A specially formed Glarus youth band and singers will perform their skills on various occasions, for example at the Cortile San Damaso and in St. Peter's Basilica. The musical coordinators are Hermann Mathis, who has already built an organ for the Sistine Chapel with his Näfels-based company, and Lorenz Stöckli, conductor of the regional Young Winds.

The Glarus cantonal council has approved the concept for organizing the event and approved a budget of 180,000 francs. In addition to the music, it includes other activities such as two aperitifs for hundreds of people, which will be organized by Glarus restaurateur Claudio Keller in collaboration with his Zurich colleague Daniel Pesaresi. The cantonal government would like to make it possible for the people of Glarus to take part in the event. A public invitation to tender will be issued shortly via the official gazette and the Internet.

According to the canton's press release, the Culture Department, together with the Aargau Board of Trustees, will tackle the task in the coming weeks. The cultural players and stakeholders in the canton will be involved "in an appropriate form". With the support of external experts, the cultural concept is to be submitted to the cantonal government for approval by December 2016 and brought to the attention of the Grand Council in spring 2017. The canton has had its own cultural law since 2010.

The current practice is to be reviewed "against the backdrop of social changes, such as in the area of digitalization and demographic developments, but also in view of the canton's financial situation". The objectives and fields of action for the years 2017 to 2022 are to be "aligned in such a way that resources can continue to be used in a sustainable and impact-oriented manner", the canton writes further.

The panels are not immediately obvious. Visitors are initially overwhelmed by the baroque splendour of this church interior, which has been resplendent in the brightest colors since the renovation was completed. As you walk around, you will find it on a wall in the left aisle. It usually depicts St. Fintan, who lived as a monk in the Rheinau monastery in the 9th century, accompanied by texts such as this: "Mr. Conrad Götz von Reinach, officer in the French prince's army, fell over the mountain with his horse on 18 December 1793 near Volken-Bach; however, he and his horse were miraculously preserved unharmed by St. Fintan."

These votive tablets, with which believing Christians in earlier times gave thanks for salvation from an emergency situation, led to one of the three basic ideas from which the composer Ulrich Gasser, who lives in Rheinau, created his oratorio Exvoto - a Magnificat builds on. The second basic idea - as the title suggests - is based on Mary's hymn of praise. Gasser wrote his composition for the reopening of the renovated former Rheinau monastery church written. And this is dedicated to Mary, as you can easily see from the numerous depictions of Mary in the church interior. The third element is the rosary. This form of prayer, which has largely disappeared nowadays but is still practiced in Rheinau, is a kind of meditation that looks at the life of Christ from the perspective of his mother Mary. The fact that the Protestant Ulrich Gasser takes up such Catholic themes in his oratorio with veneration of the saints and the Virgin Mary may come as something of a surprise. The texts by Gasser's wife Eva Tobler, who enriches the traditional prayers here and there with updated paraphrases, provide a counterpoint from the perspective of the Reformation.

Sound period
The musical concept of the oratorio is also inextricably linked to the spatial conditions of the monastery church. The world premiere under the overall direction of Peter Siegwart demonstrated this aspect in an impressive way. Participants included the Vokalensemble Zürich conducted by Siegwart, the Bach Choir Konstanz (conductor: Claus G. Biegert), the Cäcilienchor Rheinau (conductor: Gesuè Barbera), the Brass-Band-Posaunenchor Marthalen (conductor: Daniel Jenzer) as well as a string trio, a horn, a glockenspiel, a harp and three organs. The large organ at the back of the gallery and the choir organ at the front not only set the scene, but also set themselves apart from the tempered wind instruments and choirs with their mid-range tuning. Sophisticated spatial effects were created in particular by the Vokalensemble Zürich, which could be heard alternately in front of the high altar, in front of the choir screen, in the nave, in the side galleries or in the organ loft. The string trio and individual musicians from the brass band also took up different positions. The spatial design clearly illustrated the different textual and formal parts of the oratorio.
In his work, Ulrich Gasser, as he himself says, spreads out a "period of sound" that the listener must fill in themselves. His music flows along at a leisurely pace, often repeats itself, has a static character, offers a flat tension curve and thus invites meditation. Again and again, beautiful major chords can be heard, reminiscent of the halo of Mary on one of the altarpieces. However, the familiar sounds are also contrasted with alienated ones, created by various "modes" such as pentatonics or twelve-tone rows. The melodious sound is also disturbed by the superimposed moods. In this way, Gasser's harmonies reflect precisely the double figure of Mary, which also appears in the texts of the work: she is both a tangible and yet infinitely remote apparition.

