Monday Morning Violin Gossip, Op. 2, No. 12

By Darcy Lewis

In addition to the many orchestral openings listed below, it has come to my attention that the River Bend Conservatory in Bismarck, ND, wants to hire a violist/violinist for teaching and performance. In addition to a salary of $23,000-$25,000, the winning applicant will enjoy a “sane schedule.” Call 701-355-0040 for more information.

Upcoming Auditions (see orchestras’ websites for full details)

Violin
Violin I (3), Violin II (1) – Royal Concertgebow Orchestra, 3/24 deadline, May/June audition
Section – Philadelphia Orchestra, 3/31 deadline, May 19-20 audition
Violin I, Violin II – Honolulu Symphony, 4/1 deadline, May 21-24 audition in NYC, (plus one per-service Violin I position available)
Violin I (2) – Springfield (MA) Symphony, 4/2 deadline, April 11 audition
Concertmaster, Asst. Concertmaster, Section (2) – Macao Orchestra, 4/3 deadline, April TBD
Assoc. Princ. Second – Phoenix Symphony, 4/10 deadline, May 14 audition
Section (2) – Florida Orchestra, 4/10 deadline, May 8-9 audition
Violin II – Promusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus (OH), 4/28 deadline, May 10 audition
Concertmaster – Symphony Nova Scotia, deadline not specified, May 11 audition
Violin II – Memphis Symphony, 5/1 deadline, May 21 audition
Section – Jacksonville Symphony, 5/1 deadline, May 22 audition
Principal Second – Victoria Symphony, 5/1 deadline, May 25 audition
Assoc. Concertmaster, Section – Louisiana Philharmonic, deadline not specified, May 22 audition
Assoc. Concertmaster, Asst. Concertmaster – Alabama Symphony, 5/2 deadline, May 23 audition
Section – Pacific Symphony, 5/15 deadline, June 4 audition

Viola
Asst. Principal – National Symphony, 3/20 deadline, May 13-15 audition
Section per-service (2) – Honolulu Symphony, 4/1 deadline, May 21-24 audition in NYC
Section – Cleveland Orchestra, 4/10 deadline, June 10 audition
Principal – North Carolina Symphony, 4/21 deadline, May 8 audition
Section – Virginia Symphony Orchestra, deadline not specified, May 5 audition
Section – Knoxville Symphony, 5/5 deadline, May 22 audition
Section (1-year position) – Louisiana Philharmonic, deadline not specified, May 22 audition
Principal – Hong Kong Philharmonic, 5/8 deadline, May 22 audition – Chicago; May 23-24 audition, New York; June 5-7 audition, Hong Kong
Asst. Principal – Alabama Symphony, 5/2 deadline, May 24 audition
Section (2) – Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, 5/12 deadline, May 26 audition
Asst. Principal – Calgary Philharmonic, deadline not specified, June 1 audition
Principal, Section – Kansas City Symphony, 6/5 deadline, Mid-June audition

Cello
Section – Honolulu Symphony, 4/1 deadline, May 21-24 audition in NYC, (plus one per-service Cello position available)
Asst. Principal, Section – Springfield (MA) Symphony, 4/2 deadline, April 9 audition
Principal – Macao Orchestra, 4/3 deadline, April audition TBD
Section – Cleveland Orchestra, 4/7 deadline, June 7 audition
Section – Huntsville (AL) Symphony, 4/10 deadline, April 17 audition
Principal – Kalamazoo Symphony, 4/25 deadline, May 25 audition

Bass
Section – Nashville Symphony, 3/24 deadline, May 7-8 audition
Section – Honolulu Symphony, 4/1 deadline, May 21-24 audition in NYC, (plus one per-service Bass position available)
Section – Puerto Rico Symphony, 5/1 deadline, June 9 audition
Asst. Principal – Tacoma Symphony, 5/5 deadline, May 20 audition

Musician News

The Manhattan School of Music has announced two new additions to the string faculty starting next September: Robert Mann and Nicholas Mann. Robert Mann, who founded the Juilliard String Quartet in 1946 and served for many years as its first violinist, has also conducted throughout his professional career, as a guest at Manhattan and in such venues as Tanglewood and Central Park. During the summer he is a regular guest artist at Japan's Saito Kinen Music Festival. His son, Nicholas Mann, a founding member of the Mendelssohn String Quartet and now in his 27th season with that ensemble, is currently on the faculty of The Juilliard School. He has taught at the Hartt School of Music, the North Carolina School of the Arts, the University of Delaware, and Harvard University.

4/11/06 - Principal players of the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Detroit Symphony and New Jersey Symphony will play a concert to benefit New York City's Riverside Church. The concert, led by Neeme Jarvi, will be filmed as part of a documentary on the philosophical, historical, and biographical context of the work. Orchestra members are volunteering their services for this performance and proceeds will benefit various community and social outreach initiatives of the church, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary.

3/30-31/06 – San Francisco Symphony concertmaster Alexander Barantschik will perform the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 2 with Mstislav Rostropovich on the podium.

3/26/06 - Vadim Repin will play a recital in Berkeley, CA with pianist Nikolai Lugansky as partner.

3/20/06 – Today is the scheduled date for conductor James Levine to undergo surgery to mend his torn rotator cuff, reports the New York Times. He has been forced to cancel the remainder of this season's engagements with the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony in the hopes of being fully recovered in time for the BSO's summer season at Tanglewood.

3/14/06 – According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Symphony concertmaster Andrés Cárdenes was tapped to fill in on very short notice for conductor Robert Spano, who was sidelined by bronchitis. Staff conductors Daniel Meyer and Lawrence Loh were unavailable. The program included the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 with Lars Vogt, Debussy's Petite Suite and Dvorak's Symphony No. 7.

Orchestra News

3/20/06 - Orange County's Pacific Symphony is heading to Europe for its first tour. The orchestra has been talking about going on a tour for about a decade. But until recently it wasn't thought that the orchestra was ready for one, financially or artistically, reports the Orange County Register. The tour opens today in Munich and concludes March 30 in Vienna. The repertoire will include Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 1 with Lynn Harrell.

3/14/06 - The Friends of the Topeka Symphony, which shares conductor John Strickler with the Gulf Coast Symphony, donated $10,000 to help the Coast musicians complete their post-Katrina season, reports the Biloxi Sun Herald. “Although Katrina didn't cause property or venue damage for the symphony, the storm severely depleted its donor base because many season ticket holders, who are also the biggest donors, left the area. Municipal and county donations diminished, and fundraisers had to be canceled." The paper adds: "When [the GCS] received the Topeka donation, the four-concert 2005-06 season had already been whittled to three events and the last of these was at risk for cancellation. While the $10,000 is about one-third of the actual cost of the concert, it's the ‘missing third.' "

Link to previous columns