Violin News & Gossip, Op. 3, No. 38

May 12, 2007 at 3:00 PM

5/10/07 – Trouble brewed in Boston Wednesday night, when a fistfight erupted in a balcony during the Boston Pops’ opening night concert. Conductor Keith Lockhart briefly stopped the opening night performance while officers escorted the two fighters out of the hall. The incident drew international attention, including jokes on "The Tonight Show."

Twenty-seven-year-old Matthew Ellenger says the incident began when he told 44-year-old Michael Hallam to be quiet during the performance. Ellenger says after some continued bickering, Hallam punched him. No one has publicly heard Hallam's side of the story yet.

5/11/07 – For Ellinger’s version, read his account on WHDH-TV.

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5/9/07 – The Los Angeles Times reports on classical radio station KUSC-FM’s fund drive, held between April 26 and May 6. “In the most successful pledge drive in its 60-year history, the nonprofit station raised more than $1.1 million with 7,900 pledges, KUSC President Brenda Barnes announced Tuesday. New members accounted for 60% of the pledges, and most of those identified themselves as new listeners ... KUSC Development Director Janet McIntyre said the recent drive drew an unprecedented 4,782 new members, pledging an average $142 a year. McIntyre said new members came from 34 states besides California, thanks to the station’s Internet transmissions. KUSC, based at [the University of Southern California], is the nation’s largest nonprofit classical music station.” Smith notes that commercial classical station KMZT’s recent “move to a frequency with a weaker signal and inferior sound quality left KUSC as the dominant classical music station in the area.”

Musician News

5/20/07 - Violinist Betty Zhou will perform the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Bloomfield (NJ) Symphony Orchestra. Zhou is the winner of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra 2006 Concerto Competition.

5/12/07 - Joshua Bell will be featured on From The Top- Live from Carnegie Hall on PBS in selected markets.

5/12/07 – I received a note from violinist Vincent P. Skowronski that WFIU-FM Bloomington will play two tracks from his latest CD. The Szymanowski Sonata in D Minor will be broadcast at approximately 12:05am (ET), while another track will be broadcast on May 23.

5/10/07 – The Worcester (Mass.) Telegram profiled rock violinist Bobby Yang: “Some people learn to play violin by the Suzuki method. Bobby Yang seems to have learned by the Harley-Davidson method, as his brand of playing is pure, roaring rock 'n' roll.”

5/10/07 – The Mongolian violinist Degi is the subject of a profile in the UB Post, an English-language newspaper in that country. Degi, who has recorded two albums, studied at Grand Valley State in Michigan with violinist Dylana Jenson.

5/10/07 – When From the Top recorded an episode in Columbus, Ohio, the
Columbus Dispatch ran a blow-by-blow account. Among the performers on this episode were violinist Siwoo Kim of Westerville, Ohio. The article notes the Family Feud-type competition between an all-boy string quartet and an all-girl string quartet that included none other than V.com’s own Caeli Smith.

5/9/07 - The Indianapolis Symphony has found a new concertmaster after 15 months of searching, reports the Indianapolis Star. “At only 27 years old, Philadelphia Orchestra violinist Zachary De Pue will be one of the youngest (if not the youngest) concertmasters of an upper-tier American orchestra.”

5/8/07 – The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that seven musicians have recently won spots in the Philadelphia Orchestra, including three violinists. “José Maria Blumenschein is the Philadelphia Orchestra's new associate concertmaster. A native of Germany, Blumenschein is just now graduating - he is 22 - from Curtis, where he studies with Joseph Silverstein and is concertmaster of the school orchestra….Violinist Marc Rovetti, a new member of the first violin section, has two degrees from Juilliard and has studied with Pamela Frank (a Curtis graduate and faculty member). A member of the New World Symphony, he has been a frequent substitute player with the Philadelphia Orchestra….Dara Morales, Utah Symphony principal violinist and sister-in-law of Philadelphia Orchestra principal clarinetist Ricardo Morales, is the orchestra's new assistant principal second violinist. Hired several months ago, she starts this summer.”

From Morton Raff
Posted on May 13, 2007 at 1:37 PM

What will happen to Time for Three (TfT) if Zachary De Pue moves to Indianapolis?

From Jennifer Greenlee
Posted on May 13, 2007 at 9:33 PM

It is my understanding that Zach will be able to juggle the two jobs.

From Neil Cameron
Posted on May 13, 2007 at 11:11 PM

Do not make a juggling joke, someone will get upset...

Neil

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