News Updates (posted 4/30/03)
 
NHC 2003-4 Fellows Announced
 
The National Humanities Center has announced the names of 41 Fellows and their projects for 2003-4. Of these, 29 were selected by competition, from a field of 549 applicants. In addition, there are six Senior Fellows, invited by the Center’s board, six young scholars, supported by the American Council of Learned Societies, and a single Distinguished Visitor, anthropologist Nancy Scheper-Hughes, of the University of California, Berkeley.
Among the Fellows are five musicologists:
Wye Jamison Allanbrook, of the University of California-Berkeley; project: Happy Endings: Comic Musical Theatre from Lully to Sondheim ;
Thomas David Brothers, of Duke University; project: Crossing and Passing in Musical New Orleans, 1890-1920 ;
Samuel A. Floyd, of the Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College, Chicago; project: Music by Black Composers, 1550-1980 ;
Susan Lee Youens, of the University of Notre Dame (and who participated in Duke’s recent Hugo Wolf seminar); project: Heine and the Lied ; and
Lawrence M. Zbikowski, of the University of Chicago; project: Toward a Cognitive Grammar of Music .
Among the current (2002-3) Fellows was scholar and fortepianist Tom Beghin, of the University of California-Los Angeles, whose recent Haydn recital was reviewed in these pages.
For more information, see http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us/.
 
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An Addition to the NC Symphony’s Extended Family
 
CVNC extends congratulations and best wishes to Olivia Macy Worters, born at 1:43 p.m. April 25 to Rebecca and David Worters. Olivia’s father is President and CEO of the NC Symphony. The baby and her mother are said to be doing very well and resting comfortably at home.
 
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NC Symphony Music Director Short List
 
Raleigh, April 22: The NC Symphony has announced four “final candidates” to succeed Gerhardt Zimmermann as the orchestra’s next music director. They are Jahja Ling, who (the NCS notes) has just been appointed Music Director of the San Diego Symphony, Grant Llewellyn, Artistic Director of the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, Roberto Minczuk, recently appointed associate conductor of the New York Philharmonic, and Andrea Quinn, of the New York City Ballet.
 
Among next season’s other guests are “contenders” Anne Manson, currently MD of the Kansas City Symphony, and Alastair Willis, Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony.
 
CVNC has reviewed all the candidates this season; links to our reviews of the four finalists announced April 22 are provided with their names, in the opening paragraph, and bios of the other two are provided with their names.
 
NCS President David Chambless Worters says that the search should be concluded in spring or summer of 2004.

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News Roundup (posted 4/12/03)
 
Maxine Swalin Fêted
 
Last year, Maxine Swalin missed her 99th birthday party, due to an unfortunate bump-up, so this year, big things are being planned. On her birthday, May 7, she will receive the North Caroliniana Society Award “for extraordinary contributions to the musical and cultural heritage of North Carolina and the Nation.” The presentation will be made at the John Sprunt Hill Ballroom of the Carolina Inn, in Chapel Hill.
 
UNC’s news release is reproduced immediately below.
 
CHAPEL HILL – Maxine Swalin, who with her late husband, Dr. Benjamin F. Swalin, revived the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra two-thirds of a century ago and built it into a national treasure, will accept the North Caroliniana Society Award on her 100th birthday, May 7.
 
The award annually recognizes a North Carolinian who has made extraordinary contributions to the state’s history, literature and culture. It was first given to playwright Paul Green in 1978, and subsequent recipients have included Sen. Sam Ervin, Institute of Government founder Albert Coates, retired UNC president William Friday and his wife Ida, philanthropists Mary and James Semans, businessman and scholar Archie K. Davis, CBS newsman Charles Kuralt and author Doris Betts.
 
A native of Iowa, Martha Maxine McMahon graduated from that state’s university and received musical training at several other institutions, including Radcliffe College and the Juilliard School of Music. In New York she met her future husband, Benjamin Swalin, then a graduate student at Columbia University.
 
