“Composer David Serkin Ludwig, who joined the Curtis Institute of Music nearly two decades ago and has held various leadership positions at the school, is leaving to become dean and director of the Juilliard School’s music division,” writes Peter Dobrin in Thursday’s (5/6) Philadelphia Inquirer. “Ludwig, 48, a Bucks County native … attended the conservatory from 1997-2001, and his grandfather, pianist Rudolf Serkin, was director in the 1960s and ‘70s. ‘I’ve loved my time at the school,’ … Ludwig said. ‘But this is an opportunity to have a really big impact on the field and to make a difference.’ At Curtis, he … is currently a composition teacher, adviser to the president, chair of composition studies, and director of Curtis’ Ensemble 20/21. He holds degrees and certificates from Juilliard, the Oberlin Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, and the University of Pennsylvania, in addition to Curtis. He has been a prolific and visible composer…. Recently, he was commissioned by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society to write a sextet slated to be premiered by the Aizuri Quartet, clarinetist Anthony McGill, and flutist Demarre McGill in January. Juilliard’s music division, with about 700 students, is several times the size of Curtis.”
Author: Mike Rush
Atlanta Symphony announces return of in-person concerts in Sept. 2021, with Spano remaining an extra year
“Atlanta Symphony Orchestra conductor Robert Spano is staying around for another year to welcome audiences back to Symphony Hall,” writes Jon Ross in Thursday’s (5/6) Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA). “Instead of taking a sabbatical after stepping down as music director … he will help lead the ASO during its 77th season, which starts September 19. Donald Runnicles, principal guest conductor since 2001, and Spano will share artistic advising duties… The new season … begins with … Beethoven’s fifth symphony [and] closes with Spano leading the orchestra in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3—a performance holdover from the season that never was—and three of the five world premieres slated for this coming year were scheduled to be performed last season…. ‘We wanted to give Robert a chance to conduct the great events we had planned for his final season as music director,’ said ASO executive director Jennifer Barlament…. The ASO is still finalizing audience capacity and protocols. Virtual broadcasts of ASO concerts will continue…. The ASO counts 23 compositions by female and traditionally underrepresented composers during the season, including … Sarah Gibson, Anna Clyne, Brian Nabors and James Lee III. World premieres include Xavier Foley’s Concerto for Double Bass and Conrad Tao’s violin concerto.”
Oklahoma City Philharmonic, championing recently rediscovered works by Jack Kilpatrick
“Although he hasn’t lived in Oklahoma long, Alexander Mickelthwate has become a super fan of one the state’s composers,” writes Brandy McDonnell in Thursday’s (5/6) Oklahoman. “The Oklahoma City Philharmonic music director will conduct the orchestra Saturday in performing a work by the late Jack Frederick Kilpatrick (1915-1967), a prolific Stilwell native who infused the majority of his works with Cherokee folklore and traditions—and whose entire body of work was lost for decades and then rediscovered by sheer happenstance…. The OKC Philharmonic’s … Saturday … program [will feature] Kilpatrick’s ‘Concerto for Flute’ with Samuel Barber’s famed Adagio for Strings, Aaron Copland’s beloved ‘Appalachian Spring’ and Hannah Lash’s contemporary Concerto for Harp. … Mickelthwate opted to open the orchestra’s 2019-20 Classics season … with Kilpatrick’s ‘An American Indian Serenade,’ as well as a medley spotlighting Native American performers…. The conductor originally planned an even grander showcase for Kilpatrick’s newly rediscovered works … but the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to reimagine the season…. He opted instead to put Kilpatrick’s flute concerto on Saturday’s ‘American Stories’ concert [featuring] the OKC Philharmonic’s principal flutist, Valerie Watts…. ‘In my opinion, [Kilpatrick] should be celebrated like Copland or Bernstein,’ Mickelthwate said.” Read about works by Native American composers being commissioned and performed by orchestras in the current issue of Symphony magazine.
Pacific Symphony announces in-person return in 2021-22, with premieres by Oquin and MacMillan
The Pacific Symphony and Music Director Carl St.Clair, in a photo taken before the pandemic.
