Until yesterday, Michael Kaiser was the President of the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts. After 29 years spent running 5 arts institutions he has sat at his last board meeting and writes that he will “breathe a sigh of relief” when he leaves the board room for the last time.
Read his blog in the Huffington Post
This short feature from the BBC Music magazine has some interesting facts about the piano as well as a video on how a grand piano is built. Magnificent!
The Sydney Festival is hiring an elite German orchestra to perform at the 2014 Sydney Festival, because believe it or not, it is more cost effective than employing an Australian ensemble. Substantial government subsidies are the reason behind this curious situation. Click here to read the feature in The Age.
Another ‘Movember’ has come and nearly gone with thousands of men nursing luxuriant and not- so- luxuriant hirsute additions to their profiles. Had they been alive, no doubt some composers would have scored handsomely in the Movember stakes —
The Song Company has announced the appointment of four new directors to its board positioning this leading Australian vocal ensemble to continue its artistic and operational excellence.
ABC and Symphony Australia have announced the three Grand Finalists in the 2013 Young Performers Awards. They are 28 year old pianist Stefan Cassomenos, 15 year old oboeist Andrew Kawai, and pianist Hoang Pham also 28. All three finalists are from Victoria. Each contestant will perform a concerto of their choice with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christopher Seaman. The three grand…
‘Art for art’s sake’ is becoming an increasingly remote concept in 21st century Australia as performing arts bodies are expected to function according to business models and boost their bottom line from private sources. Are these expectations realistic – and who evaluates the bodies that make the funding decisions? The Australia Council for the Arts which…