Latest news with #musicaldirector
BBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Ilkeston Brass Band at 'crisis point' as new members sought
A historic Derbyshire brass band has said they may have to stop the music if they do not find new players and a conductor to lead Brass Band, which has been running under different guises for more than 100 years, said the appeal was a "last, desperate call" for people to join Norman, the band's secretary, said new recruits are needed for rehearsals for just two hours a week and it could be the difference between "survival and silence"."If you are that person, if you believe you can be the committed, constant musical director we so desperately need, please, get in touch," she said. As well as a musical director, the band is looking for cornet Norman said since their long standing conductor retired five years ago, three people have held the position but have not stayed long enough to rebuild, which has left the group "exhausted from the instability and constant change". The band secretary added they have lost key players to higher section bands and without urgent support, they "may soon be forced to sell up and disband completely"."At the moment, we have less numbers than we need for a full brass band and with the lack of a musical director, the two issues combined together means we're at a bit of crisis point" Ms Norman said."That's when we put out an advert to keep us going... we won't be able to fill the engagements and gigs we regularly get booked for like Remembrance Sunday."But Ms Norman added she has been "very encouraged so far" to the advert's response and received a lot of support from the brass band community."We've had offers of people taking up the musical director position temporarily and interest in taking it up permanently so it's been really positive," she added. Ms Norman said there is a wider problem of brass bands being able to recruit new members."I do think there is less people these days learning to play an instrument, in general there's less music tuition in schools," she said."There was a lot of music in schools when I grew up and I don't think it's the same anymore."It's also a big commitment for people and it can be a lot of time, energy and money for people to put in to learn when you work full-time."Ms Norman added they also have a training band where people who are learning instruments can join them to hone their skills.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why a Black baptist church adopted ‘Come, Come Ye Saints': ‘It's one of our staples'
It's a good thing 'Come, Come Ye Saints' is so familiar to James Davis Jr. and the Third Baptist Church choir in San Francisco. Davis Jr. recently began rehearsals with the cast as the musical director for the upcoming Broadway show 'Purple Rain' after finishing a long stint in the same role on the western tour of 'Hamilton.' But last weekend he left rehearsals in New York City to jet across the country to rehearse the great pioneer anthem of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the Third Baptist choir. Davis Jr. couldn't miss the opportunity to be the choir's guest director for the Sunday worship service and pastor emeritus designation service honoring the Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown, a civil rights activist and Third Baptist's pastor for the past 49 years. Years ago, the Rev. Dr. Brown hired Davis Jr. out of Morehouse College to be Third Baptist's music director. Davis Jr. called the outgoing pastor 'legendary.' 'He's one of the few that's left that marched with Dr. King,' he said. 'He's a walking history book, an almanac.' 'Come, Come Ye Saints' has always been one of the Rev. Dr. Brown's favorites, Davis Jr. said. 'The choir has historically sung 'Come, Come Ye Saints' going back decades,' he said. 'We used to do the other arrangement that is a little more complicated, by Leroy Robertson, but Maestro (Mack) Wilberg's arrangement was just a little more accessible, given the fact that I just got in on Friday and we only had two rehearsals to put it together.' The Rev. Dr. Brown explained in a 2019 Church News video that 'Come, Come Ye Saints' and the iconic Black spiritual 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' are two of his favorites because they tell the stories of people who 'excel, achieve and remain loyal to their God.' Third Baptist's choir has performed both for years. 'Come, Come Ye Saints' resonates with Third Baptist in a special way. Davis Jr. said Third Baptist purposefully kept Latter-day Saint pioneer songwriter William Clayton's original text for the third verse that says, 'We'll find the place which God for us prepared, far away in the West.' 'We keep it because the text fits this congregation as the first Black church on the West Coast,' Davis Jr. said. 'It's one of our staples,' Deacon Anthony Wagner said. 'It speaks to us, just as it did to Latter-day Saints coming across the prairies.' Another Third Baptist church member approached a reporter before the Sunday morning service, as the choir rehearsed the hymn one last time, and reverently repeated his favorite part, 'No toil nor labor fear; But with joy wend your way. Though hard to you this journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day.' The church's new pastor, the Rev. Devon Jerome Crawford, stepped to the pulpit after the choir completed the final lines of the hymn during the morning worship service — 'Oh, how we'll make this chorus swell — All is well! All is well!" 'Praise God,' the Rev. Crawford said. 'All is well.' Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy, spoke during the Third Baptist service to honor the Rev. Dr. Brown on assignment from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 'I might have thought I came in a covered wagon when I heard that rendition of 'Come, Come Ye Saints.' I was so moved,' Elder Holland said. 'That's as touched as I've ever been hearing that hymn, and I've heard it all my life.'
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
South Korean conductor Myung-Whun Chung named La Scala's first-ever Asian musical conductor
South Korean conductor Myung-whun Chung was named on Monday the new musical director of the famed Milan opera house, Teatro alla Scala, the first Asian to hold the position. Chung, 72, will replace Riccardo Chailly at the end of next year, and will remain in the role until general manager and artistic director Fortunato Ortombina's term ends in February 2030, La Scala said in a statement. Chung, who is also a renowned pianist, has conducted many of the world's most famous orchestras, and is a towering cultural figure in South Korea. La Scala noted his 'close and productive' relationship with La Scala's orchestra, choir and philharmonic, and credited him with doing more than any other any non-musical director to raise La Scala's international profile. Since 1989, Chung has conducted nine operas in 84 performances, and 141 concerts at La Scala — the most of any conductor who was not a musical director. He also has conducted La Scala's Philharmonic on tours throughout Italy and abroad, including in Germany, China, Japan and South Korea. Among his numerous posts, Chung has previously been music director of the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in Paris and the Korean Broadcasting System, as well as artistic director of the Busan Opera and Concert Hall in South Korea.