“As the pandemic eases its grip on California, the performing arts are coming back to life with surprising vigor. The latest sign: Pacific Symphony is announcing an ambitious and robust 2021-22 season,” writes Paul Hodgins in Thursday’s (5/6) Voice of OC (CA). “The season begins with … Emanuel Ax [in] Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 1 [and] the world premiere of American composer Wayne Oquin’s ‘Tower Ascending.’ … Other works being given their first Pacific Symphony performances in 2021-22 include ‘All the World’s a Stage,’ a new audience-participation piece by Frank Ticheli … Michael Ippolito’s Nocturne for Orchestra … and Innocente Carreño’s ‘Margariteña.’ … Another season highlight will be the [commissioned] world premiere of a work by … James MacMillan, … ‘Fiat Lux,’ [with] text by Dana Gioia…. ‘It’s a huge, huge undertaking for us and, and a great partnership that we haven’t enjoyed before,’ music director Carl St.Clair said…. The orchestra will be returning to its regular home, Segerstrom Concert Hall.… ‘Teams from UC Irvine and from the industrial hygiene firm, TRC, have provided outstanding input on safety protocols and attested to outstanding quality of air handling in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall,’ Pacific Symphony President John Forsyte said.”
Los Angeles Philharmonic hires Renae Williams Niles for new post of chief content and engagement officer
The Los Angeles Philharmonic has appointed RENAE WILLIAMS NILES as chief content and engagement officer. In this newly created position, she will guide the LA Phil’s organizational goals and policy, overseeing all programming across Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, The Ford, and the YOLA Center, and for LA Phil residencies and tours. She will be responsible for YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) and learning programs and initiatives; communications, public relations, marketing, and sales; and will implement the LA Phil’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. She will report to CEO Chad Smith, and assumes the job on June 7. Williams Niles is currently executive director of the Culver City Education Foundation. Previous positions include company manager for the Lula Washington Dance Theatre, director of grant programs for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, vice president of programming for the Music Center, and chief operating officer/associate dean of administration for the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Williams Niles has served as adjunct faculty for Claremont Graduate University’s Arts Management Program and is currently board chair of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. A University of Southern California alumna, she holds a Diversity and Inclusion certificate from Cornell University.
Ann Arbor Symphony names Kemper Edwards director of marketing and communications
KEMPER EDWARDS has joined Michigan’s Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra as director of marketing and communications. Raised in London and Pittsburgh, Edwards goes to the Ann Arbor Symphony from the Academy of Ancient Music, the U.K.-based period-instrument ensemble where he was communications and engagement manager. He joined the Academy after studying music at the University of Cambridge, and oversaw a revitalization of the Academy’s digital presence and produced critically acclaimed recordings on its in-house label. Edwards began studying violin and piano at a young age with Viktoria Grigoreva of the Royal College of Music and piano pedagogue Alexandra Andrievski of the Yehudi Menuhin School, before moving to Pittsburgh in 2003. Edwards was a 2012 Pittsburgh Concert Society Young Artist Winner, receiving scholarships to further his musical studies in a university setting. In 2010, he was selected by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Principal Guest Conductor Leonard Slatkin as the winner of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra Conducting Competition.
Princeton Symphony to present South Africa’s Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble virtually
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra will present South Africa’s Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble on a virtual concert being offered from April 30 to May 2. Rosemary Nalden, Buskaid’s founder, will conduct the concert, which will include Carlo Farina’s Capriccio Stravagante, Claude Debussy’s Danse sacrée et danse profane with guest harpist Jude Harpstar, and Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No. 10. Buskaid-trained violinist Mzwandile Twala will perform Fritz Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro and popular and kwela music. Buskaid, founded in 1997, comprises a music school and performing groups such as the Soweto String Ensemble, which has toured internationally on its own and with ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. The Princeton Symphony Orchestra has spotlighted the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble on multiple virtual concerts this season; PSO Executive Director Marc Uys grew up in South Africa where he began his career as a violinist and first became familiar with Buskaid. The PSO has been developing a relationship with the organization ever since a group of trustees, including composer Julian Grant, visited the Buskaid School in Soweto in 2019. For more information, click here.