All used and identifiable works are distributed, depending on the click rate. The contract between Suisa and YouTube is currently in its second year. The contract directly licenses usage in 43 countries, as Suisa Director General Andreas Wegelin writes in the company's blog.

The challenge in processing the usage reports from YouTube is not only the enormous amount of data, but also the data quality, especially of the "user-generated content", Wegelin continues. Videos from private users would hardly contain any information on the material used.

For the billing period of 15 months, Suisa processed usage reports from YouTube with around 3.2 million different videos that were viewed a total of 1.7 billion times. Of these, 590.2 million views relate to the repertoire that is billed by Suisa.

The distribution amount per click for the billed period is CHF 0.0008. In comparison, Suisa can distribute an average amount of CHF 0.0018 per stream in the second distribution of Spotify revenues, which is also taking place now, i.e. more than twice as much.

Jossi Wieler is an artist who has been closely associated with the state through his work for many years, said State Secretary Jürgen Walter, Chairman of the Foundation Council, explaining the decision.

Wieler succeeded in uniting the social and the psychological in his work. He is also exemplary in his way of working and his enlightened humanism. Wieler, born in Kreuzlingen in 1951, has been artistic director of the Stuttgart State Opera since 2011.

Established in 2002, the Baden-Württemberg Cultural Prize Foundation of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken and the Baden-Württemberg Foundation awards the Cultural Prize every two years, alternating thematically. It is endowed with a total of 25,000 euros and is divided into a main prize and a sponsorship prize. The latter goes to the Zeitraumexit association from Mannheim.

The reason for his resignation: the extended Senate bypassed the University Council when electing the new Rector of the University of Music and chose the previous Vice-Rector for Teaching and Studies, Judith Schinker. The Council's favorite was the then Rector Ekkehard Klemm.

According to the Council's open letter to State Minister Eva-Maria Stange, the clearly differing ideas on the further development of the school between the Senate and the Council made "a prosperous and unencumbered cooperation impossible". The University Council consisted of Werner Barlmeyer (Chairman), Olaf Bär, Wilfried Krätzschmar, Regine Lorenz and Jan Vogler. It was appointed for five years in the fall of 2014.

This means that a German conservatory is now also struggling with succession and strategy problems. Comparable turmoil could be observed at the conservatories in Vienna and Graz. At these universities, rectors who had already been elected did not take office.

How do swing solos differ from bebop solos and Charlie Parker's improvisations from those of John Coltrane? Is it the lines, the rhythmic structure - or perhaps the choice of notes and scales? How does it even work: improvising? The Jazzomat Research Project at the joint Institute of Musicology Weimar-Jena of the Franz Liszt University of Music Weimar and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, headed by Martin Pfleiderer and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), has been addressing these questions since October 2012.

Initially, the Weimar Jazz Database was set up, which now contains 299 jazz solos - exemplary improvisations from eight decades of jazz history that have been transcribed by students of the jazz and musicology courses. At the same time, project team members Jakob Abesser and Klaus Frieler have developed the freely available analysis software MeloSpyGUI 1.0, which can also be used to analyze other musical genres.

It can be used to generate information about the notes, intervals and rhythms used in the solos and much more at the touch of a button or to search for specific patterns in certain jazz solos. This in turn enables detailed descriptions of the personal styles of jazz musicians and allows overarching conclusions to be drawn about improvisational creative processes.

The MeloSpyGUI 1.0 analysis software and the Weimar Jazz Database can be downloaded free of charge from the project website. Extensive documentation and tutorials on the software and its possible uses can also be found there. In addition, information and initial analysis results are presented for each jazz solo in the Weimar Jazz Database; the transcriptions can also be listened to and downloaded as midi versions.

Website: jazzomat.hfm-weimar.de
 

Pascal Viglino studied classical and contemporary percussion, composition and music theater at the universities of Geneva, London, Barcelona, Berlin and Bern. He was a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra from 2000 to 2006. He regularly works with symphony orchestras and contemporary music ensembles in Geneva, Zurich Opera House, Barcelona, Brazil, Bern, Lisbon and Basel.

For the fifth time in a row, the canton of Valais is also awarding a special prize for the promotion of culture, namely to the Bretz-Héritier Foundation in Savièse. The cultural prizewinners were selected by the State Council on the recommendation of the Cultural Council.

