City chosen for conductor contest

Bloomington has been chosen from every city in North America for the upcoming Maazel/Vilar Conductors Competition. Maestro Lorin Maazel, the newly appointed artistic director of the New York Philharmonic, will direct the auditions scheduled for December.\nConductors from all across the continent will come to Bloomington for the global event. Bloomington is among Tokyo; Cracow, Poland; London; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Sydney, Australia in the audition sites. \n"The selection of Bloomington for this event is recognition of the international reputation of our music school," School of Music Interim Dean Gwyn Richards said. "We look forward to working with Lorin Maazel, who is unquestionably one of the world's pre-eminent musicians."\nMaazel will come to Bloomington for five days in December to prepare the IU Philharmonic Orchestra for the competition. One finalist from each location will be selected for a week of rehearsals and concerts in Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's in September 2002. Then of these six finalists, one or all of them will be awarded the opportunity to train with Maazel for two to three years, plus $45,000 cash and selection for professional engagements.\nMaazel has teamed with arts philanthropist Alberto W. Vilar, president of Amerindo Investment Advisors, a technology investment firm headquartered in New York City, to form the $5 million competition. The impetus of the program was to identify and develop outstanding young conducting talent.\n"The goal of this competition and its post-competition program is to bring to the fore genuinely gifted conductors and provide them a much-needed opportunity for artistic development," Maazel said.\nMaazel, 70, is known throughout the world for his conducting achievements during the past 30 years. He has appeared with all the major symphony orchestras, including Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. He has conducted at international festivals and opera houses, including Salzburg, Edinburgh and Lucerne, the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Paris Opera and Covent Garden. He directed the Vienna Philharmonic in a 1994 New Year's concert that was broadcasted to some 1.2 billion viewers in 65 countries. Maazel has served as music director of the renowned Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra of Munich since 1993.\n"Our students have a great opportunity to be able to work with Mr. Maazel," said Maria Talbert, director of marketing and publicity for the School of Music.\nApplications to the competition, open to conductors up to age 35, will be accepted until June 1. A screening jury will then select nine competitors, plus alternates, for each regional round. Then one of those will continue on to New York. Complete application instructions and the application form are available at www.maazel-vilar.org.