Aretha Louise Franklin: 1942 – 2018

Aretha Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and pianist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan where her father C. L. Franklin was minister. At age 18, she embarked on a secular career recording for Columbia Records. However, she achieved only modest success. Franklin found commercial success and acclaim after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as “The Queen of Soul”.

(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman is a 1967 single released Aretha Franklin. The song was co-written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, with input from Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler. The record was a big hit for Franklin, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became a standard song for her. Franklin also included a live recording on the album “Aretha in Paris” in 1968. Versions have also been performed and recorded by Mary J. Blige, Celine Dion, Carole King herself and many others. At the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors, Aretha Franklin performed the song to honor award-recipient Carole King

(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman – published for Harmonie- oder Fanfareorchester by Music Publishing Tierolff, Netherlands (Arrangement Robert Balfoort)

WASBE Conference from 10 to 13 July 2019

The city of Buñol (Spain) will be the hotspot for the next International WASBE Conference on 10-13 July 2019. Bunol is a municipality in the province of Valencia and the area is considered one of the most important strongholds in Spanish brass music.

WASBE was founded in Manchester (Great Britain) in 1981 and has been a member of the United Nations Cultural Organization UNESCO since 1989. In 2007, WASBE and its national organisations had more than 1200 members from more than 50 countries. The aim of the WASBE is to make symphonic wind orchestras known to the public as serious musical orchestral forms and serious cultural sponsors. The organisation promotes the international distribution of original compositions for symphonic wind orchestra, i.e. works composed especially for this form of orchestra. It awards composition commissions and conducts composition competitions, organises worldwide exchange programmes for musicians and conductors, and organises further training measures and conferences. An international conference was held for the first time in 1983 and since then has been held every two years at various locations, including Norway, Belgium, the USA, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Spain, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, Ireland and Taiwan. WASBE publishes the annual WASBE Journal and the quarterly international wind magazine WASBE World.

If you would like to perform with your orchestra at this conference, all information and registration forms can be found on the WASBE homepage.

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, pianist and educator has died

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, pianist and educator George Walker has died at the age of 96. Walker’s music was firmly rooted in the modern classical tradition, but also drew from African-American spirituals and jazz. His nearly 100 compositions range broadly, from intricately orchestrated symphonic works and concertos to intimate songs and solo piano pieces.

“His music is always characterized by a great sense of dignity, which is how he always comported himself,” says composer Jeffrey Mumford, who, as a music professor at Lorain County Community College in Ohio, uses examples of Walker’s music in his classes. “His style evolved over the years; his earlier works, some written while still a student, embodied an impressive clarity and elegance.”

In 1996, Walker broke new ground again when he became the first African-American composer to win a Pulitzer Prize for music. Lilacs for voice and orchestra, set to a text by Walt Whitman, is a moving meditation on the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

Walker’s reputation as a composer of works for orchestras like the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Boston Symphony slowly grew and Walker’s fame was hard-won.

Walker is often identified as an “African-American” composer instead of simply an American composer. In a 1987 interview with broadcaster Bruce Duffie, Walker said there are two sides to that label.

“I’ve benefited from being a black composer in the sense that when there are symposiums given of music by black composers, I would get performances by orchestras that otherwise would not have done the works,” Walker said. “The other aspect, of course, is that if I were not black, I would have had a far wider dispersion of my music and more performances.”

Walker had a long and distinguished academic career. He held teaching posts at New York’s New School, Rutgers University in New Jersey (where he chaired the music department), the University of Colorado, the Peabody Institute in Maryland, the University of Delaware and at Smith College, where he became the first black tenured faculty member. Walker received two Guggenheim Fellowships, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, and honorary doctorates from six institutions, including Oberlin and Spelman Colleges. In 1997, Washington D.C.’s mayor, Marion Barry, declared June 17th as George Walker Day.

Quelle: Tom Huizenga, npr-Music

Works for:
• Orchestra/chamber music
• Ensembles
• Educational and/or solo works
• Vocal
• Choir/Vocals

Cher, Philip Glass, Reba McEntire and Wayne Shorter receive the 41st Annual Kennedy Center Honors Prize 2018

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is the largest cultural center in Washington, D.C. It was posthumously named after John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States.

Since 1978, the Kennedy Center Honors have been awarded every December to selected performing artists for their lifelong contribution to American culture. The celebrations extend over a weekend and include a festive lunch at the Kennedy Center, a reception and dinner at the U.S. State Department, the presentation of medals on the ribbon at the White House by the U.S. President, and a festive evening gala at the Kennedy Center Opera House.

On December 2, 2018, the Kennedy Center Honors will hold its 41st annual national celebration of the arts. Artists to be honored in 2018 include singer and actress Cher, composer and pianist Philip Glass, country entertainer Reba McEntire and jazz saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter.

Philip Glass is not unknown in Europe either, some of his works have been premiered in Linz and other European cities. “Linz is my second home,” he says himself. He had a long-standing friendship with Dennis Russell Davies, former conductor of the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, which led to “two operas (Kepler; Spuren der Verirrten) and three symphonies (Nos. 8, 9 and 11) by Glass. (derstandard.at)”

Since 14.06.2018 the name Alexander Scriabin floats over all the skies of the world.

The Russian airline Aeroflot has expanded its fleet with a new Boeing B777-300ER long-haul aircraft. The aircraft was named in honour of Aleksandr Scriabin, Russian composer of piano and orchestral music.

The new B777-300ER aircraft is equipped with business-class, economy and comfort class cabins, offering a total capacity of 402 seats.

Passengers flying the Comfort Class enjoy a premium service at extremely competitive prices. These include extra legroom and baggage allowance, an improved menu and more Aeroflot bonus miles as well as a warm welcome to Russia and Aeroflot’s award-winning in-flight service.