Choral
Violinist Sarah Chang Takes Up Residency With New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Performs Bernstein’s West Side Story Suite, Jaques Lacombe to Conduct
Composer John Luther Adams Wins Columbia's Lifetime Achievement William Schuman Award, Known for Pulitzer Prize-Winning 'Become Ocean' and 2015 Grammy Award Nom
Visionary American composer John Luther Adams has been awarded the coveted Columbia University School of the Arts William Schuman Award.The William Schuman Award is a recognition which has been given over the past three decades. The award is named for the first recipient of the prize and offers a $50,000 unrestricted grant to its recipients. According to Columbia, the goal of the award is to recognize lifetime achievements of an American composer whose works have been widely performed and generally acknowledged to be of lasting significance.“John Luther Adams's work anticipates a complex yet poetic intertwining of music and space. Whether he is writing for nontraditional sites or evoking the expansiveness of outdoor landscapes inside the concert hall, his writing radically redefines the relationship between sound and locality. We are thrilled to honor him with the Schuman Award,” says Carol Becker, dean of the Columbia School of the Arts.Adams is a composer who uses the natural world as inspiration for his life and work. He has won the Heinz Award for his contributions to raising environmental awareness. He also received the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for "Become Ocean," an orchestral work that evokes thoughts of melting polar ice and rising sea levels. The piece was performed at Carnegie Hall and recorded by the Seattle Symphony and has been nominated for a 2015 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Israeli Opera Conductor Frédéric Chaslin Pulls Out of Performance After Being Denied Paris Attack Victim Tribute
Parisian-born conductor Frédéric Chaslin pulled out of a performance at the Israeli Opera Saturday, Jan. 10, after the company's management denied his request to speak and play a tribute to victims of the terror attacks in France last week.Chaslin, who is French-Jewish, had asked to play “Hatikva,” the Israeli national anthem, during his performance of Puccini’s "La Rondine" in honor of the 17 people killed in Paris last week. But the Tel Aviv opera house refused, saying it may upset the audience. This refusal led to Chaslin to leave the theater with an understudy left to conduct the performance.According to "The Times of Israel," Chaslin commented on his Facebook page, saying the tribute was refused to him.“‘It would upset our audience,’ he wrote. ’It is against the management’s policies.’ What management? What policy? Where am I? In a country supposed to be the sanctuary for all Jewish people in the world? Has the ‘audience’ of this country lost their souls? As a result of course I refused to conduct tonight,” he concluded.Chaslin's performance would have paid tribute to the killing of four hostages at a kosher supermarket, 12 at the "Charlie Hebdo" satirical magazine headquarters and one policewoman. A statement has been released by the Israeli Opera, stating that it hopes the theater can remain a safe haven from terror.