The couple in 1935 moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where Ben Swalin taught in the music department. They soon learned that the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, established in 1932 by Lamar Stringfield, was struggling for survival following Stringfield’s departure from the state and the loss of federal funds. In 1937, the Swalins led a movement to revive the orchestra as a permanent institution to enrich the cultural sensitivity of the citizenry, particularly school children.
 
With the help of Paul Green, Joseph Hyde Pratt, and others, the Swalins succeeded in 1939 in reorganizing the N.C. Symphony Society, with Dr. Swalin as unpaid director. At his side was Maxine Swalin, who served as pianist and accompanist to soloists and player of the celesta in the symphony. In the new organization, she became coordinator of the work with children with Mrs. Adeline McCall and [later] an executive assistant to the director of the orchestra.
 
“‘Executive assistant’ was a modest description of Maxine Swalin’s role in the growth of the orchestra, for she was instrumental in the organization of local chapters that arranged for concerts throughout the state, and she handled virtually all of the business arrangements as the orchestra grew in size and recognition,” said Dr. H.G. Jones, society secretary and retired curator of the N.C. Collection at UNC Library. “In 1943, with the passage of a ‘Horn-Tootin’ bill carrying an annual appropriation from the general fund, the N.C. General Assembly officially recognized the nation’s first state symphony orchestra. From that point on, public support grew, but fund-raising was always a vital consideration to the Swalins.”
 
Under Ben Swalin’s conductorship and Maxine Swalin’s astute management, the symphony gained recognition and conducted thousands of concerts, often in makeshift settings, throughout North Carolina, Jones said. A $1 million grant from the Ford Foundation in 1966 led to raising an additional $2 million, and when the Swalins retired in 1972, the state could boast of a national treasure.
 
The story of the orchestra’s growth was told in Ben Swalin’s book, “Hard Circus Road: The Odyssey of the North Carolina Symphony,” published by the symphony society in 1987. He died in 1989.
 
“Maxine Swalin told her own story in her autobiography, ‘An Ear to Myself,’ privately published in 1996,” Jones said. “As she approaches her centennial, she likes to point out that when she was born the Wright brothers were still repairing bicycles in Ohio.”
 
The lobby of Raleigh’s Meymandi Concert Hall is dedicated to Ben and Maxine Swalin.
 
The award ceremony will include a testimonial banquet at the Carolina Inn on May 7. Information concerning tickets, which must be purchased by April 29, can be obtained from the North Caroliniana Society, at Wilson Library, UNC Campus Box 3930, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514-8890. The phone number is (919) 962-1172, and email, hgjones@email.unc.edu.

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And the NCS, too….
 
As if the events in Chapel Hill weren’t enough for one day, Arts North Carolina and the NC Symphony offer a free concert in Meymandi Concert Hall on the evening of May 7. The event is part of “Arts Day,” which is actually two days of advocacy and general missionary work intended to remind the legislature (and others) about the importance of the arts in our midst. See our calendar for details of the concert, which is free but which requires admission passes.
 
Maxine Swalin is also being saluted by the NC Symphony, which has launched a new award for music educators that will be presented during the Symphony’s Music Teacher Appreciation Concert on May 18, in Meymandi Concert Hall. Nominations are being accepted through Monday, April 14.

Details follow below.
 

“The North Carolina Symphony announces its first annual Maxine Swalin Outstanding Music Educator Award. The award, which recognizes an individual who instills and inspires a love of music in North Carolina children, will be presented at the Symphony’s Music Teacher appreciation concert on Sunday, May 18, 2003 at 3pm in Meymandi Concert Hall at Raleigh’s BTI Center for the Performing Arts.
 
“The award honors Maxine Swalin who, together with her husband, Dr. Benjamin Swalin, Music Director and Conductor from 1939-1972, established the children’s concert division of the North Carolina Symphony in 1945. Largely because of the Swalins’ efforts, Senate Bill #248 (also known as “the horn-tootin’ bill”) passed, providing fiscal support by the state for the Symphony’s education program. Fifty-eight years later, the program still brings live symphonic music to children throughout North Carolina. Mrs. Swalin, who turns 100 in May, will present the award at a reception preceding the concert.
 
