Conductors, Composers, Deans, Teachers, other Artists and Performing Organizations (including the National Symphony Orchestra – coming to NC in 2005), & Grants in the News; & Curry Named Resident Conductor of NCS (Posted 8/3/04)
 
It was a homecoming of considerable proportions. UNCSO Music Director Tonu Kalam, whose parents came to the US from Estonia (and whose father was a distinguished conductor in his own right), led the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra in Tallinn on June 4, in a program of music by Eino Tamberg, Eduard Tubin, Barber, Bernstein, and Ravel. The event was part of the annual “Tubin and His Time” Festival. It was the Maestro’s fourth engagement with the ENSO in the past 10 years, but he hadn’t been there since 1997. He reports that the changes in the country are absolutely dramatic and wonderful. The economy is healthy, tourism is booming, and there is new construction everywhere, lots of advanced wireless technology, etc.
 
As it happened, he himself had never been there till 1994, three years after Estonia regained its independence due to the breakup of the Soviet Union. Kalam writes, “The concert hall (Estonia Theater) and the orchestra are the same where my dad played principal viola before the war and occasionally conducted, though the building was destroyed in a bombing raid in March 1944 and has since been reconstructed and restored to its original appearance.
 
“Tubin (1905-82), was Estonia’s most prominent composer of large-scale works (ten symphonies, two operas, two violin concertos, etc., all recorded by countryman Neeme Järvi), and every year there is a festival lasting a couple weeks devoted to music by him and his contemporaries. My concert took place in that context, and I performed a program of two Estonian, two American and two French works, all of which were symphonic dances of one kind or another. The opener was a Symphonic Dance by [Eino] Tamberg, an older-generation Estonian composer who still teaches at the Estonian Music Academy. [This was] followed by Tubin’s Suite on Estonian Dance Tunes for Violin and Orchestra, with a very fine young Estonian violinist as soloist. We then did Barber’s “Medea’s Meditation and Dance of Vengeance,” Bernstein’s Three Dance Episodes from On the Town , and closed with Ravel’s “Pavane” and “Bolero.” The orchestra is very fine, particularly the strings. Audience reaction was very favorable, and Tubin’s son, who lives in Turkey but comes there every year for the festivals, was most complimentary.”
 
Kalam has provided links to before- and after-reconstruction photos and notes that, “As you can see, it is actually a building with twin facades – opera house on the left, concert hall on the right. Both have separate full-time orchestras – 85 or so for the opera, 100 for the symphony.”
The Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, NC’s oldest community orchestra, has named Fouad Fakhouri Music Director, effective with the 2004-5 season.
 
TriangleSings! has reported the resignation of William J. Weisser as Director of the Capital Area Chorale, noting that the organization “is currently searching for a new director and rehearsal location [and …] is ‘planning to begin rehearsals no earlier than January 2005 if the group does indeed decide to continue.'”
 
David Pegg will resign as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bel Canto Company (Greensboro) at the end of the 2004-5 season. Applications from qualified directors are being sought; see http://www.greensboro.com/belcanto/adjob.htm [inactive 4/05] for details.
 
“The Peace may be exchanged,” from composer Dan Locklair’s Rubrics , was among the works played by Scott Hanoain, Assistant Organist and Choir Master of Washington’s National Cathedral, during the funeral of President Reagan on June 11. For details and a complete list of the service music (which included a remarkable number of contemporary scores), see http://cathedral.org/cathedral/pdfs/servicemusic040611.pdf [inactive 8/05. Readers who peruse this list may wish to note that there is an error in the citation of the recessional music: “The Mansions of the Lord” is from We Were Soldiers, not We Were Brothers.
 
The NC School of the Arts has named Thomas S. Clark Dean of the School of Music. Clark, a composer, leaves University of North Texas College of Music in Denton, where he was Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The NCSA’s press release reports that the appointment was confirmed July 9 by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and notes that Clark assumes his new duties on August 9. He succeeds Robert Yekovich, who left the NCSA in July 2003 to become Dean of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Lawrence Dillon served as Interim Dean of the NCSA School of Music for the 2003-4 year. The complete press release, from which the information presented here has been extracted, is online at http://www.ncarts.edu/pressreleases/Releases2004/July04/tomclark.htm [inactive 8/09].
 
