Latest news with #ElSistema
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
Domingo Hindoyan to become music director of LA Opera for 2026-27 season
NEW YORK -- Domingo Hindoyan will succeed James Conlon as music director of the LA Opera and start a five-year contract on July 1, 2026. The appointment of the 45-year-old Venezuelan-Armenian, the husband of soprano Sonya Yoncheva, was announced Friday night. Conlon has been music director since 2006-07 and said in March 2024 that he will retire after after the 2025-26 season. 'LA is a city that is known by innovation, taking risks in productions and musically,' Hindoyan said in New York, where his wife is currently singing at the Metropolitan Opera. 'The idea is to do new pieces, commissions and modern pieces, something to really have a balance between what is classic and go further as much as we can.' Hindoyan will conduct two productions in 2026-27 and three in each of the following four seasons, LA Opera President Christopher Koelsch said. Koelsch hopes Hindoyan can lead works with Yoncheva, who has not sung a staged production at the LA Opera. Like other companies, the LA Opera has struggled with increased costs following the pandemic and scrapped a planned pair of world premieres over finances. Tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo was a key figure in fundraising for the company as general director from 2003-19. 'Part of my job as a music director and the job of any musician is to really take care of the art form as much as we can," Hindoyan said, "not only on stage, not only studying at home (but also) the connection with the community and the connection to the donors.' Hindoyan was born in Caracas, played violin and is a product of El Sistema, the Venezuelan music education system that was instrumental in the careers of Gustavo Dudamel and Rafael Payare. He was an assistant to Daniel Barenboim at Berlin's Staatsoper unter den Linden. 'Given Barenboim's extremely exacting standards, I was impressed that he had that job and held onto that job," Koelsch said. 'And then I saw a performance of 'Tosca' and was kind of immediately struck by the elegance of the baton technique and just the sort of the absolute clarity of what he was conveying.' Hindoyan has been chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic since the 2021-22 season. He first conducted the LA Opera last November in Gounod's 'Roméo et Juliette.' 'There's a kind of a natural warmth and charisma to him. In my experience, he almost always coaxes the best out of people," Koelsch said. 'The 'Roméo' run for me was kind of a test run of how those qualities resonated inside our building, how it worked with the orchestra and the chorus and the administration and the audiences.'
South China Morning Post
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
The Hong Kong Jockey Club unveils JC Project MuSE to foster holistic growth in underprivileged primary students through music and sports
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Advertisement Extracurricular activities offer children opportunities to explore personal interests and broaden their horizons. Yet for families with limited financial means, these pursuits can be out of reach. To address this issue, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has initiated and funded JC Project MuSE, with an approved donation exceeding HK$400 million. The programme delivers free, high-quality and tailored music and sports education to primary school students in underprivileged areas of Hong Kong. JC Project MuSE is a six-year school-based initiative inspired by the globally acclaimed El Sistema model and aims to foster children's interest in the arts and sports from an early age. The programme ensures equal access to growth and learning opportunities regardless of socio-economic status and is designed to promote the participating children's holistic development. To celebrate the programme's inauguration and commemorate the Club's 140th anniversary, the Project MuSE Concert took place on April 17 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The event united students from JC Project MuSE with musical talent nurtured through other projects supported by the Club. HKSAR Government Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki (back row, centre), Club Chairman Michael Lee (back row, 7th left) and other guests posed for a photo with mentors and mentees from the Strive and Rise Programme. Advertisement The launch ceremony was officiated by HKSAR Government Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki, Club Chairman Michael Lee and JC Project MuSE Advisory Committee Convenor Jat Sew-tong. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Lee emphasised that sports & culture is one of the priority funding areas of the Club's Charities Trust. By offering a diverse range of music and sports education and performance opportunities, JC Project MuSE seeks to empower primary school students in underprivileged communities, enhancing their confidence and sense of self-worth, while nurturing their holistic development.