The Valais Culture Prize dates back to 1980. At that time, the State Council decided to award the Valais Culture Prize each year to an artist from Valais or an artist residing in Valais. The award recognizes the career of an artist.

Established in 1982, the sponsorship awards are aimed at talented young artists who are at a turning point in their career. On the one hand, this creative contribution is intended as recognition for their work, but on the other hand also as an incentive to continue on their chosen path. The special prize, which has been awarded since 2011, is intended for a person or a group that is mainly involved behind the scenes in the development and promotion of culture in Valais.

Born in Zurich in 1983, performer Fatima Dunn studied contemporary singing at the Winterthur Institute for Contemporary Music WIAM. She then completed a master's degree in composition for film, theater and media at the Zurich University of the Arts. Since graduating in summer 2013, she has appeared on various occasions as a freelance performer and singer as well as a theater musician and film composer.

Together with video artist Mirjam von Ow, Fatima Dunn has created a cinematic live performance entitled "Landfall", in which vocals, cello, electronics and the large-scale projection of images create a poetic journey. The "artistic versatility paired with a highly professional realization" persuaded the jury of the Nico Kaufmann Foundation to award Dunn the scholarship.

The Nico Kaufmann Foundation, which is administered by the Presidential Department of the City of Zurich, awards an annual scholarship to musicians who have not yet reached the age of 35 and are domiciled in Switzerland in the year of the call for applications. The president of the foundation is the mayor. Michael Eidenbenz, Director of the Department of Music at Zurich University of the Arts, singer-songwriter Véronique Müller and cabaret artist Joachim Rittmeyer sat on the jury for the current scholarship award.
 

According to the ORF Audience Council, an existing agreement with the Austrian music industry is to be voluntarily extended. ORF Director General Alexander Wrabetz is committed to 30 percent Austrian music throughout Austria and 15 percent on Ö3. In addition, ORF wants to return to the Austrian Music Fund with 100,000 euros annually, take over the national music prize Amadeus again and broadcast a weekly scout program of Austrian talent on Ö3.

In Switzerland, the SRG and music representatives have signed a Swiss Music Charter. In it, SRG undertakes to broadcast a certain proportion of Swiss productions (for example, productions by new talent) in its programs. This proportion is a dynamic benchmark that is redefined each year.

The Direction de l'enseignement obligatoire (DGO), which apparently wants to take strict action against activities that presumably violate the city's secular basic principles, is thus preventing a project by the Geneva Chamber Orchestra.

The decision has provoked international head-shaking. For example, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitungnow "Geneva is suddenly getting the reputation of being even more fussy and fanatical about secularism than the French". And the Wiener Zeitung speaks of a "missionary atheism". Especially as the flood story is "a mythical legacy of humanity" and is not tied to a single religion.

Paul Phoenix is a well-known British tenor. Until four years ago, he was a member of the King's Singers from Cambridge. The six singers of this vocal ensemble have not only toured all over the world, they have also won several Grammy Awards with their original crossover programs. Phoenix has made two guest appearances in Boswil with the famous ensemble. Since he stopped singing with the ensemble, he has concentrated on his teaching activities and even appears as a sought-after performance coach in China. He developed his choir master class four years ago especially for Boswil, preferring to call it Performance Coaching. At the same time, he founded Purple Vocals, a vocal coaching service that also offers online coaching via Skype: www.purplevocals.com

On the weekend of May 8-10, Phoenix was in Boswil for a master class for the fourth time. The chamber choir C21 under the direction of Michael Schraner and the vocal ensemble Cantemus under the direction of Judith Flury were given advice, an exciting learning process that led to an inspired final concert. "I think the Künstlerhaus, with its family atmosphere, is an ideal place for a choir course," says Phoenix in conversation, "here you can work together, eat together, spend time together, and you don't need any special instruments, it's actually quite simple, we sing together. That means: breathing together, paying attention to details, working dynamically."

Understand, tell, shine

The special thing about this master class is that it is not given by a choral conductor, but by a singer. What do you have to imagine under Performance Coaching imagine? Does that mean more show, smart clothes, special choir set-ups? Paul Phoenix is not interested in showmanship, as I discovered during a course visit on Saturday morning, he is interested in better communication with the audience. In most cases, everything happens between the choir members and the conductor, the audience is forgotten.

