Category: music

“The executive director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic has resigned after he was told he was being let go. David Wax, who joined the orchestra in 2001 after more than a dozen years at the helm of the Houston Symphony, submitted his resignation to the board last week.”

The Dallas Symphony has received an unusual $1m grant that will be used specifically to promote the orchestra and its incoming music director, Jaap van Zweden, both nationally and internationally. “The grant will also be used to… expand relations with existing patrons and introduce them to the maestro, and brand the symphony to reflect Mr. van Zweden’s artistic personality.”

The Toronto Symphony has reduced its huge accumulated deficit by C$500,000, and balanced its budget for the year. “A C$400,000 increase in Canada Council funding and a 15-per-cent increase in single-ticket sales also helped the TSO stay in the black.”

There’s a “campaign to get every primary schoolchild in England singing within four years. Why such a brouhaha about singing when every week seems to bring more evidence that schools are failing to teach basic skills to our children? The answer is that singing plays a big role in making those other things possible.”

“If your career starts in your teens, there’s the danger that you miss out on a normal childhood, and you’re trapped in this unnatural way of travelling the world. It’s a tricky time.”

Finding a replacement for Richard Bradshaw at the helm of the Canadian Opera Company won’t be easy, and the company says it is casting a wide net. “Above all, we need an inspired ringmaster – someone who like Bradshaw knows how to build momentum and how to keep it going.”

“Hundreds of workers at Milan’s La Scala walked out three weeks ago, forcing the cancellation of performances of Verdi’s Requiem, which was to have been conducted by Daniel Barenboim in his debut at a famous opera house.”

“The production values of the performances this season will be enhanced by two remote-controlled cameras that will be able to dolly above the stage to supplement the 10 fixed HD cameras.”

“Once largely closed to foreign music, the country has gradually loosened restrictions and — at a time when record sales in the West continue to plunge, and new sources of revenue have become essential — emerged as a crucial territory on pop’s global map.”

Three major orchestras have recently hired young. “Artistically, there are the twin benefits of an orchestra regenerating momentum and of a young conductor being given the stability to mature. The likes of Karabits, Nelsons and Petrenko represent bright hopes for the future.”