{"id":58250,"date":"2017-11-07T09:55:41","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T14:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/?p=58250"},"modified":"2022-08-02T14:05:36","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T18:05:36","slug":"a-conversation-with-maestro-bramwell-tovey","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/news\/articles\/2017\/a-conversation-with-maestro-bramwell-tovey\/","title":{"rendered":"A conversation with Maestro Bramwell Tovey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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November 7, 2017<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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New conductor talks joining the School of Music, expressing deep human narratives through conducting, and getting down to the music.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Spark Volume 3, Issue 2<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>| by Emily White<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spark<\/em> spoke with renowned conductor Bramwell Tovey<\/strong>, who joined Boston University as Director of Orchestral Activities this fall. Since 2000 he has served as Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO), and will assume the title of Music Director Emeritus beginning in 2018.<\/p>\n

Among his many noteworthy accomplishments, Tovey and the VSO, with violinist James Ehnes, won a GRAMMY\u00ae and a JUNO award in 2008 for their recording of Barber, Korngold and Walton concertos. In 2015, Tovey was awarded the Oscar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance. Also a noted composer, he won the JUNO Award for Best Classical Composition in 2003. In addition to being an accomplished conductor and composer, Tovey is a talented pianist and has appeared as a soloist with many major orchestras around the globe.<\/p>\n

Speaking about Tovey\u2019s appointment to the College of Fine Arts, Shiela Kibbe<\/strong>, Director ad interim<\/em> of the School of Music, says, \u201cstudents and faculty alike are delighted with Bramwell\u2019s arrival, and orchestral energy is positive. I believe his leadership will bring important changes to the program, and I anticipate that alumni across the profession, as well as prospective students and their families, will show enthusiastic interest as the orchestra flourishes under his expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"10\/13\/17<\/a>
The Boston University Symphony Orchestra performs with Bramwell Tovey\u00a0at Tsai Performance Center in September. Photo by Natasha Moustache for BU Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spark: Welcome to Boston University College of Fine Arts! What are you most looking forward to in your work with BU Orchestras and guiding the future of the program?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bramwell Tovey: Working with students is incredibly stimulating. They question everything and have a thirst for understanding and knowledge. Being a 21st century orchestral musician is completely different even from say, 50 years ago. There are well known and understood economic challenges in the orchestra business, for sure, but the most challenging aspect of the orchestral world remains how to function at a high level as an ensemble while satisfactorily interpreting music that might have been written yesterday or 300 years ago. My role at BU is to prepare our students for that new world while ensuring that the very reason they became musicians in the first place remains inviolate\u2014to express the inner human narratives articulated by composers.<\/p>\n

Spark: How do you approach conducting a new orchestra?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

BT: When I was younger this was an arduous undertaking. Would the orchestra respond to my direction? Would I be able to inspire and lead this particular body of musicians? As I\u2019ve reached this point in my career and with the benefit of four decades of conducting experience behind me and the wonder of the Internet meaning that everyone can know almost everything about you by the time you arrive at rehearsal, it means I can start straightaway focusing our attention on the score in hand. It\u2019s so much simpler than I realized – it’s not about me at all, it\u2019s all about the music.<\/p>\n

Spark:\u00a0Along with many other tours and guest appearances, you have previously performed with the Boston Symphony. What has it been like to return to Boston and work with Boston University musicians?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

BT: I took the position at BU because so many BSO musicians and members of the administration told me I\u2019d love it, and they weren\u2019t wrong. Boston is one of my favourite cities and conducting the BSO regularly at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood has only made me love the city more. Coming to BU and settling into being part of the musical fabric of Boston is proving immense fun and very rewarding musically.<\/p>\n

Spark: What about BU and the School of Music made you consider this position?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

BT: I\u2019d toyed with the idea of academia for years but life was always so busy. I\u2019m just relinquishing the music directorship of the Vancouver Symphony in Canada after an incredibly happy 18 years. I\u2019d heard about the BU position from a friend in the BSO and chatted about it with my agent and family who all knew how much I enjoyed teaching at various summer courses and masterclasses. The job description included the desire of BU to recruit a conductor with a continuing national and international career so I allowed my name to go forward. To me that spoke volumes about BU\u2019s commitment to excellence.<\/p>\n

\"10\/13\/17<\/a>
Bramwell Tovey conducts the Boston University Symphony Orchestra\u00a0 in the Tsai Performance Center. Photo by Natasha Moustache for\u00a0BU Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spark: What is the repertoire of the November concert at Symphony Hall<\/a>? Can you describe the significance of these selections?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

BT: Lilian Boulanger\u00a0D\u2019un matin du printemps<\/em>, Stravinsky\u00a0Pulcinella Suite\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Le Sacre du Printemps.<\/em>\u00a0Lilian Boulanger died in 1917 aged only 24. She was the younger sister of Nadia Boulanger, the famous conductor and pedagogue and mentor of 20th century composers. Lilian grew up in Paris during the glorious years of Diaghilev\u2019s Ballet Russe. Stravinsky\u2019s huge masterpiece Le Sacre\u00a0<\/em>was premiered in 1913 and his chamber orchestral masterpiece\u00a0Pulcinella\u00a0<\/em>in 1920 in the economic aftermath of the Great War when resources were scarce. Both works received their first performance in Paris. So, the music for this concert was conceived and composed within the decade after 1910. It\u2019s one of music\u2019s great might-have-beens to imagine what Lilian Boulanger might have composed had she lived. Our concert, while thrilling to hear BUSO and BUCO tackle the two great Stravinsky masterpieces, is also a reflective tribute to Lilian.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bramwell Tovey\u2019s first formal concert at Boston University was held on September 27, where he conducted the BU Symphony Orchestra Concert at the Tsai Performance Center. On November 13, Tovey and the BU Symphony Orchestra perform the music of Lili Boulanger and Igor Stravinsky at Boston\u2019s Symphony Hall. He will conduct BU Symphony Orchestra concerts on March 1 <\/strong>and April 30<\/strong>, both at Tsai Performance Center.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Purchase tickets for Boston University at Symphony Hall at bso.org<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New conductor talks joining the School of Music, expressing deep human narratives through conducting, and getting down to the music. Spark Volume 3, Issue 2\u00a0| by Emily White   Spark spoke with renowned conductor Bramwell Tovey, who joined Boston University as Director of Orchestral Activities this fall. Since 2000 he has served as Music Director […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6310,"featured_media":58247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[],"bu-publication":[192],"magazine-article-category":[],"magazine-topic":[],"news-article-category":[319],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/58250"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/58250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89079,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/58250\/revisions\/89079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58250"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=58250"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-article-category?post=58250"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-topic?post=58250"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=58250"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=58250"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=58250"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=58250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}