Working with the BSO
Marzena Diakun, who works as an academic teacher at the Music Academy in Wroclaw, is now waiting for her visa as she flies to Massachusetts in June to attend the 75th jubilee edition of the Tanglewood Music Festival, one of the largest music events in the US, hosted by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Annually, over 350 thousand music lovers visit Tanglewood, an area over 2 hectares in size featuring a library and two large concert halls, which hosts both classical, jazz and popular music events (Diana Krall, Sheryl Crow and Tony Bennett in a duo with Lady Gaga are expected to perform at Tanglewood this year) and theatrical and dance theatre shows.
Wroclaw conductor wins the competition
This year's festival will take place between 20 June and 22 August and is expected to attract both celebrated conductors, including Michael Tilson Thomas (Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony) and Andris Nelsons (Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra), and highly regarded pianists such as Emmanuel Ax. Marzena Diakun was offered a chance to work with several ensembles, including the BSO, and to assist celebrated bandmasters during rehearsals. Diakun and a director from Germany are the only successful candidates from a large number of applicants who sent their DVDs to the US. The DVD had to contain several presentations to showcase their skills in leading a number of performances, including working with a symphony orchestra and a chamber ensemble, and a short speech to present the candidate.
Marzena Diakun will have to work hard to learn a number of new scores, as the festival is going to feature premières of the compositions commissioned specifically for the occasion. She is more satisfied than apprehensive, however. "There will be a lot of people who mean something in the classical music world at Tanglewood," says Marzena Diakun. "They will have a sneak preview in our work and, hopefully, they will appreciate it in the future," adds the conductor.
Dream ensemble
Each director should count themselves lucky to work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Established in 1881, the ensemble comes eleven in the world's best symphonic orchestra ranking. They usually perform at the Boston Symphony Hall, which, due to its acoustics, is considered one of the best performance halls in the world (according to experts). As they spend summer at Tanglewood, the BSO rehearse and perform at the Serge Koussevitzky Hall, whose patron was an outstanding conductor and BSO Music Director (from the 1920s to the end of the 1940s).
