Juilliard String Quartet Albums Re-Released
September, 2010, New York, NY: Sony has announced that four Juilliard String Quartet albums that have not been available since the Lp era are now available digitally as downloads and Arkiv Music burn-on-demand CDs. The digital albums are:
Mozart: The Last String Quartets;
Miniatures for Strings;
Bartok: The Complete String Quartets (1963 stereo recordings); &
Ives: Sting Quartets Nos. 1 & 2.
For details, see http://www.sonymasterworks.com/artist/juilliard-string-quartet/ or http://www.arkivmusic.com/, recently purchased by Steinway.
(Press release courtesy of Steinway.)
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Meredith College Music Director Takes the RSO Baton… Raleigh Symphony Orchestra Announces New Music Director & Conductor
September 1, 2010, Raleigh, NC: The Raleigh Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of Dr. Jim Waddelow as its new Music Director and Conductor. He succeeds the founding Music Director and Conductor, Maestro Alan Neilson, who held the post for thirty years.
A native of Oklahoma, Dr. Waddelow joined the faculty of Meredith College as Director of Instrumental Activities in 2007. He conducts the Meredith Sinfonietta and serves as Musical Director for musical theater productions in the Department of Theater and Dance and has been the Orchestra Director of the Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony Summer Music Camp in Eureka Springs, Arkansas since 1999. He is an active clinician and adjudicator throughout the South.
“The Raleigh Symphony Orchestra is excited to have Jim as our new conductor,” explained Irene Burke, RSO executive director. “Jim brings extensive musical experience and we look forward to his helping the Symphony build upon the substantial legacy created by Maestro Alan Neilson in his thirty years of dedicated service. Under his musical leadership, the RSO will continue its mission of providing quality and affordable music to the Raleigh community.”
Upcoming performances for Maestro Jim Waddelow and the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra begin October 17, 2010 at 7PM in Jones Auditorium, Meredith College featuring Yang Xi on violin performing the Brahm’s Violin Concerto in D major. Selections also include Franck’s Symphony in d minor and Carl Maria von Weber’s Overture to Der Freischutz led by Conductor Emeritus, Maestro Alan Neilson.
For more information about the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra, call 919/546-9755.
(Press release provided by the RSO.)
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Don K. Davis Named North Carolina Symphony Interim President and CEO
September 9, 2010, Raleigh, NC: Don K. Davis, a member of the Board of Trustees for seven years, is the retired former Executive Vice President of Progress Energy. While on the Board, Davis has served on the nominating, audit, and finance committees and for the past two years, the executive committee. Symphony Board of Trustees Chairman William Cavanaugh III announced today that Mr. Davis, a Fayetteville native and NC State University graduate, will take over duties as North Carolina Symphony interim president and CEO on Monday, Sept. 13.
“We’re delighted that Don has agreed to step out of retirement and into this role on behalf of the organization,” says Cavanaugh. “Don’s years of executive experience make him the best possible choice to lead the Symphony forward in this time of transition.”
“I am pleased and honored to be able to step in to help provide interim leadership for the NC Symphony while we search for its next President and CEO,” says Davis. “Like many North Carolinians, I had the privilege of hearing the Symphony at a young age. Its mission is unique and appreciated by all in North Carolina, and like all my fellow Trustees, I am committed to preserving and advancing this mission of education and entertainment throughout the state.”
“The Symphony has a strong staff and four excellent vice presidents who will continue to move the organization forward,” says Cavanaugh. “We are confident that the Symphony won’t miss a beat as we seek a new president in the coming months.” The Board of Trustees plans to conduct a national search, and a search committee will be formed by the end of the week.
David Chambless Worters resigned as Symphony president and CEO on Wednesday, Sept. 1, in order to lead the Fort Worth, Texas based Van Cliburn Foundation as its president & CEO. “We thank David for his 11 years of service to the organization,” says Cavanaugh. “His leadership will be missed, but we wish him success and happiness in his new role.” Worters’s last day will be Friday, Sept. 10.
(press release courtest of the NCS)
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Stefani Collins Moves Up in the Violin World
September 16, 2010, Winston-Salem, NC: University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) School of Music alumna Stefani Collins, of Summerfield, recently was accepted to and competed in the 8th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. She was among what the competition describes as “forty of the world’s brightest talents.” You can listen to and watch her perform during the competition preliminaries on the IVC’s website: http://www.violin.org/2010comp/listen_watch.html (at the end of the list, bottom of the page).
