POSTED August 8, 2011 — The National Flute Association hosts its 39th Annual Convention in Charlotte, August 11–14, 2011, at the Charlotte Convention Center and the Belk Theater at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. The public is invited to attend the concerts and workshops Thursday through Sunday – and to visit the largest flute trade show in the world. 
 
This year’s convention theme is “Unity Through Diversity:  Many Flutists, One World,” reflecting the NFA’s support of all flutists, from students to teachers, beginners to professionals, amateurs to concert soloists. Expect performances and workshops by many of the best-known artists and rising stars from around the world. Headliners include Paula Robison, Carol Wincenc, Bradley Garner, and Jill Felber from the United States, GuoLiang Han of China, Trevor Wye of England, Maxim Rubtsov of Russia, Swedish flutist Göran Marcusson, and Alexa Still from New Zealand.
 
Gala concerts are open to the public on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8:00pm at the Belk Theater.

• The opening night concert on Thursday, August 11, features early music performances by traverso virtuoso Rachel Brown and The Dorian Consort. 
• Friday’s gala showcases World Music with Grammy-Award winner and world/fusion artist Rhonda Larson and Turkish flutist Omar Faruk Tekbilek, one of the world’s foremost performers of Middle Eastern music.
• Saturday’s Concerto Gala begins with a world premiere performance by Mike Wofford for flute choir, strings, and the Jazz Flute Big Band, followed by performances by Christina Jennings, Jean Ferrandis, Marina Piccinini, jazz flutist Holly Hofmann, and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Carol Wincenc.
• The music continues from 10:30pm until midnight on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with Late Night Jazz Cabarets at the Westin with Jamie Baum and her quartet on Thursday, Nelson Rangell on Friday, and the NFA Jazz Flute Big Band on Saturday. 

Carol Wincenc and Trevor Wye will receive the NFA’s highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Katherine Borst Jones will be presented with the association’s National Service Award. Carol Wincenc is one of today”s international stars of the flute, appearing as soloist with major orchestras around the world and in great demand as a chamber musician and teacher. Frank Dominguez chats with Carol about her career and this award on Saturday, August 13 at 11:30 AM on wdav.org and WDAV 89.9FM.

Trevor Wye has authored a long and distinguished list of publications, including the widely used Practice Books for the Flute, and flutists come from all corners of the globe to study with him. Katherine Borst Jones has served the NFA in every conceivable capacity, including twice as President and as Program Chair for the 1992 convention. There will also be special tributes to several North Carolina musicians who have made significant contributions to the flute, including Mark Thomas, who co-founded the NFA and is celebrating his 80th birthday.

Local flutists ages 8–13 should take advantage of the NFA’s “Youth Flute Day” on Saturday, August 13, from 8:30am to 5 pm.  For a special one-day rate of $50 per youth and $25 per accompanying adult, young flutists have a full day of programming designed for them, including flute choir rehearsals, youth recitals with jazz flutist Zachary Kellogg and classical soloist Emma Resmini, a masterclass with Paul Edmund-Davies, tours through the exhibit hall, and breakout sessions with renowned flutists.

Visit the for a complete listing of convention events. Individual tickets for all events range from $10 to $30 and are available at the registration desk at the Convention Center during the convention. Tickets for the evening gala concerts are $30 or $20 for students and will also be sold at the Belk Theater Box Office. For more information, call 661-250-8920 until August 10 or 704-339-6000 during the convention.  

About the National Flute Association
The National Flute Association is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1973 and is the largest flute organization in the world. The NFA has approximately 6,000 members from all 50 states and 50 countries. Its outreach activities to date include commissioning more than 70 works for flute, scholarships, publication of The Flutist Quarterly, and the largest lending library of flute music in the world. Membership in the NFA and attendance at the convention is open to all flutists and flute enthusiasts.

POSTED July 28, 2011 – Davidson College today announced the hire of Scott A. Nolan as general manager of WDAV 89.9 Classical Public Radio, effective August 29, 2011. Nolan comes to WDAV from his current position as director of development at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC. He previously served for six years in development at WUSF Public Broadcasting, a joint licensee (public TV and radio) at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Nolan becomes the station’s fifth general manager in its 32-year history. (more…)

This just in from our friends at the Union Symphony Orchestra in Monroe, NC:

POSTED July 13, 2011 – The Union Symphony Board of Directors has named Richard Rosenberg as its new Artistic Director. Rosenberg is one of a handful of American conductors whose experience ranges from contemporary music to historical performance practice. Mr. Rosenberg has recently released editions of music by the 19th-century Louisiana composers Edmond Dédé, Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Lucién Lambert, as well as music by Jerome Moross, on the Naxos/Marco Polo label. His Naxos recording of jazz-inspired concerti, including music by George Gershwin, James Price Johnson, Harry Reser and Dana Suesse, was released online in March 2010 and on compact disc in February 2011.