“Parents, students, administrators, professional colleagues, business and community members may submit applications for a North Carolina music teacher. The deadline for nominations is Monday, April 14, 2003. More information about the selection process and application can be found on the North Carolina Symphony website at http://www.ncsymphony.org/, or by calling Suzanne Rousso, Director of Education at the Symphony offices, 919/733-2750, ext. 235.”

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A Kitchen Addition
 
[Posted 4/12/03] CVNC extends congratulations and best wishes to Christopher Youngjin Kitchen, born at 8:34 a.m. April 4 to cellist Yeesun Kim and violinst Nicholas Kitchen, of the Boston-based Borromeo String Quartet. The baby and his parents are said to be doing just fine. So, too, are grandparents Joseph and Dorothy Kitchen, of Durham. The BSQ returns to the Triangle for two concerts in June. See our calendar in late May for details.

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Cary Bonds & the Concert Singers of Cary
 
[Posted 4/12/03] Members of the Concert Singers of Cary have provided most of the input CVNC has received concerning the recent Cary bond referendum, which was approved 56%-44% by a ridiculously small turnout of voters. This will bring $30M for parks and recreational improvements and new construction. We understand that, as part of a package of projects, a dedicated performing arts center will be recommended to the Town Council in June. The Town’s website – at http://www.townofcary.org/bonds03/projects.htm [inactive 2/04] – has more information. After the consultants prepare their recommendations, the various projects will be taken up by Town Council, and there will be a public hearing. Council could vote as early as July. We will endeavor to keep our readers informed.
 
Incidentally, the CSC has a series of fundraisers planned, starting April 24. See our calendar for details.

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Raleigh City Council comes through for Artsplosure
 
[Posted 4/12/03] From (uncorrected) minutes of the April 1 [2003] meeting of the Council:
 
“Artsplosure – Request for Funding – Approved
 
“Michael Lowder, Executive Director of Artsplosure and other members of that group were present to explain the successes of First Night 2003. Mr. Lowder stated there was a great crowd; however, they have a potential shortfall between $20 and $30,000. He stated they were asking for the Council to fund 50 percent of their shortfall so they can proceed with planning of their spring festival. He stated in the end what they anticipate a need for some $25,000 from the City.
 
“Mr. Shanahan moved approval of funding $20,000. He pointed out Artsplosure is a modal paradigm, 80 percent of their funding comes from private sources. He stated First Night is a great alcohol free festival, family oriented and in these unhappy times he feels it would be wise for the City to make sure it continues to be a success. It was pointed out we have some $17,000 in contingency but the Manager feels he could squeeze $20,000 out of the budget to cover the shortfall. Mayor Meeker seconded the motion which was put to a roll call vote and resulted in all members voting in the affirmative. The Mayor ruled the motion adopted. See Ordinance 443TF91.
 
“Mayor Meeker pointed out he had talked to representatives of the Artsplosure and questioned whether that organization could take on some of the other downtown activities such as Alive After Five. He asked Artsplosure to work with City Administration to look at some of the downtown activities to see if they could take them on with Mr. Lowder pointing out he has been in conversation with some City staff and they would love to take that challenge. Mr. Kirkman pointed out he knew they had lost some of their corporate donors. There are some new ones on the horizon and he would be happy to go with representatives of Artsplosure to work with those possible new donors. Mr. Lowder pointed out every year they loose four or five sponsors but pick up new ones. He expressed appreciation to Progress Energy for their participation. No further action was taken.”
 
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J. Mark Scearce Update
 

We reported in January that composer J. Mark Scearce, whom many Tar Heel readers will recall from his tenures at NCSU and in Hickory, has been appointed Composer-in-Residence of the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, in Nashville, TN, and announced a performance there of the first of several works to be given during his two-year engagement. Due to illness of the proposed vocalist, the premiere of Scearce’s “This Thread,” for mezzo-soprano, violin and chamber orchestra, with a text by Toni Morrison, has been postponed from April 26 (as previously announced) until sometime next season (2003-4). As noted earlier, the score deals with the events of 9/11.
 