The Arts Council of Winston-Salem/Foysyth County has appointed as its Interim Director Bonnie Poindexter, retired Executive Director of the greater Triad Chapter of the March of Dimes. According to an article in Philanthropy Journal, the search for a replacement for Robert Chumbley, who resigned as Director of the Arts Council on 4/1, is expected to take at least six months.
 
Pedagogue and coach Betti McDonald, who operated a voice studio in Durham for a time and is now based in Florida and New York (and who is the mother of soprano Monique McDonald), has been named Teacher of the Year by the magazine Classical Singer. Betti McDonald was selected from among five finalists from all over the world.
 
Clarinetist Bryan A. Crumpler, of Charlotte, who did his undergraduate work at UNC-Chapel Hill, has received a fellowship for graduate study and an artist residency at the Royal Conservatory of Belgium, in Ghent. He will perform with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra this fall; see our series tab for details. Following that engagement (and a residency in Wilmington), Crumpler will make his debut in NY as a soloist, with the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra.

As reported on 5/26, readers who will be in New York on October 9 will have an opportunity to hear cellist Selma Gokcen, formerly of ECU and now based in London, and NCSU’s Jonathan Kramer in a tribute to Pablo Casals. The venue is the 92nd Street Y, and the guest of honor will be Bernard Greenhouse. The program includes a discussion of “Casals the Musician” and a performance of Bach’s Suite for Violoncello Solo No. 3, in C, S.1009; ” Casals in Exile,” with the Suite No. 5, in C, S.1011; and ” Casals: Man of Peace,” with Suite No. 6, in D, S.1012. (CVNC ers may wish to note that Greenhouse will be the honoree of next spring’s cello festival at UNCG. We will post details soon.)

The Vocal Arts Ensemble (of Durham) has been selected to perform at the national convention of the American Choral Directors Association, in Los Angeles, in early February. We congratulate the VAE and its indefatigable leader, Rodney Wynkoop.
 
On the morning of August 3, at a news conference in Meymandi Concert Hall, one of five concurrent presentations across the state, Mary B. Regan, Executive Director of the North Carolina Arts Council announced that North Carolina has been selected by the National Symphony Orchestra for its 2005 American Residency. As of this writing, final arrangements have not been made, but the residency is expected to involve around 150 activities including five full orchestra concerts (in Fayetteville, Greenville, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Boone), three young people’s concerts (one in Greenville and two in Boone), and several chamber music programs*. The conductors will be NSO Music Director Leonard Slatkin and Associate Conductor Emil de Cou. The dates are March 8-18, 2005. More information will be posted at a later date. For information about previous American Residencies, see http://www.kennedy-center.org/nso/community/. For a review of the NSO’s last concert in NC, click here.
 
*The tour partners are the Arts Council of Cumberland County and Fayetteville State University, East Carolina University, the NC Symphony, the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, and Appalachian State University. In addition to the formal concerts noted above, this American Residency will involve presentations in schools, masterclasses, and various outreach events. The American Residency is funded in a way that permits proceeds from ticket sales to remain in NC, to benefit local performing arts organizations. Applications for services are being solicited by the NCAC and/or the tour partners – visit the NCAC’s website for more information, for overall program details, many of which have not yet been finalized, and for a copy of the complete press release, which should be posted soon. The NCAC’s coordinator for this project is Stephanie Russell .
CVNC wound up in the news, rather than reporting it, in the wake of the National Performing Arts Convention, held in Pittsburgh in early June. You can read a note about us… [inactive 7/05].
 
Finally, ’tis the season when our arts councils and commissions announce the grants they are awarding for the 2004-5 season. For the first time, we present details of some of these grants – and we welcome additional information from donors not yet listed here. Our intent is to increase reader awareness of the sources of funding for our various organizations and – perhaps – to inspire additional support of these and other non-profits.
News items compiled from various sources & annotated by John W. Lambert (8/3/04)

***
 

Arts Grants Updates – How Cultural Groups Fared in the Struggle for Funding (Posted 8/3/04 & updated 8/16/04)
 
The NORTH CAROLINA ARTS COUNCIL (http://www.ncarts.org/) is in the process of notifying recipients of grants for 2004-5. These will be posted in the near future at http://www.ncarts.org/.* Meanwhile, Arts North Carolina has reported the passage of the State budget for 2004-5, which includes the following items of possible interest to our readers:
1. Non-profit arts organizations as recognized by the Internal Revenue Service are now exempt from the 3% Amusements Tax (also known as the Gross Receipts Tax), per House Bill 1303.
2. The North Carolina Arts Council, slated for a $276,296 cut to its grants programs in 2004-5, received a restoration of those grants funds. In addition, they received $82,000 in operating funds that had been cut over the past three years. These funds are recurring.
3. The North Carolina Museum of Art received an additional $487,500 in recurring funds and $487,500 in non-recurring funds from its 2003-4 level.
4. The North Carolina Symphony received an additional $200,000 in non-recurring funds for fiscal year 2004-5.