Obituary: Paul Kellogg, Glimmerglass and New York City Opera general and artistic director, 84
“Paul Kellogg, 84, the former general and artistic director of both New York City Opera and Glimmerglass Opera, has died,” reads an unsigned obituary in Wednesday’s (4/28) Opera News. “Kellogg died of natural causes on April 28, 2021 … in Cooperstown [NY]. His death was announced by Glimmerglass Opera…. Kellogg studied comparative literature at the University of Texas at Austin and went on to study at both the Sorbonne and Columbia University…. Kellogg and his partner, [painter and sculptor] Raymond Han … [moved] to Cooperstown in 1975—the same year that Glimmerglass Opera presented its inaugural season…. Han … was invited the following season to create sets for Glimmerglass productions … Kellogg began by assisting his partner…. In 1979 … Kellogg was appointed the fledgling company’s executive manager. In 1984 … Kellogg was appointed the company’s general manager, and three years later was named its general director…. By the time Kellogg became Glimmerglass’s general and artistic director in 1995, he had transformed the company into an innovative and esteemed summer destination for operagoers…. In 1996, Kellogg was named general and artistic director of New York City Opera … [where he] produced sixty-two new opera productions … and inaugurated … readings of new operas by American composers.” Kellogg retired from Glimmerglass in 2006, and from City Opera in 2007. Raymond Han predeceased Kellogg in 2017.
Review: Philadelphia Orchestra’s organ-themed program with Paul Jacobs
“The visceral thrill of being in the same room as Verizon Hall’s organ … doesn’t translate online … and yet, this week the [Philadelphia Orchestra’s] Digital Stage program emerges as one of the best evangelists so far for the cause of the king of instruments,” writes Peter Dobrin in Thursday’s (4/29) Philadelphia Inquirer. “The way Paul Jacobs differentiated colors to suit the changing character of Poulenc’s Organ Concerto comes across clearly enough…. And … you do get a view of the proceedings that is impossible ordinarily…. You see Jacobs’ finger work at the console’s keyboards and his feet moving across the pedals…. Michael-Thomas Foumai’s Concerto Grosso from 2015 … about five-and-a-half minutes long … makes a big impression. Racing and Stravinsky-kissed, the piece’s quick twists and turns give it a movie-score quality…. The influences are many and varied in Louise Farrenc’s Symphony No. 2…. The piece announces itself with an opening of Haydn-esque clarity.… And yet, unmistakable classicist though she may be, here is an original voice. That poignant oboe melody in the slow introduction, her imaginative empowering of winds, the surprising harmonic progressions of the inner two movements—these are the signatures of a composer from whom we’d like to hear more.”
Fairbanks Symphony concludes 2020-21 virtual season, streamed and on radio
“When the coronavirus pandemic curtailed in-person performances for the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, musicians made sure symphony supporters could still attend performances online,” writes Kris Capps in Thursday’s (4/30) Daily News-Miner (Fairbanks, AK). “The final performance for this most unusual season is 4 p.m. Sunday at www.fairbankssymphony.org. The performance will also be broadcast on KUAC FM 89.9 TV 9 at 4 p.m. May 16. ‘We’re going to do a little bit of Mozart, a piece by Suk and the ever-popular Carnival of the Animals,’ said Jenni Warren, the orchestra’s managing director. The performance will also feature two wind instruments—a first this season…. Musicians Dorli McWayne on flute and April Jaillet on clarinet are separated from the rest of the orchestra by clear dividers…. ‘We are super excited,’ Warren said…. The symphony presented seven online performances this season…. ‘We are pretty proud of what we put together,’ Warren said. ‘It also enabled us to think about where we are going moving forward,’ she added. ‘We will continue to offer a digital concert hall. We also would like to continue to partner with KUAC to broadcast concerts in the summer.’ ”