Violin News & Gossip, Op. 3, No. 56

July 15, 2007 at 5:25 PM

Musician News

David Carpenter, a 21-year-old violist from New York, has been selected as the new music protégé for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, which pairs established masters with emerging artists for a year of collaboration in six disciplines: dance, film, literature, music, theater, and visual arts. Carpenter, who is the first American protégé selected to participate in the Initiative since its inception in 2002, will study with world-renowned violinist, violist, conductor, and Rolex Mentor Pinchas Zukerman. The philanthropic program is unique in linking international artists in a time-intensive yet flexible mentor-protégé relationship designed by the participants themselves.

7/12/07 – Violinist Rachel Barton Pine notes that “my most recent album, American Virtuosa: Tribute to Maud Powell has just debuted on the Billboard Classical Chart at #12. This is my first time on the Billboard chart.”

7/11/07 – The LAist ran an interview with hip hop violinist Paul Dateh. The article also includes a YouTube video of him in action.

7/10/07 – Violinist Sian Phillipps, a 29-year-old who plays in Salzburg, has received the use of a Strad from patron John Madejski, reports ICBerkshire. “The donation came after the Royals chairman dined with the Marquis of Zetland, who told him about an accomplished young violinist named Sian Philipps, and suggested he might like to buy her a Cremona violin.”

7/8/07 – In preparation for this year’s Vermont Mozart Festival, the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus ran mini-profiles of three violinists who will be appearing: Japan's Hamao Fujiwara, North Carolina's Clayton Haslop and Boston's Harumi Rhodes.

Orchestra News

7/12/07 – The Australian took a look at the phenomenon of high-level youth orchestras through the lens of the Australian Youth Orchestra. Despite the terminology, the focus is on those groups for young professionals in their 20s, such as Daniel Barenboim’s East-West Divan Orchestra and Venezuela’s famed system. The article quotes violinist Clare O’Brien, now 24, who was self-taught until the age of 16.

7/11/07 - The North Carolina Symphony hopes to dramatically expand its orchestra roster in the coming years as part of a $50 million capital campaign, reports the Myrtle Beach Sun News. The orchestra currently has 68 members, but the goal is to be able to employ 80-85 musicians.

7/11/07 – The Tampa Bay Tribune reports: “The city has recommended a 20 percent cut in the operating subsidies for these and other nonprofit organizations. For the [Florida Orchestra], the figure could be $80,000 and will translate to fewer outdoor concerts and youth and education programs. The city this year had slated $400,000 in nondepartmental funds for the orchestra. 'Although the roughly $500,000 overall in recommended cuts is not drastic, it symbolizes the marginalization of the arts'."

7/11/07 – The Nashville Scene devoted a cover story to considering the Nashville Symphony and its relationship with advisor Leonard Slatkin. "For the moment, it seems hard to believe that Slatkin would seriously consider a permanent post in Nashville--if for no other reason than that he was earning about $1 million a year more in Washington than the Nashville Symphony could reasonably afford to pay a new music director."

7/9/07 - The Symphonica Toscanini has a new home in Milan. Teatro degli Arcimboldi, in a northeastern suburb of Milan, will be the permanent home of the beginning next year, The New York Times reports. Music director Lorin Maazel was appointed the orchestra's Music Director for Life in May 2006

This entry has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

Violin News & Gossip, Op. 3, No. 56

Laurie's Books

Subscribe