Category: people

“What some call simple fraud, she describes as the result of her own multiple personalities which predate the books. She tried to explain this to the Manhattan court, but its judgement seemed to reject her position. ‘It’s so difficult to explain. When people think of multiple personalities, they think of Sybil. It’s not like that for me. I don’t go to sleep and another personality takes over. I’m aware, I’m conscious, but it’s like I’ve moved to the back of the bike and they’re driving’.”

“The filmmaker, Theresa Duncan, 40, who has also drawn attention for her writings on cultural topics, committed suicide in their East Village apartment on July 10, the police said. Her companion, Jeremy Blake, 35, a well-regarded artist known for digital animation that blurs the line between abstract painting and film, has been missing since his clothes were found on a beach in the Rockaways on Tuesday evening, they added.”

Longtime New York Philharmonic cellist Nancy Donaruma is retiring from the orchestra to become a paramedic. “After 31 years in the top-tier orchestra, playing with conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta and Lorin Maazel, the 59-year-old cellist will go from a hefty six-figure annual income to a ‘low five-figure’ salary.”

Jim Dale, 71, is the amazing voice of the Harry Potter audio books. “At the age of 17, he became the youngest professional comedian in Great Britain. In the following years, Dale became a pop recording artist, hosted a BBC television show, worked as a disc jockey, joined the prestigious British National Theater (at the request of Sir Laurence Olivier) and then headed to Broadway, where he appeared in numerous shows.”

The evidence that is available suggests that Alan Gilbert will be a departure from the standard-issue personality of past New York Philharmonic music directors. “He is certainly not a galvanic personality-driven ego, unlike previous hotshot young maestros hired by the Philharmonic as music director in past decades, such as John Barbirolli or Leonard Bernstein… Yet how good is Mr. Gilbert’s musicmaking? The evidence available on CD is sparse, [but] his experience with orchestras has been abundant.”

“The 55-year-old singer died Wednesday, two days after doctors at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie took him off life support. Hadley, who had been battling personal problems, shot himself with an air rifle July 10 at his home in Clinton Corners, 80 miles north of New York City. State police said he was found unconscious on his bedroom floor.”

“Nina Vyroubova, a leading ballerina in postwar France who brought an unconventional blend of romantic temperament and elongated classical silhouette to the Paris Opera Ballet, to Roland Petit’s first company and other troupes, died on June 25 in Paris.”

“The 55-year-old singer shot himself with an air rifle last Tuesday at his Clinton Corners home, several miles outside Poughkeepsie, according to state police. State troopers found him unconscious on his bedroom floor and he was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie.”

Conductor James Conlon took his time establishing his career in Europe before coming home to America, but now that he’s become one of the US’s most sought after conductors, he’s quickly built a reputation as a podium boss unafraid of taking chances. As he takes the reins at LA Opera, he anticipates building on that reputation.

“With a deep interest in digital design tempered by an obsession with the act of making, Yu emerged in the last five years or so as an important link between the city’s leading firms and architects in their 20s and 30s, many of whom Yu taught at the Southern California Institute of Architecture and elsewhere.”