For more information on Scearce, who is currently Resident Composer at the University of Southern Maine, visit http://www.nco.org/ [inactive 4/07] or http://www.usm.maine.edu/music/faculty/scearcej.htm [inactive 7/05].
 
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Cary Bond Referendum Set for Vote Tuesday April 8
 
Readers who live in Cary or its ETJ are reminded of the 2003 Cary bond referendum, set for Tuesday, April 8. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
 
Friends in Cary who are monitoring this report that the referendum may decide the future of a proposed performing arts center in Cary and indicate that a no vote may send the message that this facility is not a priority. Sources indicate that citizens may NOT assume that the Council will go ahead with a PAC even if the parks and recreation bond is defeated. Although there are “understandable concerns about a tax impact,” property taxes in Cary have not gone up since the last general obligation bond referendum in 1999 but were in fact reduced a cent per M. In addition, those who are monitoring this undertaking indicate that “now is a good time to borrow – rates are low both because of the economy and because Cary carries a top AAA rate, giving them the best deal available.”
 
Apparently, these are the options if the bond referendum is approved:
 
“(A) Cultural Arts Center. The old Cary Elementary School would be converted to a Cultural Arts Center, with classroom space (moved and upgraded from its current home at Jordan Hall), gallery space, and a 450-seat performance hall suitable to small performances. Work would begin immediately.
 
– AND –
 
“(B) Performing Arts Center – Two Options:
 
Option 1: Town partners with Cary High and its auditorium is expanded and improved to a 1000 seat hall with facilities for theater and public access.
 
– OR –
 
Option 2: A new facility is constructed off Academy Street (… possibly as part of the proposed Arts Park…) with a 1000-seat auditorium for music & theater, 4000 square feet of gallery space, etc.”
 
See the Town’s web site at http://townofcary.org/bonds03/ [inactive 2/04] or the 4/5/03 issue of the News & Observer for more information.
[Updated 4/7/03.]

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Komirenko Captures National Prize
 
Sergiy Komirenko, 17, is this year’s national winner of the MTNA-Yamaha High School Piano Competition, the most important contest of its kind in the United States. Komirenko has studied piano with Raleigh pianist and teacher John Ruggero since arriving from Kiev, Ukraine, in 1998. He is well known for his many performances as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and chamber musician throughout NC and neighboring states. In 2000, he was the first national winner from NC of the MTNA-Baldwin Junior High School Piano Competition, the first from North Carolina. In 2002, he was the high school winner in the Bartok-Prokofiev-Kabalevsky International Piano Competition. He is the fourth student who has won both the MTNA-Baldwin and the MTNA-Yamaha competitions.
 
His program consisted of the first movement of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G Minor ( WTC II ), Ravel’s “La Valse,” and the last movement of Chopin’s Sonata No. 3. The Ravel and the Chopin were heard in Raleigh last December and reviewed by CVNC.
 
The Music Teachers National Association is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious organization of music teachers. It has sponsored junior high school, high school and collegiate competitions for pianists since 1962. Pianists compete at the state level, then in seven geographic regions, and finally at the national convention of the MTNA, which this year took place on March 16 in Salt Lake City. Many well-known pianists have been winners of these competitions, including Peter Orth, Diane Walsh, Anthony Padilla, Edith Chen, Andrea Schneider, James Giles, Alan Chow, Eugene Watanabe, Frederic Chiu, Jeffrey Campbell, and Thomas Otten, now on the faculty of UNC-Chapel Hill.
 
The preparation for this event was more complicated than usual because Komirenko and his family left the Raleigh area for California during the time leading up to the competition. He prepared extensively last summer for the state-level contest in October. He left Raleigh at the end of December but returned in late January to perform two preparatory recitals and to coach with Ruggero before the Southern Divisional. Corrections were then sent to his new teacher, Namiq Sultanov (a noted pianist, pedagogue, and music competition jurist from the former Soviet Union), who supervised final preparations and gave additional suggestions during February and March. A final check-over and suggestions were given on the day before the competition by John Ruggero, who then (he tells CVNC ) “suffered the torments of the damned listening to the final round.”