Currently a student at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Collins graduated in 2007 from high school at UNCSA, where her principal teacher was Sarah Johnson. Collins has performed with the Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Eastern Music Festival, North Carolina, and Mid-Atlantic orchestras. She has also appeared with the New York String Orchestra and All-Girl Vivaldi Orchestra, and on NPR’s “From the Top.” In 2009, she was the DeLay Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and the Second Prize Laureate at the Portnoy International Violin Competition.
(Press release provided by the UNCSA.)
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Charlotte Symphony Receives $1 Million Endowment Gift
September 16, Charlotte , NC: The Charlotte Symphony (CSO) announced today that it has received a $1 million gift from the trust of J. Mason Wallace, Jr. The bequest will be held in the Symphony’s endowment.
“This is an extraordinary gift from a man dedicated to his community and to his orchestra,” said current CSO Board Chair James G. Martin. “Mason Wallace’s generosity is the culmination of a lifelong commitment to the arts in Charlotte. As the Charlotte Symphony builds its endowment over the next several years, this gift will inspire our efforts. We are truly grateful to the Wallace family.”
A music lover and Charlotte Symphony subscriber for decades, along with his wife Nancy, J. Mason Wallace, Jr. served on the CSO Board of Directors in the early 1960s. Born and reared in Mecklenburg County, he graduated from Davidson College and fought in World War II, receiving three Purple Heart medals. In addition to the Symphony board, he served on the boards of Davidson College, Brevard Music Center, Queens University, Charlotte Country Day School, and Sharon Towers and as chairman of Presbyterian Hospital. He was a former member of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners. Mr. Wallace died in 2008. He was a lifelong member of Sardis Presbyterian Church, where he served as a Deacon and Elder.
“My father loved going to the Symphony with my mother, sitting with a group of friends, all fellow season ticket holders,” said son John Wallace. “He was a strong supporter of the arts and believed that they were an important part of the life and culture of any community. We hope that his generous gift will encourage others to give to the arts, and in particular, to the Charlotte Symphony.”
(Press release provided by the CSO.)
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Triad Stage Honored by American Theatre Wing as One of Top 10 Theatres to Emerge in Last 15 Years
September 2010, Greensboro , NC: The American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards, awarded Triad Stage a $10,000 grant, honoring the company as one of the Top 10 Most Promising Theaters to have emerged in the last 15 years across the United States. Recipients of the inaugural National Theatre Company Grant include theatres in Arlington, Boise, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, Philadelphia and Portland.
The American Theatre Wing sought theaters that, in the last fifteen years, “articulated a distinctive mission, cultivated an audience, and nurtured a community of artists in ways that strengthen the quality, diversity, and dynamism of American theatre.” In its first nine seasons, Triad Stage has produced over 60 MainStage productions, holiday shows, and special events. Selling over 300,000 tickets and gaining a loyal 3,000 Season Passholder base, Triad Stage has continued to thrive in a time where many regional theaters have closed their doors. The collapse of the textile industry, the events of September 11, 2001 (only months before the opening of the first season), and the recession of 2008, all shaped Triad Stage’s development. The desire to create theatre for the community — allowing the audience the pride of saying, “This theater is ours ”— drove Triad Stage’s founders Preston Lane and Richard Whittington. “We are incredibly delighted by this recognition, but the real honor goes to our audiences, who continue to encourage and support us,” states Whittington. “Their belief in Triad Stage’s mission and work go to prove just how far an arts organization can come in such a short time when its community stands behind it.” With over 1,400 performances to date, Triad Stage continues to be a prominent fixture of Downtown Greensboro, recently recognized with the J. Edward Kitchen Leadership Award by Downtown Greensboro Inc., as well as the regional theatre community. Since the beginning, Triad Stage has consistently fostered a thriving artistic voice of its own, employing close to a thousand actors, directors, and designers in its first nine seasons.
About the American Theatre Wing: The American Theatre Wing (Theodore S. Chapin, Chairman of the Board of Trustees; Howard Sherman, Executive Director) is best known as the creator of the Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards, which it presents annually with The Broadway League. In addition to the media programs “Downstage Center,” “In The Wings,” “Working in the Theatre,” and a host of other online resources, The Wing sponsors many activities, all dedicated to recognizing excellence and supporting education in theatre…
(Press release provided by Triad Stage.)
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