CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association named maestro Riccardo Muti on Monday as the next music director of the CSO, the 10th conductor to hold the prestigious post.
CSO Association President Deborah Card announced that Muti, 66, had signed a five-year contract to serve as music director beginning in September of the 2010-2011 season. The post has been vacant since Daniel Barenboim retired in 2006.
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Say you’re in the mood to indulge in a shoe-shopping spree — does a certain city pop to mind? How about an urban destination for a romantic weekend? Where in the U.S. can you find the most compelling museums or thrilling club scene? Is the city with the most attractive citizens also the one with the best opportunities for people-watching?
Headline News, Travel + Leisure and CNN.com spent three months collecting 60,000 votes, from local residents and visitors, on what they like (and don’t like) about 25 urban destinations across the country. Voters were asked for their opinions on culture, shopping, people, food and city characteristics — and they gave us more surprises than we anticipated.
Well, America has an opinion — and America has spoken.
Seeing Mickey & Co. gets more expensive for third time in past two years
Another reason why touring groups should avoid Orlando and perform in MCI’s National Festival of the States concert series instead!
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Walt Disney World is raising ticket prices for the third time in two years, company officials announced.
An adult one-day, one-park pass will increase 6 percent, $67 to $71 beginning Sunday. Discount packages also will be affected, but the per-day cost could be less than $23 for adults who buy as large as a 10-day package.
The change is due to an annual planning cycle of travel wholesalers, tour organizers and commercial publications, Disney officials told the Orlando Sentinel.
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you and your staff for building a trip for Blue Valley High School that resulted in such a fantastic experience for my students. Working under time and financial constraints, your staff set up a great trip, and our local guide filled in the missing pieces to create a series of experiences that were culturally relevant and interesting to high school students. The exchange concert and the Chinese New Year parade were highlights of the trip, but every event and experience was memorable! Thank you for a great experience!
Amy Fear-Bishop
Blue Valley High School Orchestra
Music Celebrations is pleased to announce the Windy City Youth Choral Festival, June 26 – 29, 2008. Youth choirs (both treble and mixed youth voices) will be invited and selected based upon recommendation and/or audition tape.
Rollo Dilworth
Nationally recognized artists and choral conductors Rollo Dilworth and Emily Ellsworth, both leaders in the field of youth choral music, will co-direct the event. Each will bring a dynamic directing style that will undoubtedly benefit the visiting choirs and their directors.
Emily Ellsworth
The Festival performance will take place on Saturday, June 28th in Chicago’s renowned Orchestra Hall, home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and will feature the talented young singers of the Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus.
Orchestra Hall
Chicago proudly offers some of the world’s best museums, the highest buildings, the most renowned orchestras and choirs, the world-class Brookfield Zoo, a beautiful lakefront skyline, and of course, Chicago dogs and pizza! With its wonderful musical heritage, the Windy City will serve as the ideal host to choirs around the country for this magnificent festival experience.
Once again, Music Celebrations International has given us a tour to remember! They organized the trip to Chicago that our concert choir took last summer and it was awesome. From the beginning planning stages over a year ago to the follow up conversations after we returned home, they were always there to see to it that the tour was designed to our desires. Our stay in Chicago was the best and every meal and venue was fabulous!!! Thanks again for an experience that our choir will remember forever!!
-Kathy Enervold, Beulah High School Choir Director, North Dakota
There aren’t many man-made, breakable items in North America these days that are older than Richard Young’s viola.
His instrument was made in the mid-1500s back in the days, Young points out, when many in Europe thought the Earth revolved around the sun.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” he said recently by phone from the Chicago area. “This is one of the very first violas ever made.”
Richard is part of the world-class Vermeer Quartet whose players are resident faculty members at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb. The Quartet regularly performs in the Chicago area and viewing a performance of theirs would be an interesting complement to the National Festival of the States in Chicago.
Music Celebrations is committed to providing outstanding musical experiences to outstanding musical ensembles.
This music blog, MCI Journeys, is our way of keeping you informed of the latest news in the music world, information on music education, fundraisers for music groups, travel tips, and ideas for musical destinations and events.
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