Amidst the chaos of COVID-19 and the disruption it has caused for live performances, there has been some good news for music director, Aram Demirjian. The young conductor of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra has been named the eleventh recipient of the Sir Georg Solti conducting award. Aram spoke with Melony Dodson, host of Morning Concert on WUOT 91.9FM.
The Solti Foundation U.S. has named Aram Demirjian the 11th Solti Fellow in the Foundation’s 20-year history. The largest grant currently given to American conductors in the formative years of their careers, the prestigious $30,000 grant is given annually to a single promising American conductor 38 years of age or younger. A recipient of The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award may use the financial portion of the grant in various ways to specifically advance his/her career, whether it be further studies, language study, purchases of scores, or travel.
“During this time of social distancing, it is uplifting to be able to share positive news,” said Foundation Board Chair Penny Van Horn. “We have observed Aram’s growth as a conductor over the past several years, first awarding him a Career Assistance Award in 2017, and are pleased to now award him with The Solti Fellow. He has grown steadily in his craft and is innovative in his approach to classical music. Congratulations, Aram! We look forward to seeing what your future holds.”
Program includes Tchaikovsky’s Romeo & Juliet Overture-Fantasy, selections from Swan Lake, Khachaturian’s “Lezginka” from the opera Gayane, and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with soloist Ran Dank.
The San Diego Symphony will start a bold new chapter with the July 10 opening of its new, year-round $45 million outdoor concert and events venue, The Shell…named both for its design and in honor of its waterfront location between Coronado and the San Diego Convention Center. The new venue will boast a 13,015-square-foot outdoor stage, ensconced by a 57-foot steel shell that measures 33,000 square feet, weighs 270,000 pounds, and is covered with two layers of a white, PVC-like fabric. Its appearance may remind some concertgoers of a more intimate version of the iconic Hollywood Bowl, relocated to a panoramic bayside setting.
Aram conducts the SD Symphony’s annual “Beethoven by the Bay” performance on August 16, 2020, featuring Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
On January 28, 2020, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Aram Demirjian announced their 2020-21 Moxley Carmichael Masterworks and Sheena McCall Chamber Classics Series.
“Next season is the clearest realization of what I envisioned the Knoxville Symphony would be doing when I started as music director,” Demirjian said during an interview after the announcement. “It’s collaborative. It’s artistically ambitious. And it’s extremely fresh in terms of what we are programming, while still maintaining the romantic symphonic repertoire that lies at the core of what orchestras do.”
The season reflects the KSO’s ongoing commitment to emphasizing American music, the music of living composers, and representation on the concert hall stage. Returning guests include Tessa Lark, Michelle Cann, and PROJECT Trio. The KSO will also continue its commitment to featuring other Knoxville-based arts organizations on its mainstage, including collaborative projects with Marble City Opera Company and West African drum ensemble Indigenous Vibes. In January 2021, the KSO performs the Tennessee premiere of Petrichor, by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and East Tennessee native Ellen Reid.
The Solti Foundation released its 2019 Career Assistance Awards today, raising the number of Career Assistance Awards the organization has granted since turning its focus to exclusively assisting young American conductors in 2004 to 78.
“The energy Demirjian brought to Knoxville is evident,” said Board President, Russ Watkins. “The past two seasons have been filled to the brim with exciting musical programming and performances, and thoughtful engagement in the community. Demirjian has a presence on and off stage that welcomes audience members, friends, and patrons alike to engage with him and the Orchestra. We are eager and enthusiastic to have him continue implementing his vision for the KSO over the next three years.”
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Washington Performing Arts have announced the four orchestras selected to participate in the third SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras, taking place at the Kennedy Center and other locations around D.C. from March 23–29, 2020. The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra was one of just four orchestras selected to perform a concert during the festival as well as present community residency programs in the D.C. area.
The Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee provides a listening experience unlike any other in America. At the 2017 edition, Norwegian drone musician Deathprod blasted deafening noise inside a 1920s theater listed in the National Register of Historic Places, while the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra played Bach on the floor of a rock club. Cell phones got alerts that a performance by Chinese guzheng player Wu Fei was at capacity, while Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy could be found squalling to a small audience in an improv noise band. A hundred volunteers rubbed rocks and spilled seeds for a hushed percussion piece in the Knoxville Museum of Art, while cellist Oliver Coates shredded Iannis Xenakis in a sweatshirt.
