Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

Joshua Bell Named Music Director of Academy of St Martin in the Fields

The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields has a new music director for the first time since Sir Neville Marriner. Big news! Read below:

London –Joshua Bell was today announced as Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the first person to hold the title since Sir Neville Marriner who founded the Orchestra in 1958. With three weeks already in the diary for the 2011-12 season including an extensive US tour, Joshua Bell will double his time with the Orchestra over the course of his initial three year contract, as well as taking responsibility for the artistic direction of the Orchestra. (more…)

The Mysterious Barricades in Classical Music

Some listeners from Mint Hill happened to be in Davidson the other day and decided on an impulse to drop by the station with a burning question: what the heck is the Academy of St. Martin-in -the-Fields? They knew it was an orchestra, of course, but were mystified by the name – as well as by how often they hear it on WDAV. Just how many recordings has the orchestra made, anyway?
The question took me by surprise at first, and then I remembered how I’d had a similar thought hearing their recordings played on the radio as a young listener. I also had a completely inaccurate mental image of conductor Neville Marriner that was influenced by my love of comic books – the only other “mariner” I’d ever heard of was Marvel’s Namor, The Submariner, who lived under the sea wearing nothing but scaly trunks and wings on his ankles. Wings under water? But that’s a question for comic book legend Stan Lee, not this blog.

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