Author: Jennifer Melick

Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali’s garden in Finland is “just a blip in the scale of Rouvali’s … farm … on over 34 acres,” writes Joshua Barone in Sunday’s (7/31) New York Times. “It is [here] that he feels most at ease, especially compared with where he’s more often seen: inside the world’s major concert halls” as principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, with chief conductor positions at Sweden’s Gothenburg Symphony and Finland’s Tampere Philharmonic; his guest conducting includes dates with the New York Philharmonic in the upcoming season. “Rouvali, 36, [spends] as many weekends as possible on his farm … ‘to kind of rest and have a mental break and not really think about music,’ he says. When he is at work, Rouvali has developed a reputation as a lively conductor, one who revels in experimentation and fluid interpretations, and who has a gift—befitting his background as a percussionist—for internal rhythms and harmonies…. His style today [is] one in which he retains some of a drummer’s gestures, but also in which that physicality is an expressive vessel for open, sometimes trial-and-error interpretations with a liberal use of rubato.”

“Canadian conductor Tania Miller will become interim principal conductor for the Rhode Island (RI) Philharmonic Orchestra and Music School, effective immediately,” reads an unsigned article in Tuesday’s (8/2) Violin Channel. “She will succeed Bramwell Tovey, who passed away last month at age 69…. Miller will lead … October’s season opener featuring cellist Sterling Elliott, May’s season finale presentation of Verdi’s Requiem, and a January performance of Dvo?ák’s 8th Symphony with the RI Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. Additionally, she’ll help plan the orchestra’s 23-24 season, work with students from the Music School, and engage with audiences, donors, and community partners…. Previously, Miller was Music Director of Canada’s Victoria Symphony for 14 seasons… She first appeared with the RI Phil in January of 2019 and most recently appeared at the 2022 Annual Gala Concert…. The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2022-23 season will be dedicated to the memory of Bramwell Tovey and a memorial fund will be established in his name to support the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School. In other concerts that Tovey was supposed to lead, Kensho Watanabe and Sascha Goetzel will step in. Leonard Slatkin will lead Renée Fleming in the 2023 Annual Gala Concert on June 3, 2023.”

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music have announced recent successes of its CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship Program, established in 2015 with a grant from The Mellon Foundation. Four CSO/CCM Diversity Fellows have obtained full-time positions with American orchestras for the 2022-23 season; additional Diversity Fellows accomplishments include careers in music education, social change, and orchestral administration. To date, 28 musicians have participated in the program. Emilio Carlo, violist and Diversity Fellow from 2016-18, has accepted a one-year contract with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for 2022-23. Luis Celis, bassist and Diversity Fellow from 2021-22, was hired as a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra bass. Dan Wang, violist and Diversity Fellow from 2017-19, obtained a position as a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra viola. Denielle Wilson, cellist and Diversity Fellow from 2019-21, has accepted a one-year position with the cello section of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Blake-Anthony Johnson, cellist and Diversity Fellow from 2016-17, was appointed as CEO of the Chicago Sinfonietta in 2020. Ian Saunders, bassist and Diversity Fellow from 2017-19, became assistant dean of artistic and social change at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts; in March 2022, Saunders joined the String Training Education Program as artistic director. CCM and the CSO begin accepting applications for the 2023-25 class on September 1, 2022. Additional information at https://ccm.uc.edu/admissions-and-aid/fellowships/cso-ccm-diversity-fellowship.html.

“The conductor Teodor Currentzis, who has faced scrutiny since the start of the war in Ukraine because of his ties to a state-owned bank in Russia, announced on Monday that he would form a new international ensemble with the support of donors outside Russia,” writes Javier C. Hernández in Monday’s (8/1) New York Times. “The ensemble, to be called Utopia, will bring together 112 musicians from 28 countries, many of them soloists and principal players in renowned orchestras, for a European tour that is to begin this fall and go through 2023, according to a statement. The group will rely on ticket sales as well as donations from European benefactors…. The statement did not address Currentzis’s future with his longtime ensemble, MusicAeterna, which has drawn fire for its reliance on VTB Bank, a state-owned Russian institution that has been sanctioned by the United States and other countries but remains the ensemble’s main sponsor. Representatives for Currentzis and MusicAeterna did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. The statement did not offer details about Utopia’s European benefactors…. The new group will perform at the [Vienna Konzerthaus] concert hall in October, during a tour that includes stops in Luxembourg and Germany.”

“The Charlotte Symphony has hired Shayne Doty as vice president of development beginning Aug. 1,” states an unsigned article in Thursday’s (7/28) Business Today (Cornelius, NC). “Doty will lead the Charlotte Symphony’s Development team in fundraising and development activities and will cultivate new communities of supporters…. Most recently, Doty served as chief strategy officer for the New York Historical Society. As an organist, Doty has played recitals throughout the United States, France, and Canada, made a recording, and performed with ensembles such as the National Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, Les Arts Florissants, the Theatre of Voices, and others. Doty holds degrees from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Duke University, Southern Methodist University, and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon. He is a senior advisor to the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts and a former member of the Board of Visitors of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.” Doty was previously senior vice president for development at the Paley Center for Media, managing director for philanthropy for the Asia Society in NYC, director of development at Washington National Opera, and senior major gifts officer at the Metropolitan Opera.

“Terry Loftis’ calendar is full of arts events for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic … a welcome change for TACA’s President and Executive Director,” writes Kimberly Richard in Saturday’s (7/30) KXAS-TV (Fort Worth, TX). TACA (The Arts Community Alliance “supports arts organizations in Dallas County through grant-making, thought leadership and capacity building…. As arts organizations resumed live events and performances, TACA supported the industry through a variety of grants. In 2021, TACA distributed $989,500 in funding, including $160,500 in Pop-Up Grants to 41 short-term projects that were operating safely during the pandemic…. The Dallas Symphony Orchestra … received a two thousand dollar Pop-Up Grant as part of the May and June 2022 Pop-Up Grant distribution…. As arts organizations remerge, … programming featuring social justice issues, racism, and diverse storytelling intrigues Loftis…. TACA’s New Works Fund … aims to support the new work of people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ+ community with $100,000 in grants…. ‘We want to help fund and cultivate the creation of new work by those demographics and allow that access to that funding to where those demographics have not had that level of funding in the past,’ Loftis said.”

OKC Philharmonic Music Director Alexander Mickelthwate is featured as “the Face of Music” in Oklahoma City in the August issue of 405 Magazine (Oklahoma), as part of the magazine’s annual “Faces” issue. “When Alexander Mickelthwate told his young son Jack they were moving from Winnipeg, Canada, to Oklahoma City, his first thought was: ‘But Dad, they have tornadoes there!’ It was 2018, and Mickelthwate had just accepted a new position as Music Director of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Tornadoes aside, he knew instinctively Oklahoma City would be a good fit—both personally and professionally…. During his four years with the OKCPHIL, Mickelthwate has brought a sort of ‘coolness’ factor to the Philharmonic. His young, fresh approach is … ‘giving our audiences the traditional music they love, but also letting them experience a new palate,’ [he said]…. He has programmed several concerts with a Native American theme, and has created some touching tributes to our city’s history. Two years ago, he commissioned a special piece for the 25th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, and next season the OKCPHIL will present an original work celebrating the centennial of civil rights icon Clara Luper. ‘I have so much I want to do,’ Mickelthwate said.”