Mr. Rosenberg’s numerous orchestrations and his corrected editions of J.S. Bach’s “Saint Matthew Passion,” George Gershwin’s “A Rhapsody in Blue,” Arnold Schönberg’s “Verklärte Nacht” and the complete orchestral music of Gottschalk have received numerous performances. In addition to his work as a conductor, Mr. Rosenberg has produced two compact discs of music with jazz legend Dave Brubeck, and two discs of Mozart piano concerti, all for the Naxos Records label. (more…)

WDAV WINS $165,000 IN FIRST-EVER FUNDING FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

POSTED June 30, 2011 – WDAV Classical Public Radio has won its first-ever funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The station will use the two “Arts on Radio and Television” grants, totaling $165,000, to attract more listeners to classical music with its original over-the-air and online programming.

WDAV receives $90,000 from the NEA to support its Listen Live Fund, which allows the station to capture classical music performances at Carolinas festivals, concert halls, churches, and opera houses, and make them available to public radio stations across the country. The Listen Live Fund supports WDAV’s nationally syndicated productions, including Carolina Live, SummerStages, and NPR World of Opera. An additional $75,000 from the NEA supports Concierto, WDAV’s original weekly two-hour bilingual classical music program that calls special attention to the contributions to the art form by Latin-American and Spanish composers and performers. Concierto is currently heard in fifteen markets across the United States and is also available as an on-demand stream at concierto.org. (more…)

POSTED July 23, 2011 – You did it! During WDAV”s 3-day end-of-fiscal-year on-air membership campaign, 424 members gave more than $79,000. Ninety-five of those members are first-time supporters of WDAV Classical Public Radio. When we add-in gifts received through the mail, WDAV has met our goal of raising $100,000 in June. Thank you for another successful membership year!

WDAV”s fiscal year ends June 30th, and it”s never too late to show your support of classical public radio. – and thank you!

POSTED June 3, 2011 – For those classical music fans who want to hear the world’s great music-makers performing in a relaxed setting, summer music festivals are the answer! And beginning Sunday, June 5, WDAV Classical Public Radio takes its listeners on the road every week with the debut of its newest show, SummerStages. The 13-week concert series travels from Norfolk’s Virginia Arts Festival to Charleston’s Spoleto Festival USA, then to western North Carolina for the Brevard Music Festival before finishing its summer tour in Greensboro at the Eastern Music Festival.

WDAV’s Mike McKay and Lauren Rico host the first SummerStages broadcast on Sunday, June 5 at 4 p.m., featuring an all-Russian program from the Virginia Arts Festival in Norfolk. The Virginia Symphony, led by JoAnn Falletta, welcomes violin virtuoso Joshua Bell in a fiery performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major. The coming weeks on SummerStages spotlight 7 celebrated conductors, 4 world premieres, and solo performances by such renowned artists as violinists Robert McDuffie, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Caroline Goulding, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and pianist Andre Watts. (more…)

POSTED May 26, 2011 – Davidson, NC — The Davidson College Board of Trustees today elected Carol Quillen, vice president for international and interdisciplinary initiatives at Rice University, the 18th president of Davidson College. Her appointment is effective August 1, 2011.

Quillen’s appointment was announced at an all-campus meeting this afternoon. In making the announcement, Davidson’s Board chair, Mackey McDonald ’68, said, “The Davidson search committee was a microcosm of the Davidson family—trustees, students, faculty and staff with a broad range of interests, experiences and backgrounds. Even with the great diversity on the committee, there was a deep, shared commitment to Davidson—and an absolute agreement about our new president. Carol Quillen understands all facets of the academic enterprise,” McDonald noted. “A brilliant administrator and a talented teacher and scholar, she can articulate not only the value, but also the necessity of a liberal arts education. Her values are Davidson’s values. She inspired us,” McDonald said, “and we could not be more enthusiastic about welcoming her to Davidson.” (more…)