Arts and Culture Texas: WindSync turns 15: How does the Garden Grow?
Back in 2009, the music entrepreneurship movement was gathering steam and start-up ensembles were popping up everywhere. WindSync was one of them, and it immediately stood out with its innovative style. The nascent wind quintet, formed at Rice University’s Shepherd School, sought to challenge convention and engage audiences in a radically different way. They played in a standing position, often from memory, eliminating the music stand that separated performer and audience, thereby fostering an intimate environment where direct communication and engagement is not only possible but inevitable.
Classical Voice North America: In A Sunny Vale Where Hemingway Sheltered, Free Concerts Resound
SUN VALLEY, Idaho — A couple of golden eagles wheeling across the sky offered a dramatic welcome during my inaugural visit to the Sun Valley Music Festival. Viewed on the drive into town from nearby Friedman Memorial Airport, these fabled messengers of Zeus complemented the stark majesty of Bald Mountain with their agile flight. The area’s most-prominent Rocky Mountain peak towers 9,150 feet into the heavens and has been beckoning serious ski lovers since the area was first promoted as a winter sport destination — part of a pioneering campaign by Union Pacific Railroad in the late 1930s.
“Baldy” and its less-elevated, ski beginner-friendly sibling Dollar Mountain stand guard over Sun Valley, forming an iconic backdrop to the Pavilion and adjacent lawn where the Sun Valley Music Festival each summer presents nearly a month’s worth of events. The Pavilion is situated alongside another Sun Valley landmark with powerful cultural associations: the storied Sun Valley Lodge, a linchpin in the aforementioned campaign, which has long been an attraction for literary pilgrims.
Northwest Reverb: Inaugural Vancouver Arts and Music Festival a smash hit!
The inaugural Vancouver Arts and Music Festival turned Esther Short Park into a magical, canopied landscape (August 4 -6). Kids jumped, climbed, slid, ran, and had a blast at the playground. People strolled into avenues of artisanal food vendors and galleries promoting the visual arts. The weather was downright perfect, and that contributed to the big turnout. The large lawn in front of the main stage was chock a block with blankets, low-profile chairs, and lots of people eager to hear the Vancouver Symphony and a lineup of international artists.
The orchestral portion of the festival featured Time for Three on Friday night (August 4), violinist Anne Akiko Meyers on Saturday evening (August 5), and pianist Orli Shaham on Sunday afternoon (August 6). VSO Music Director Salvador Brotons led the first concert, and Gerard Schwarz helmed the second and third concerts.
International Piano: Front Cover Feature: Bringing Imagery and Character to Liszt
Having gone from precocious prodigy to mature musician, Haochen Zhang has recorded Liszt’s formidable Études d’exécution transcendante. He talks to Tim Parry about his journey from China to America and his growing appreciation of Liszt’s musical imagination.
The Westerly Sun: Parlando founder Ian Niederhoffer to conduct Shostakovich’s 'The New Babylon'
Ian Niederhoffer, a young conductor widely praised for "his elegance and dynamism on the podium," was on the telephone Tuesday morning explaining how a 1929 silent film, a famous Russian composer and a contemporary chamber orchestra will all merge Saturday for an unusual program called "Silent Film with Live Orchestra: Parlando" at the United Theatre.
The event, which will include a screening of the 1929 Soviet film, "The New Babylon," will be accompanied by a live performance of Dmitri Shostakovich’s "The New Babylon," by Parlando, a New York City-based chamber orchestra founded by Niederhoffer.
Portland Tribune: All Classical Portland becomes All Classical Radio
At 40, station embarks on rebranding program, gets ready to move to KOIN TowerAll Classical Portland has reached middle age. The Portland radio station will observe 40 years of community-focused programming by reintroducing itself as All Classical Radio, unveiling a new logo as part of a comprehensive brand alignment effort.
Vail Daily: Kids nationwide attend opera camp, perform comedy in Avon with ‘The Tinker of Tivoli’
About 50 kids, ages 10-18, have been attending Vail Opera Camp since Aug. 1, learning musical training, stage direction and acting from artists who work in top opera houses around the world. Thursday, they showcase their skills with “The Tinker of Tivoli” at Nottingham Park in Avon.
Violinist: Rachel Barton Pine Performs Billy Childs' Violin Concerto at the Hollywood Bowl
What a pleasure to see Chicago-based violinist Rachel Barton Pine on Thursday night in her debut performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which was also her first performance at the Hollywood Bowl.
It's about time!
Person Place Thing: Episode 454: Luke McEndarfer
Early in his career, the conductor of the National Children’s Chorus interviewed for a job with Sister Stella Maria Enright. “She said, ‘Where did you park?’ And I said, ‘Right in front.’ And she said, ‘There is never parking in front. That is a sign from the holy spirit.’” She was kidding. Kind of. He got the job.
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Fresh from White House dinner, Sameer Patel is Named New Music Director of La Jolla Symphony
His selection is the latest achievement for Patel, who also heads San Diego Youth Symphony and is the former associate conductor of the San Diego Symphony. ‘It’s a joy,’ he says of his new position.
It’s shaping up to be a landmark summer for San Diego’s Sameer Patel. His selection as La Jolla Symphony & Chorus’ new music director and conductor comes less than four weeks after he and his wife, Shannon, attended the state dinner at the White House that President Biden hosted for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“This is absolutely a dream gig — it’s a joy to be part of this wonderful music organization,” Patel said. “And, having not ever been to the White House before, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would be a guest at a state dinner there.”
Patel, 40, is the artistic director of the San Diego Youth Symphony, a position he will continue to hold. The former associate conductor of the San Diego Symphony, he regularly conducts orchestras around the country.