For more information, contact Arts North Carolina.
 
* Updated 8/16/04 : The NCAC has posted lists of grant recipients by counties, at its website. For A-M, see http://www.ncarts.org/press_release.cfm?ID=171; and for N-Z, see http://www.ncarts.org/press_release.cfm?ID=172.

ARTS & SCIENCE COUNCIL, CHARLOTTE (http://www.artsandscience.org/ [inactive 2/06]):
Actors Theatre of Charlotte $32,565
Afro-American Cultural Center $280,097
Carolina Raptor Center $132,256
Carolina Voices $34,049
Charlotte Children’s Choir $56,996
Charlotte Civic Orchestra $43,129
Charlotte History Museum $324,417
Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra $63,216
Charlotte Repertory Theatre $410,420
Charlotte Symphony $1,900,000
Charlotte Trolley Museum $52,518
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte $418,088
Community School of the Arts $312,829
Discovery Place $1,200,000
Historic Rosedale Plantation $34,040
Latta Plantation $63,748
Levine Museum of the New South $618,262
McColl Center for Visual Art $518,248
The Mint Museums $1,700,000
Moving Poets Theatre of Dance $74,368
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center $417,522
N.C. Dance Theatre $906,024
Opera Carolina $675,633
Second Ward High School National Alumni Foundation $21,883
The Light Factory $166,845
Theatre Charlotte $144,895
Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary $49,086
Note: Later this fiscal year, the ASC will give c.$200,000 to smaller organizations and c.$30,000 to individual artists.
You can read ASC’s press release [inactive 2/06].

CITY OF RALEIGH ARTS COMMISSION (http://www.raleigh-nc.org/arts/ [inactive 7/05]):
OPERATING SUPPORT – asterisked groups also receive program support:
Arts Together $40,000
Artsplosure, Inc. $100,000
Burning Coal Theatre $35,000*
Carolina Ballet Inc. $100,000
North Carolina Master Chorale $27,500*
North Carolina Theatre $5,000*
Opera Company of NC $40,000
Pinecone $50,000
Raleigh Boychoir $7,500
Raleigh Chamber Music Guild $12,000*
Raleigh Ensemble Players $16,000*
Raleigh Symphony Orchestra $25,000
Visual Art Exchange $32,000*
PROGRAM SUPPORT – asterisked groups also receive operating support:
Arts Access $9,500
Artspace, Inc. $15,000
Burning Coal Theatre $15,000
Classical Voice of NC $4,000
Community Music School $37,000
Even Exchange Dance Theater $11,000
International Focus, Inc. $40,000
North Carolina Master Chorale $5,000*
North Carolina Theatre $18,000*
Nuv Yug Cultural Organization $9,000
Raleigh Chamber Music Guild $3,000*
Raleigh Civic Symphony Assn $12,000
Raleigh Ensemble Players $22,500*
Visual Art Exchange $10,000*
Note: Some (but not all) of these groups also receive grants from United Arts.

