BACKMarin Alsop to chair Van Cliburn jury
Highly acclaimed and much-loved conductor Marin Alsop has been named as chair of the jury for the next Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Taking place in Fort Worth, Texas, from 28 May – 12 June 2021, the Cliburn is one of the world’s foremost contests for your pianists.
In addition to chairing the jury Alsop will conduct Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra during the final round. She will also take part in the selection of the jury – however, she herself will not vote other than in the case of a tie.
“I’m really looking forward to working with the talented young pianists at the Cliburn competition,” said Alsop. “Collaborating with this world-class organisation that is devoted to nurturing future generations aligns with my commitment to education and passion for mentoring young musicians.”
BCMG to premiere new work by Robert Reid Allan
A new work by BCMG apprentice Composer-in-Residence 2018/19 Robert Reid Allan, in collaboration with filmmaker Sasha Balmazi-Owen and actor, dancer and singer Richard Court, will be premiered on Friday 21 June at CBSO Centre in Birmingham.
Physical Education, scored for actor, video and ensemble, revisits the school gym hall and the emotionally-charged memories of childhood P.E. lessons. Whilst some may look back with a fond reminiscence of athletic success, for those without a natural capacity for sporting activity, gym hall memories of body self-consciousness, fear of judgement and bullying can cast a long shadow.
The world premiere performance of Physical Education will see the projection of a live camera feed and pre-composed images and video alongside live performance from Richard Court and the musicians of BCMG conducted by Tim Anderson.
Amateurmusiker in Gotha geehrt – neuer Dachverband
Amateurmusiker wollen mehr Gehör in der Politik – dafür haben die beiden Dachverbände der Chöre und der Amateurorchester in Deutschland einen neuen Dachverband gegründet. Auszeichnungen gab es auch bei den Tagen der Chor- und Orchester-Musik in Gotha.
Fast 200 Chöre, Orchester und Musikvereine aus ganz Deutschland sind in Gotha für ihre Verdienste in der Amateur-Musik geehrt worden. Stellvertretend für den Bundespräsidenten überreichte Thüringens Ministerpräsident Bodo Ramelow (Linke) 111 Zelter-Plaketten und 76 Pro-Musica-Plaketten. Die Auszeichnungen gelten als die höchsten für Amateur-Ensembles in Deutschland.
Nach Angaben des Unternehmens «Kultourstadt Gotha» vertritt der neu gegründete Dachverband etwa drei Millionen Musiker in rund 100 000 Ensembles. Ziel des Zusammenschlusses sei es, Amateurmusikern mehr Gehör in Politik und Gesellschaft zu verschaffen, sagte Dörr am Sonntag. Zu den Aufgaben des Verbandes zählen die Interessenvertretung der Amateurmusik nach außen und die Vernetzung der Mitgliedsverbände untereinander. Geschäftsstellen sollen in Berlin und Trossingen (Baden-Württemberg) eingerichtet werden.
Amateur musicians want to be heard in politics – for this purpose, the two umbrella organisations of choirs and amateur orchestras in Germany have founded a new umbrella organisation.
According to the company “Kultourstadt Gotha“, the newly founded umbrella association represents around three million musicians in around 100,000 ensembles. The aim of the association is to make amateur musicians’ voices heard more in politics and society. The association’s tasks include representing the interests of amateur music externally and networking the member associations with each other. Offices are to be established in Berlin and Trossingen.