News Updates (9/13/03, rev. 11/2/03)
Musicians of the Charlotte Symphony, faced with cuts proposed to help curb the orchestra’s first deficit in seven years, went out on strike on 9/9, leading to the cancellation of the season’s first two concerts. Work with a federal mediator has begun. The Charlotte Observer seems to be the best source of information, or click here [inactive 2/04] for the CSO’s press release. [See our Western calendar for details of a 9/13 freebie, being presented by the musicians.]*
* NOTE : The CSO strike ended 10/31/03 with a new agreement, although several details remain to be resolved. The orchestra’s seaon resumes. See the Charlotte Observer for details. [edited 11/2/03]
NCSA alumna Jennifer Welch-Babidge makes her NY City Opera debut as Lucia in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor this month. Performance dates are 9/13, 16, 20, 25, 28 and 10/1 and 3. The Aulander (NC) native attended the NCSA and received her B.M. and M.M. degrees there. She is also on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera.
NCSA composer Lawrence Dillon’s “Amadeus ex machina” (2001) will be performed by the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra in Indianapolis on 9/15. The work was premiered by the Carolina Chamber Symphony.
On 9/25, pianist Gregory C. McCallum will participate in the NY premiere of Daniel Lombardi’s Two Symphonias (for 21 pianos) at the recently renovated Winter Garden in the World Financial Center. Also on the program is the premiere of Lombardi’s “Threnodia,” dedicated to the memory of 9/11 victims. A note from McCallum reports that the other participants include Frederic Rzewski, composer of the “Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues,” which he (McCallum) has performed across the Southeast and recently recorded in the abandoned Chatham Label Mill in Pittsboro. The NY event’s sponsor, Klavierhaus, has made arrangements to use 21 Fazioli grand pianos for the premiere. Readers who may wish to attend are invited to contact CVNC for additional information.
Also on 9/25, but in London instead of New York, NCSU cellist Jonathan Kramer joins former ECU cellist Selma Gokcen for a concert remembering Pablo Casals. The venue is the Purcell Room of London’s South Bank Centre. Gokcen will perform three of Bach’s Cello Suites, inextricably linked in the memories of music lovers with Casals. Kramer will speak on Casals’ “musicianship, his life in exile, and his heroic struggles on behalf of peace and human dignity.” A pre-concert interview with Casals protégé Bernard Greenhouse will launch the event. Readers who may wish to attend are invited to contact CVNC for additional information.
According to a spokesperson at the Carolina Theatre, emergency repairs are proceeding on schedule. The 9/26 performance of “Break! The Urban Funk Spectacular” will be given in the Durham Civic Center. Otherwise, all Carolina Theatre events remain on the calendar.
Congratulations to radio station WCPE for being a finalist in the contest to be the NAB’s “Classical Radio Station of the Year.” The winner will be announced 10/2. WCPE is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
Congratulations to the Raleigh Ringers, whose dvd, released last year – trimmed to a one-hour program – has been selected for syndication nationwide through the American Public Television Exchange service. For details, see http://aptonline.org/ .
Congratulations to the Vocal Arts Ensemble, selected to present a concert at the convention of the Southern Division of the American Choral Directors Association in Nashville, TN, in late February. The VAE is directed by Duke-based Rodney Wynkoop.
During the summer, pianist Dmitri Vorobiev, of the NCSA, took first place in the 15th New Orleans International Piano Competition.
Former NCSU violinist and conductor Xaio-lu Li has been named Principal Conductor of China’s National Symphony Orchestra. Stateside, he is Music Director of the Bangor (Maine) Symphony and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, based in New London.
The NC Symphony has created an education fund honoring Jeffrey Pollock, former Assistant Conductor. For more information, contact John Mitterling, VP for Development, at 919/733-2750.
The NEA has issued a lengthy report on public participation in the arts in America. For a *.pdf copy, see http://www.arts.gov/pub/notes/81.pdf [inactive 3/07]. For the demographic section of the report, see http://www.arts.gov/pub/notes/82.pdf [inactive 3/07].
The Durham Arts Council has published a similar albeit less massive study of audience development in the Triangle, available online at http://www.durhamarts.org/ad_about.html .
The Town of Cary has updated its Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Masterplan. See http://www.townofcary.org/depts/prdept/parksmasterplan.htm [inactive 8/05] and http://www.townofcary.org/depts/prdept/culturalreco.pdf [inactive 8/05].