UNITED ARTS COUNCIL OF RALEIGH & WAKE COUNTY (http://www.unitedarts.org/):
PROGRAMMING LEVEL I – asterisked groups also receive project support:
Arts Together, Inc. $29,000
Artspace $36,000*
Artsplosure $47,350
Burning Coal Theatre Company $17,750*
Cary Visual Art $9,750
Community Music School $14,000
International Focus, Inc. $8,000
North Carolina Master Chorale $14,000*
The Opera Company of North Carolina $7,500
PineCone $34,000
Raleigh Boychoir, Inc. $5,000
Raleigh Chamber Music Guild $11,000*
Raleigh Ensemble Players $16,350
Raleigh Little Theatre, Inc. $37,000
Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, Inc. $13,750
Visual Art Exchange $11,705
PROGRAMMING LEVEL II:
Arts Access $3,100
Concert Singers of Cary $5,497
Even Exchange Dance Theater $3,500
The Indian Classical Music and Dance Society $1,5000
North Carolina Wind Orchestra $3,764
Raleigh Area Flute Association $2,500
Raleigh Civic Symphony Association $7,500
Towne Players of Garner, Inc. $3,100
Wake Forest Cultural Arts Association $2,561
ARTS IN EDUCATION INITIATIVE GRANTS:
Artspace $4,000
Bugg Creative Arts & Science Magnet School $4,500
Contemporary Art Museum $2,000
Douglas Elementary Creative Arts & Science Magnet $4,000
Millbrook Elementary Magnet School $4,500
Olds University Connections Magnet Elem School $3,000
PROJECT GRANTS:
Artspace $2,000*
Burning Coal Theatre Company $4,000*
El Pueblo, Inc. $4,000
North Carolina Master Chorale $3,000*
Nuv Yug Cultural Organization $5,000
Philharmonic Association, Inc. $1,000
Raleigh Chamber Music Guild $2,000*
Note 1: UA’s 2004 goal is $580,000. As of this posting, UA has not met this goal.
Note 2: Some (but not all) of these groups also receive grants from CORAC.
Note 3: UA’s individual artist grants are not awarded until the fall, with funds available for the following calendar year. That panel meets in November and the awards will be announced in December.

ORANGE COUNTY ARTS COMMISSION (http://www.artsorange.org/):
OPERATING SUPPORT:
The ArtsCenter $2,000
Chapel Hill Museum 1,000
Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission $3,000

PROGRAM SUPPORT:
Carolina Union/Artist in Residence – Marcus Roberts $1,500
Chapel Hill Community Chorus – Artists’ Fees for Local Musicians $700
Deep Dish Theatre Company – Theatrical Production $1,000
Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation – Performers for Powwow $1,500
Orange County Artists Guild – Studio Tour & Arts/Meadow Promo. $1,500
ARTS IN EDUCATION:
Hillsborough Elementary School – Artist in Residence – Beverly Botsford $1,000
OTHER:
ArtsCenter Advocates, Inc. – OCAC Program – Arts Incubator $1,500
Durham Arts Council – OCAC Program – Emerging Artists $1,476

IINDIVIDUAL ARTISTS/PROJECTS:
Iris Thompson Chapman – Joe Thompson Exhibit (Phase 2) $1,000
Phoenix Miller – Heritage Arts & Crafts in Orange Co. $300
Paul M. Neebe – Commissioned Piece w/Public Recital $300
Mary Ruth – Artsclasses Website Promotions $300
Karen L. Shelton – Clyde Jones Book Project $1,000
Durham Arts Council – OCAC Program – Emerging Artists $24

Note: The OCAC makes awards twice a year; the information provided above is for the first half of FY 2004-5.
African American Dance Ensemble
Carlota Santana Spanish Dance
Carolina Wren Press
Choral Society of Durham
Choreo Collective
Durham Association for Downtown Arts
Durham Community Concert Band
Durham Jazz
Durham Music Teachers Association
Durham Savoyards, Ltd.
Durham Symphony Orchestra
Long Leaf Opera
Mallarmé Chamber Players
Manbites Dog Theater Company
North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble
Rotimi Foundation
St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation
The Durham Art Guild, Inc.
The Durham Chorale
Triangle Gay Men’s Chorus
Walltown Children’s Theatre
Young People’s Performing Co.
Note: The DAC declined to divulge specific amounts awarded to these organizations.
 
UNITED ARTS COUNCIL OF GREENSBORO (http://www.uacgreensboro.org/) [Note: This is a site that captures you – so if you click here, your “back” button will not return to you CVNC …]
 
In early July, the United Arts Council of Greensboro said it has raised $950,000 as part of its annual campaign, putting it at nearly 80 percent of its goal of $1.2 million. The results are pending, as of this posting, Meanwhile, the Grassroots Grants Committee of the United Arts Council has awarded $25,000 in grants to 11 organizations. Grants went to:
African-American Atelier $2,500
Carolina Theatre of Greensboro $1,570
Center for Creative Arts $3,100
Center for Education, Imagination and the Natural World $650
Community Theatre of Greensboro $1,275
Friends of the Greensboro Public Library $4,350
Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art $1,675
Greensboro Artists’ League $4,240
North Carolina Dance Project $1,070
Triad Stage $3,550
Very Special Arts North Carolina $1,020
 
ARTS COUNCIL WINSTON-SALEM FORSYTH COUNTY (http://www.intothearts.org/grants.html [inactive 1/05]): Goal: $1.9M
Details pending.