Grant Llewellyn

Grant Llewellyn (born 29 December 1960) is a Welsh conductor.

Biography

Llewellyn was born in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. He began developing his conducting reputation in 1985, when he was awarded a conducting fellow position at the Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts. There his mentors included Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur and André Previn. He later conducted concerts at the Tanglewood Festival with the Boston Pops and as assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. From 1990 to 1995, he was associate conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He was principal guest conductor of the Stavanger Symfoniorkester from 1993 to 1996. Llewellyn served as chief conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (deFilharmonie) of Flanders from 1995 to 1998.

From 2001 to 2006, Llewellyn was the music director of the Handel and Haydn Society (Boston), where he also held the title of principal conductor. Since July 2004, he has been Music Director of the North Carolina Symphony. In September 2013, his contract was extended to 2019.

BBC National Orchestra of Wales

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) (Welsh: Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both a broadcasting orchestra and national orchestra. The BBC NOW has its administrative base in Cardiff, at the BBC Hoddinott Hall on the site of the Wales Millennium Centre, since January 2009.

The BBC NOW is the orchestra-in-residence at St David's Hall, Cardiff, and also performs regularly throughout Wales and beyond, including international tours and annual appearances at the Royal Albert Hall in London at the BBC Proms. Broadcasting work includes studio sessions for BBC Radio and television, although the orchestra’s concerts form the bulk of its broadcasts, transmitted primarily on BBC Radio 3 but also on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC television. The orchestra records many soundtracks for BBC television, including Doctor Who, Torchwood, Human Planet, and Earthflight.

North Carolina Symphony

The North Carolina Symphony is an American orchestra based in Raleigh, North Carolina, with sixty-six full-time musicians. The orchestra performs in Meymandi Concert Hall and performs occasionally with the Carolina Ballet and the Opera Company of North Carolina. In 2012-13, the organization celebrated its 80th anniversary season. Concert series are also performed across North Carolina in the cities of, Chapel Hill, Cary, Southern Pines, New Bern, Wilmington, and Fayetteville, among others.

History

In 1932, Lamar Stringfield united a group of volunteers to form the North Carolina Symphony. They first performed in Hill Hall at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in North Carolina on May 14, 1932. The original musicians of the symphony were unpaid local musicians. By 1935, the North Carolina Symphony had performed in more than fifty cities and towns in North Carolina, in over 140 concerts. Dr. Benjamin Swalin, Music Director from 1939 to 1972, continued the orchestra's mission to reach as many North Carolina natives as possible.

North Carolina

North Carolina (ⁱ/ˌnɔːrθ kærəˈlaɪnə/) is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the 50 United States. North Carolina is known as the Tar Heel State and the Old North State.

North Carolina is composed of 100 counties. Its two largest metropolitan areas are among the top ten fastest-growing in the country: its capital, Raleigh, and its largest city, Charlotte. In the past five decades, North Carolina's economy has undergone a transition from reliance upon tobacco, textiles, and furniture-making to a more diversified economy with engineering, energy, biotechnology, and finance sectors.

North Carolina has a wide range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet (2,037 m) at Mount Mitchell, the highest point in North America east of the Mississippi River. The climate of the coastal plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the state falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles (500 km) from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a subtropical highland climate.

Music director

A music director may be the director of an orchestra or concert band, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the coordinator of the musical ensembles in a university, college, or institution (but not usually the head of the academic music department), the head bandmaster of a military band, the head organist and choirmaster of a church, or an Organist and Master of the Choristers (a title given to a Director of Music at a cathedral, particularly in England).

Orchestra

The title of "music director" or "musical director" is used by many symphony orchestras to designate the primary conductor and artistic leader of the orchestra. The term "music director" is most common for orchestras in the United States. With European orchestras, the titles of "principal conductor" or "chief conductor" are more common, which designate the conductor who directs the majority of a given orchestra's concerts in a season. In musical theatre and opera, the music director is in charge of the overall musical performance, including ensuring that the cast knows the music thoroughly, supervising the musical interpretation of the performers and pit orchestra, and conducting the orchestra.