May 2017 Hot News

Contest results of clarinet, , at the Paris Conservatory. It was an exceptional contest by the number of candidates, the variety of programs and especially the level of interpretations

Paris, France

Contest results of clarinet last Friday, May 26, at the Paris Conservatory. It was an exceptional contest by the number of candidates (from 9 am to 18 pm), the variety of programs and especially the level of interpretations. Congratulations to all!

1) Dnspm (license): mentions very well unanimously to:
Filippo Riccardo Biuso
Sonia Borhani...
Gabriel Lellouch

2) Recital of 2TH YEAR OF 2TH CYCLE (Master)
Summa unanimously with congratulations of the jury:
Iñaki Vermeersch Amor (+ Price Leon Leblanc)
Joséphine Besançon

Summa unanimously:
Benjamin Fontaine

High Honors:
Madoka Tsuruyama
Maite Atassay

With Honors Unanimously:
Paul Dujoncquoy

Herewith a little montage and the reminder of the programme.
Not to disturb the candidates, the photos were taken before the start of the recital (heating), or at the end.

VIP Peter Wright, Solo Clarinetist for 42 years with the Jacksonville (Florida) Symphony, Performs his Retirement Finale, the Weber Concertino Op 26

Conducting Electricity: Peter Wright looks back on 40 years playing clarinet with Jacksonville Symphony

Willis Page took a big risk when he hired this 19-year-old student from Jacksonville University as principal clarinet in 1975. I was an inexperienced teenager who happened to be in the right place at the right time. When the orchestra played its first concert of the season in September of that year, I had not yet finished my bachelor’s degree in music education.

The Jacksonville Symphony was completely part time when I started; today we have 53 full-time musicians. It offered only the “subscription” series with eight single concerts per season on Tuesday nights. The only other performances were Young People’s concerts, which consisted of excerpts from the evening concert programs. What a difference we have today. Now there are 10 Masterworks concerts, 10 Pops concerts, a tremendous educational outreach program and numerous special concerts, such as “The Nutcracker” and “Messiah.”

When the rumors started about hiring a small core of full-time musicians, I decided to stay in the job rather than leave to pursue a graduate degree. I found a four-summer master’s degree program at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., which was perfect for me. As a Southerner, I’m not sure if I could have handled a Northern winter — I had never seen snow before.

Over the years it has been rewarding to see the quality of musicianship grow in the orchestra but also wonderful to experience a variety of conductors on the podium. Roger Nierenberg followed Page as music director, and the orchestra took off with a core of 35 full-time musicians. We also saw the departure of some musicians who had won positions in prestigious orchestras such as the Boston Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Dallas Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony.

One of the most significant events in the history of the Jacksonville Symphony was the opening of Jacoby Symphony Hall in 1997. This was Roger Nierenberg’s legacy, but Fabio Mechetti came on board shortly after our spectacular new concert hall had opened. The orchestra continued to improve under Fabio’s leadership, but we now had the luxury of rehearsing and performing every program in our own hall. When listening to our radio broadcast concerts, I am amazed at the quality of the orchestra and the brilliant acoustics of Jacoby Symphony Hall. Another memorable event is when the orchestra traveled to New York for a performance in Carnegie Hall shortly after Jacoby Hall opened.

It has been an honor to perform with world-class artists such as James Taylor, Alicia de la Rocha, Beverly Sills, Roberta Peters, Shari Lewis, Leontyne Price, Joshua Bell, Luciano Pavarotti and Benny Goodman, to name a few. What a treat to be asked to dinner with Benny after the concert! It has also been profoundly rewarding to step in front of the orchestra to play many different concertos. I am grateful to every music director for those opportunities.

There have been hundreds of different conductors on the podium since I started 40 years ago, and with each one the orchestra has grown. However, the most growth occurs when a new music director arrives. My colleagues and I eagerly look forward to a new chapter in the history of the Jacksonville Symphony with Courtney Lewis stepping onto the podium full time this September. We will also welcome 10 new musicians in the orchestra, so it will be a very exciting season. I feel certain that Courtney will take the orchestra to that next level. See you in the fall.

Internationally Renowned Classical and Jazz Great Clarinetist and Senior VIP E ddie Daniels Conferred an Honorary Doctorate at the Oberlin Conservatory

Master Class and Recital with VIP and Professor at Texas State University in San Antonio Vanguel Tangarov at Northwestern University - Senior VIP Stephen Cohen, Host

VIP Ricardo Morales, Solo Clarinetist in the Philadelphia Orchestra performs Copland Clarinet Concerto and Debussy Rhapsody

Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio with Senior VIP Franklin Cohen, clarinet, Richard King, horn - Seligman Performing Arts Center

The Chicago Clarinet Symposium was held at Northeastern Illinois University on May 12-13th. It featured Michael Lowenstern, John Yeh, Jorge Montilla, Chloe Feoranzo, and Eric Mandat, along with the Chicago Clarinet Ensemble, for a gala concert to celebrate the Chicago Clarinet Ensemble's 10th anniversary. The two days were jam packed with master classes and shared recitals, including several world premieres.

Master classes

Shared Recitals

John Bruce Yeh and Jorge Montilla
Michael Lowenstern and Eric Mandat
David Bell, Kathy Pirtle, Andrea DiOrio

Gala Concert

Chicago Clarinet Ensemble, 10th Anniversary Concert with Michael Lowenstern, Jorge Montilla, Chloe Feoranzo, and John Bruce Yeh

Master Classes with Senior VIP David Shifrin, Professor at Yale University and renowned Soloist at the State University of New York at Purchase - VIP Akako Oshima, Host

Senior VIP Franklin Cohen Master Class and Concert with the Venner Clarinet Choir

We attended an amazing concert on May 1st at the Akron-Summit County Public Library. Conducted by Jim Adkins, The Venner Clarinet Choir with guest soloists Franklin Cohen and Benjamin Chen gave the large audience a wonderful night of music. The Venner Clarinet Choir is made up of a dozen professional clarinetists. They included the sounds of all types of clarinets. The evening ended with Franklin Cohen, Benjamin Chen, and the VCC performing the Il Convegno by Ponchilli. It is not often that you can attend a free concert and hear Franklin Cohen, principal Bb clarinetist (emeritus), and see Theodore Johnson, principal Eb clarinetist (emeritus), both with The Cleveland Orchestra. Mr. Cohen also conducted a Master Class with two local high school students. They totally enjoyed the experience and the concert.

We wish to thank Katie Smith, Kenston High School, and Curtis Lacey, Lake High School, for participating in the Master Class conducted by Franklin Cohen. We hope they enjoyed the experience and the concert.