Yale Bulletin and Calendar

March 22-29, 1999

Volume 27, Number 25

Area performers to lift voices
in memory of noted conductor

Renowned American conductor Robert Shaw often inspired performers from Yale and New Haven to lift their voices in song when he visited the University.

In fact, for two decades in concerts that packed Woolsey Hall, Shaw led campus and city performing groups in great masterworks for chorus and orchestra by Hindemith, Berlioz and Britten.

Now, in return for that gift of music, over 200 area performers will sing in celebration of the life of the conductor, who passed away in January at age 82, at a special service on Sunday, March 28, at 8 p.m. in Battell Chapel, corner of Elm and College streets.

The service will include performances by the Yale Glee Club, the Yale Camerata, members of the New Haven Chorale and organist Martin Jean. The program will feature masterworks by Brahms, Handel, Mendelssohn, Mozart and others. The event is free and open to the public. For further information, call 432-4158.

Shaw was previously honored by Yale in 1998, when he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Musical Arts degree. During his final days, he came to campus to attend a performance of a play that was the senior project of his son, Thomas, a student in Davenport College.

Shaw was music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for 21 years and became the group's music director emeritus and conductor laureate in 1988. During his tenure as music director, he built the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra into a major American orchestra, garnering widespread acclaim through national and international tours and award-winning recordings.

A regular guest conductor of major orchestras in this country and abroad, Shaw was also in demand as a teacher and lecturer. The Robert Shaw Institute was founded in recent years to foster excellence in music-making, especially in the choral arts.

Shaw's numerous other honors include being appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the National Council on the Arts; receiving a 1991 Kennedy Center Medal; being named "Musician of the Year" in the 1992 edition of Musical America, the international directory of the performing arts; being awarded the National Medal of Arts; and earning the Conductors' Guild Theodore Thomas Award in 1993, in recognition of his achievements as a conductor and educator.

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Biologists unravel genetics of fruit flies' sense of smell
Yale announces moderate increase in term bill for the seventh straight year
Endowed Professorships: Margot E. Fassler and Rogers M. Smith
Exhibits, symposium look back at the Pop art of the Sixties
Area performers to lift voices in memory of noted conductor
Slifka Center celebrates new Media Arts Endowment with preview screening . . .
Lecture series will explore role of technology in today's culture
Noted Scottish sociologist will be featured speaker in campus events
Special program at ISM marks publication of Bryan Spinks' book . . .
Area artists invited to participate in second annual 'City-Wide Open Studios' . . .
Off-campus concerts
Conference will examine issues facing gays and lesbians in the workplace