Judith Flury's vocal ensemble Cantemus will be performing an original Shakespeare-The choir is well prepared, this course is about the final, masterly polish. The English language is not easy to sing, especially the "th" must not become a "t". Three words is the name of a ballad by Juhani Komulainen: a very calm, tonally dazzling piece of music. "You sing it like a madrigal in church. I miss your passion," Phoenix intervenes, "do you understand what you're singing? This is a love song that oscillates between passion and resignation."

Phoenix reads the text aloud, recites it almost as if he were singing it, the three words are: I love you. And indeed, the 24 singers begin to tell the story. They detach themselves from the musical text, become freer, the soft choral sound gains meaning and contour. "Why are you all looking so serious?" says Phoenix in his likeable, humorous manner and grimaces. "Smile, your eyes must shine, feel good, have confidence!"

Speed, communication

It is very difficult to sing calm sounds in a choir without intuitively slowing down. "You lose tension that way, the expression becomes blurred. Make sure you stay in tempo." And lo and behold, despite the piano and flat sound, the singers are suddenly eagerly listened to. Phoenix then asks the conductor Flury to stand at the very back of the hall and conduct the choir from there. It works, they sing out into the hall with a clearly perceptible effect.

Not only the singers, but also the two conductors get some tips: "You usually stand with your back to the audience. Turn around, talk to the audience, greet them and say a few sentences about the pieces rather than writing program texts. That has a huge impact." And then the voicing: from a tuning fork and singing in front of the audience, or would you prefer to do it on the piano? Phoenix advises using a small harmonica or whistle, which is safer than singing and doesn't make you look bad.

Anaïs Gaudemard studied harp and piano at the Marseille Conservatory with Fabrice Pierre in Lyon. In 2012, she won the special prize for the best interpretation of "The Crown of Ariadne" by Murray Schafer at the international harp competition in Israel. She received first prizes at the Torneo Internazionale die Musica in Rome in 2012, at the Festival Musical d'Automne des Jeunes Interprètes and at the Franz Josef Reinl Competition in Munich.

Coline Jaget was initially taught by her mother Helvia Briggen, solo harpist with the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2003, she joined Michèle Vuillaume's class at the Nice Conservatory. She graduated with top marks and distinction in 2009. She then joined Isabelle Moretti's class at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse. She is currently in the final year of her master's degree.

The Prix Thierry Scherz honors the co-founder and former artistic director of the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad festival. It enables the prizewinner to make a first CD recording with orchestra and guarantees its distribution. Anaïs Gaudemard thus has the opportunity to record a CD of works by Nicolai von Wilm, Alberto Ginastera and Einojuhani Rautavaara alongside the Orchestre de l'Opéra de Rouen Haute Normandie under the direction of Léo Hussain.

The Prix André Hoffmann, endowed with 5000 francs, rewards the best interpretation of a contemporary work. This year it was a work by the composer in residence at the Sommets Musicaux, Ivan Fedele, performed by Coline Jaget.

Including ancillary income of CHF 10.3 million, total sales amounted to CHF 151.6 million. (previous year: 144.9 million francs). Administrative expenses amounted to CHF 28.1 million in 2014, meaning that the average cost deduction was reduced slightly to 12.3% (previous year: 12.47%).

According to the cooperative's official press release, developments in the digital sector also contributed to the increase: additional income from the tariff for remuneration on smartphones, rising income from the online sector and the widespread use of digital and time-shifted television. However, there is still a need for action, particularly in the online sector, to ensure that music rights holders are remunerated fairly.

Thanks to an agreement reached in July 2014 for the use of privately copied music on smartphones, artists received remuneration for several years. The retroactive payments from smartphone manufacturers and importers for the years 2010 to 2014 led to additional income of around CHF 3.6 million. The online sector has also grown strongly. In 2014, copyright revenue from downloads and streaming grew by 32% and amounted to CHF 6.1 million (previous year: 4.6 million francs).

However, the increase in downloads is only partly due to increased demand for download offers. As Suisa issues online licenses for the whole of Europe, the increase is mainly due to the increase in licensing territories. In the streaming sector, copyright revenue has increased almost fivefold from CHF 315,000 to CHF 1.5 million.

The northern Bernese association of municipalities serves as a decision-making platform for the municipalities to conclude service contracts with cultural institutions of regional importance. According to the canton, the organizational regulations "take into account the special circumstances of this part of the canton and its bilingualism" and specifically provide for sub-regions.

As the regulations were not issued by the municipalities within the statutory period, the canton has taken over in accordance with the Cultural Promotion Act. The regulations will come into force on June 20, 2015 and the constituent meeting of the municipal association for the promotion of culture will take place on June 23, 2015.