … The concert will also feature the Spokane Symphony Chorale…. Each broadcast will also include a series of recorded talks and discussions…. Spokane regional health care workers will receive free tickets for the ‘Symphony @ Home’ performances.” The program debuts on Vimeo on April 2.
Oregon Symphony launches free series for children, pairing music and stories
The Oregon Symphony has launched a sixteen-episode “Symphony Storytime” series of virtual programs for young audiences, available in Spanish and English. The free bilingual digital series, spearheaded by Associate Conductor Norman Hunyh, features Oregon Symphony musicians accompanying the reading of a book or story; there are twelve English-language and four Spanish-language illustrated children’s books, including The Snowy Day, Harlem’s Little Black Bird, and Una Extraña Visita. The series of short episodes was created for young children at home with their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first Spanish-language episode features Oregon Symphony Music Director Laureate, Carlos Kalmar, who is bilingual, reading Una Extraña Visita, with Assistant Principal Timpanist Sergio Carreño on percussion. New episodes will be released every two weeks into August 2021 on the orchestra’s website and YouTube channel. For more information, click here.
Jessica Cottis, conductor injured in December attack, returns to podium to lead Australia’s Canberra Symphony
“Conductor Jessica Cottis was enjoying an afternoon walk last December … in … North London, when … a small group of young men … punched her and smashed a glass bottle in her face,” writes Bridget Cormack in Friday’s (3/26) Australian (Surry Hills, Australia). “Cottis suffered a broken nose, concussion and was plagued by splitting headaches and a dizziness behind her eyes…. The attack took place about three months before Cottis, 41, was due to fly to Australia to lead her first concerts as chief conductor and artistic director of Canberra Symphony Orchestra, succeeding the 15-year tenure of Nicholas Milton…. The position is a homecoming of sorts for the Australian-British conductor…. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 2009 Cottis held assistant conductor positions with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Symphony Orchestra…. Last year she helped set up the Women Conductors Course at the Royal Opera House in London which was completed by 35 emerging conductors ‘who happen to be female.’ … After conducting a BBC Proms concert for preschoolers … ‘About 70 per cent of the letters [she received] were from little girls. One of them wrote …, “when I’m older, I want to boss the music men around just like you.” ’ ”
New England Conservatory taps Benjamin Sosland as next provost and dean
“Benjamin Sosland, interim dean and director of the Music Division at the Juilliard School, is to be the next provost and dean of the New England Conservatory, effective July 5,” writes Susan Elliott in Tuesday’s (3/24) Musical America (subscription required). “He succeeds Thomas Novak, a 20-year NEC veteran who holds the title of VP and provost and served as the school’s interim president July 2015 to December 2018, when Andrea Kayln arrived from Oberlin to take the top job. Sosland will oversee all aspects of NEC’s programs including the College, Preparatory School, and School of Continuing Education. He is the founder and administrative chief of Juilliard’s esteemed Historical Performance Department … He also is founding assistant dean of the Juilliard’s Kovner Fellowship, a member of the graduate studies faculty, and teaches ‘Entrepreneurship for Musicians.’ He is a frequent pre-concert lecturer at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center … A tenor, Sosland holds an undergraduate degree in voice from the Eastman School of Music and both master’s and doctoral degrees from the Juilliard School. He has performed with … the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and festivals such as Aspen and Ravinia.”
Albany Symphony’s 2021-22 season: in-person and streamed
“The Albany Symphony unveiled its celebratory 2021-2022 season, which features masterworks … as well as new works by a wide array of today’s composers,” reads an unsigned article in Thursday’s (3/25) Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY). “The programming for this season has been curated by … David Alan Miller, who is celebrating 30 years as music director…. The concerts will take place in Capital Region concert halls, and streaming options will also be available…. ‘We will … celebrate many of the most exciting composers of our time, including Jessie Montgomery, Viet Cuong, and my dear friend Tania León,’ says Miller…. The season opens in October with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica [and] Jessie Montgomery’s Coincident Dances…. Viet Cuong’s Concerto for Orchestra, commissioned by the Albany Symphony, will have its world premiere in November….. The season brings first-time and returning composers … including Hannah Kendall, Vivian Fung and Alexis Lamb.… George Tsontakis’ Requiem will be given its world premiere … The season ends with the American Music Festival … featuring John Corigliano’s new Saxophone Concerto and the first American performance of John Williams’ Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra, along with a world premiere by Nina Shekhar and one of Steven Stucky’s final works.”
Behind the scenes with Habib Azar, director of Boston Symphony’s filmed performances
“Since October, Symphony Hall has been playing the role of sound stage rather than concert venue,” reports Andrea Shea in Thursday’s (3/25) WBUR radio (Boston). “Without live audiences filling its 2,625 seats the Boston Symphony Orchestra needed to create video performances that would engage their fans at home. Enter Emmy Award-winning stage, screen and TV director Habib Azar. From pieces by Beethoven to Dvořák, Stravinsky, and Copland, Azar has overseen 13 of the 15 on-demand ‘BSO NOW’ programs this season. He also filmed the Holiday Pops, which was the BSO’s first live-streamed production…. Before the pandemic hit, Azar orchestrated live shoots for world premieres and rarely performed operas. He’s captured acclaimed performances for the Metropolitan Opera’s ‘Live in HD’ series and ‘Live from Lincoln Center.’ … Azar cut his teeth directing soap operas… He’s also a trained composer. A cadre of robotic cameras has been helping Azar tell musical stories at Symphony Hall that reach fans through their computer screens.” In an interview, Azar speaks about his busy schedule filming orchestra performances during the pandemic, how directing daytime television has informed his current work, and whether highly produced streaming content from orchestras is here to stay.
Philadelphia Orchestra musicians serenade new U.S. citizens at naturalization ceremony
Philadelphia Orchestra musicians (from left) violinist Julia Li, cellist Yumi Kendall, and violist Che-Hung Chen perform at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Philadelphia on Thursday. Photo by Alejandro A. Alvarez
“An additional welcome awaited a few dozen newly minted U.S. citizens Thursday at three naturalization ceremonies in West Philadelphia—a musical one played by members of the Philadelphia Orchestra,” writes Peter Dobrin in Friday’s (3/26) Philadelphia Inquirer. “Thursday’s ceremonies … were presided over by U.S. District Judge Joel H. Slomsky … a Philadelphia Orchestra fan. It was during another naturalization service, in 2018, that one new citizen, Julia Li, mentioned that she was a violinist with the orchestra, and the judge’s ears perked up. Later, he met Philadelphia Orchestra president and CEO Matías Tarnopolsky, who had himself recently become a U.S. citizen. Slomsky invited Tarnopolsky to speak at a naturalization ceremony, which he did…. Each of the pieces played Thursday was chosen for a reason. Music by a living American composer was important, said Kendall, hence ‘Great Day’ from Adolphus Hailstork’s Three Spirituals. Dvořák was represented with the ‘Cavatina’ from Miniatures, with the composer an example of someone who came to America from elsewhere and absorbed its sound…. Tarnopolsky promises that when the pandemic is over, the orchestra will work to bring a naturalization ceremony to the Kimmel Center…. ‘It would be a wonderful tradition,’ he said.”