Umi Garrett
Piano Stars Festival presentation concert in Riga
The XX International Piano Stars Festival anniversary celebration will
begin with a presentation concert on March 9, in Riga, the Great Guild
Hall. One of the festival concerts will take place also in Ventspils,
Theatre House Juras Varti on March 14. The rest of the concerts will as
always be held in the Liepaja Theatre.
In the festival opening concert, which will take place on March 9, in Riga, the audience will have unique opportunity to hear three outstanding pianists - Brigitte Engerer from France, Anton Lyakhovsky from Russia and the little genius - 11 years old Umi Garrett from the USA. The Liepaja Symphony Amber Sound Orchestra will be conducted by Atvars Lakstigala. Two days later, on March 11, this concert will also take place in the main location of festival – the Liepaja Theatre.
Uldis Lipskis, manager of the Liepaja Symphony Amber Sound Orchestra, proudly tells that: "During anniversary of the International Piano Stars Festival for the first time we will take a representation concert to Riga. The program of this concert will represent the essence of the whole festival - classical values, retrospection and a look in the future. Brigitte Engerer and Anton Lyakhovsky were especially beloved by the audience of previous festival concerts, Umi Garrett - the youngest participant in the history of this festival. During this concert, both youth and maturity, rich past and hopeful, intriguing future of the festifal will meet in the music of Mozart, Sen-Sans and Tchaikovsky.
This year citizens of Ventspils will have a chance to enjoy performance of the wonderful Belarussian duet by Natalia Kotova and Valery Borovikov from the program of the International Piano Stars Festival. In concert “Theatre. Love. Jazz.”, which will take place on March 14, in Ventspils, the duet will perform on two concert grands at the same time, which is a rare occasion in the concert life of Latvia. The audience in Liepaja will have an opportunity to hear this concert on March 15.
"We are always happy to collaborate with such persistent partner as Ventspils that just wants to make sure its audience has at least a glimpse of the magic of this festival," tells Uldis Lipskis.
As announced before, the International Piano Stars Festival, which has been organised by the Liepaja Symphony Amber Sound Orchestra since 1993, will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year.
Naomi Druškić To Represent Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia-Herzegovina will take part in the Eurovision Young Musicians competition for the first time this May in Vienna, and they've already picked their representative.
13-year old Naomi Druškić, who hails from Sarajevo, has been selected to represent Bosnia-Herzegovina in their first ever participation in the Eurovision Young Musicians competition. Naomi, who will play the piano, was selected by a Radio Television of Bosnia-Herzegovina together with the Music Arts Foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“I would like to thank BHRT and Music Arts Foundation. I am glad to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina at European musical talents competition in Vienna. I will try as hard as I can to justify the trust placed in me and to represent our country in the best possible way” she said, talking about her selection.
From Banja Luka and Belgrade to Singapore and Italy, Naomi has won numerous international awards during her short career. She first began playing the piano aged six, and made her first appearance with the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra aged just seven. She has held concerts in the USA, Singapore, China, Croatia, Germany and Italy. She has also had noticeable appearances at Baščaršijske noći festival and Central Music Conservatory in Bejing, whilst also appearing in Washington at the Kennedy Auditorium.
At the end of 2012 she will perform with the Royal Phillarmonic Orchestra in London for the film “Earth Chronicles” by special invitation of John Brynata, making it a big year for Naomi Druškić with the Eurovision Young Musicians competition in May.
Benji, a candidate for The Daily Telegraph Briton Of The Year 2011 -
announced 28th December 2011
Benjamin Grosvenor
Pianist with greatness at his fingertips
A shy 19-year-old from Southend seems destined to become one of the great
pianists of the 21st century. Indeed, if you were to listen blind to
Benjamin Grosvenor’s debut album of works by Chopin, Liszt and Ravel, you
might think that he already belongs in this category. Benjamin, the youngest
of five brothers, is a student at the Royal Academy of Music. What on earth
can it teach him? He has already played at the Proms; his recorded Chopin
produces a balance of whispering delicacy and bravura outbursts – bound
together with fierce intelligence – rarely heard since the heyday of
Horowitz. He may still be a teenager, but it would be an insult to describe
him as a prodigy. He is better than that.
National music plan unveiled with an ensemble of cuts
The Guardian, Fri 25 Nov 2011 16.14 GMT
A national plan for music teaching in England – with some inspiration taken from Hugo Chávez's Venezuela – is to be rolled out from summer next year.
The national music plan, jointly set out by the education secretary, Michael Gove and the culture minister, Ed Vaizey, aims to give every child, regardless of where they live or how well off they are, the chance to learn to play a musical instrument. "Hubs" will be created to provide music education locally.
Under the plan, an extra £1m will be devoted to extending In Harmony, a music-education scheme in Norwich, Liverpool and Lambeth inspired by the Venezuelan El Sistema, a radical social-inclusion project in which children from the poorest backgrounds are given intensive music education to help them escape the poverty trap.
The restructuring means that most children learning instruments, whether inside or outside the classroom, will do so through their local music hub. They will provide support for school music teachers, be the focus for providing individual instrumental tuition and provide opportunities for children to play in ensembles and the chance to learn from locally based professional musicians.
The funding regime has been reformed so that it is now decided on a "per pupil" basis, with weighting for deprived areas. It is aimed to be a fairer regime, though some areas, such as Manchester, will see funding for music education drop as a result. Applications to become hubs will be assessed by Arts Council England, the arts funding body, which hitherto has not been involved in administering funds from the Department for Education.
Applications to provide hubs close on 17 February, with announcements of the successful contenders in April. They will be providing musical education from the autumn term of 2012.
"The national plan for music will deliver a music education system that encourages everyone, whatever their background, to enjoy music and help those with real talent to flourish as brilliant musicians."
"There is a 20% reduction between now and 2014 without even factoring in inflation. That's massive. It's all very well to have great aspirations, but if you haven't the money to fulfil it, what is the point?
"We are all having to absorb cuts, but this is a dramatic one. The funding is dreadful."
"… However, we still remain concerned that when this reduction in central funding is added to the many local authority cuts already announced there will be a detrimental effect on overall music provision."
