The Well-Tempered Ear
Why are Asians dominating Western classical music?
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By Jacob Stockinger
The month of May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage month in the U.S.
And here is a perfect story to provide questions and raise issues that pertain to that theme as it figures in classical music.
We have not seen many of them booked for concerts locally, but perhaps you have noticed how so many Asian musicians, particularly pianists, have been winning major competitions.
Those competitions include the Van Cliburn (Korean Yunchan Lim, below top), the Chopin (Chinese-Canadian Bruce Liu, below bottom), the Tchaikovsky, the Arthur Rubinstein, the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium, the Leeds Competition, the Geneva Competition and many others that are less famous.
Perhaps you have also noticed how we hear more Asian opera singers at the Met and more Asian string players in orchestras around the world.
More Asians also seem to be studying and performing in lower and higher educational institutions and organizations.
And perhaps you, like The Ear, have wondered what is behind that trend?
Here is a terrific first-person story — with research, details, photos and performance videos – written by a Canadian musician of Japanese descent that appeared on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
But The Ear thinks it could easily apply to the United States, Australia and other non-Asian places and cultures.
Here is a link:
Do you think this story applies to Asians and Asian-Americans in the U.S.?
If you yourself are an Asian or Asian-American musician or music student, do the observations and analysis in the story ring true to you own experience?
Do you have other thoughts to add about the cultural reasons for the surge of Western classical music in Asia and among Asians elsewhere?
Are there important lessons here for non-Asian people and places?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Just Bach free concert series seeks Interim Co-Artistic Director. Apply by July 5
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post about an interim job at Just Bach:
Do you love the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (below)?
Would you love to perform it every month in one of the most beautiful churches (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) in Madison?
Are you a professional instrumentalist with training and experience in period performance practice?
Do you have strong organizational skills?
If the answer to all these questions is yes, then Just Bach needs you!
Because Co-Artistic Director Marika Fischer Hoyt (below) will leave on a sabbatical starting in November, Just Bach is looking for an instrumentalist to join the Artistic Team. (You can check out the typical format by using the search engine on this blog or going to Just Bach’s Facebook page or YouTube Channel.)
The popular monthly concert series, which made it to the final round of the 2021 “Best of Madison” awards, seeks an Interim Artistic Co-Director for its upcoming fourth season.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Interim Artistic Co-Director works with the Just Bach team and the staff at Luther Memorial Church to program, produce, promote and perform monthly Bach concerts (below) from September through May.
The Interim Co-Artistic Director helps finalize the programming, contract any remaining needed players, schedule rehearsals and performances, perform in the concerts as needed, and upload the concert video to the Just Bach YouTube channel.
The Co-Artistic Director devotes about 4 hours per month to administrative tasks, on a volunteer basis.
The Co-Artistic Director rehearses and performs as needed in the monthly concerts — and is paid $100 per concert. (You can hear and see the closing concert of this past season in the YouTube video at the bottom. Click on Show More to see other instruments, players, singers and the program.)
The current Artistic Team will provide training for this position, and will be available for assistance once the season begins.
A detailed job description is available at:: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CDis-RSY5FUnfUGCBvYunWZ1fR4EtyfzSo3xYiMyjUs/edit#
For more information, please contact and apply to Just Bach at: justbachseries@gmail.com
APPLICATION ARE DUE BY JULY 5.
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