Interchanging Idioms

Billy and Randall said “I do” to a crowd of surprised audience members and fellow singers as they became the first couple to get married during an actual concert at New York’s Lincoln Center. The concert was presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY). Billy, part of Distinguished Concerts Singers International, had just finished a sublime performance of Mozart’s Requiem . As intermission began, a brass quintet caught everyone’s attention in the lobby, and the audience, along with members of the chorus, became instant wedding witnesses and guests and joined in celebrating the happy couple. Billy Hurbaugh and Randall Day met on the steps of St Thomas Church Fifth Avenue 21 years ago. Randall, who worked for Canterbury Cathedral in DC, was visiting New York when he caught the eye of Billy, a born and raised New Yorker, walking down Fifth Avenue. Randall, who was on his way to services, thought he would have to abandon the chase when, to his surprise, the youn...

Jessye Norman, celebrated opera singer, activist and American icon, joins DCINY on the afternoon of September 11th for A Concert of Commemoration , Honoring the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 . Over 600 musicians will fill the stage for the concert featuring iconic music of war and peace, including over 300 members of England’s renowned Really Big Chorus. Miss Norman will speak the role of the Narrator in Karl Jenkins’s For the Fallen: In Memoriam Alfryn Jenkins , in its U.S. premiere. Jenkins wrote For the Fallen in memory of his Welsh uncle, Alfryn Jenkins, a viola player who was captain of a Lancaster bomber that was lost, with an all Welsh crew, over Berlin in 1944 while the composer was an infant. It is set to the iconic poem by Laurence Binyon, which incorporates the Last Post bugle call, a soprano solo (Erika Grace Powell) and narration. The piece debuted last year at the Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall. TICKETS starting at $20: CentreChange at 212.721.6500 or www.li...

Thomas Hampson returns to the U.S. this month for two concerts with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, featuring songs from six of the American Songbooks by George Crumb. The performances take place at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. on April 28, and at New York’s Alice Tully Hall on April 29. Soon after, Hampson sings an all-Richard Strauss program with Renée Fleming and the Berlin Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann in Berlin (May 5-7), before returning to the music of Gustav Mahler, on whom he has been focusing intensively this season. The baritone’s six concerts with Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic in the major music capitals of Central Europe (May 12-23) feature an all-Mahler program – Symphony No. 5 and Kindertotenlieder – and mark the second consecutive season that Hampson has toured Europe with Gilbert and the orchestra. Now 81 years old, composer George Crumb remains deeply engrossed in a long-term initiative inspired by the great Amer...

Young Danish Violinist Performs Mendelssohn Concerto at Carnegie Hall (Feb 27) and Takes up Baton Himself with Swedish Chamber Orchestra CD Available January 5 from Sony Classical / RCA Red Seal “At 33, [Znaider] already stands in an elite class of violinists worldwide.” – Pittsburgh’s Po st-Gazette If the opening months offer any indication, 2010 looks to be a big year for “phenomenally gifted” ( Chicago Sun Times ) young violinist Nikolaj Znaider. His initial focus is on Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto, which celebrates its centennial in the coming year. Having toured the work across Europe, Znaider now brings it to the States, performing the concerto under Leonard Slatkin in Washington DC (Jan 7-9), Sir Colin Davis in Boston (Jan 14-19), and Edo de Waart in Milwaukee (Jan 22 and 23), as well as on Znaider’s latest recording, also directed by Davis, and due for release by Sony Masterworks on January 5. Next the Danish violinist turns to another cornerstone of the Romantic violi...

Violinist joins roster of the celebrated organization and will perform in New York, Washington and Boston during 2010-11 season Interchanging Idioms couldn't be more pleased to know this outstanding young performer is getting much deserved recognition. Our review of her debut is just the prelude to even more accolades in her future. New York, NY – On Saturday, November 21st, violinist Caroline Goulding was awarded First Prize at the Finals of the 2009 Young Concert Artists International Auditions held at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. At the age of 17, Caroline is the youngest of the four artists granted the prestigious prize this year. Other winners include 21-year-old American pianist Charlie Albright, 26-year-old Belarusian flutist Aleksandr Haskin, and 25-year-old American mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson. Winners were chosen from ten Finalists, selected out of 146 applicants hailing from 30 countries. As a First Prize Winner, Caroline will join the roster of Young...