Huw Edwards (conductor)
Encyclopedia
Huw Edwards is a Welsh conductor
and the current music director of Portland
, Oregon
's Columbia Symphony Orchestra and Olympia
, Washington's Olympia Symphony Orchestra. Edwards' conducting career began at age seventeen when he became music director of the Maidstone Opera Company in England. He later attended the University of Surrey
, where he conducted the college orchestra along with an ensemble that he formed on his own. At age twenty-three, he won a conducting competition which sent him to Southern Methodist University
in Dallas, Texas
. He then held a lecturer position at Northwestern University
in Chicago
, where he was also a doctoral candidate. Edwards was conductor and music director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic
from 1995 to 2002 followed by the Seattle Youth Symphony
from 2002 to 2005. He has been music director of the Columbia Symphony Orchestra since 2000 and the Olympia Symphony Orchestra since 2002.
, Edwards moved with his parents to England
and sang in choirs as a child. He witnessed his first opera (Giuseppe Verdi
's Un ballo in maschera
) at eleven years old when his parents took him to the Royal Opera House
in Covent Garden
. Seven years later, he was conducting W. S. Gilbert
and Arthur Sullivan
's operetta H.M.S. Pinafore
on that same podium. Edwards played violin and trumpet through grammar school and high school but abandoned performance for conducting.
Edwards has been conducting since age seventeen when he became music director of the Maidstone Opera Company in England, a position he held for six years. Edwards attended the University of Surrey
, where he conducted the college orchestra along with an ensemble that he formed on his own. He won a conducting competition in 1988 which sent him to Southern Methodist University
in Dallas, Texas
at twenty-three years old. There he experienced "culture shock", being "accustomed to the rolling hills of England and the cosmopolitan buzz of London". He held a lecturer position at Northwestern University
in Chicago
, where he was also a doctoral candidate. Four years later he moved to the Pacific Northwest. Throughout his lifetime, Edwards has received instruction from Anshel Brusilow
(Dallas), chorus leader Simon Johnson (London), Eduardo Mata
, Barry Wordsworth
, and Victor Yampolsky (Northwestern University).
, Yo-Yo Ma
and the Guarnari Quartet. He had also conducted opera and orchestras throughout Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Edwards has performed with the Annas Bay Opera, Dallas Symphony Orchestra
, Eugene Symphony
, Memphis Symphony Orchestra
, Oregon Symphony
, Rose City Chamber Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
, and Yakima Symphony. He has been invited to speak at the American Symphony Orchestra League
convention in Boston and assisted with the organization's "Meet for the Millennium" project.
(PYP) in 1995, following Jacob Avshalomov
's forty-year tenure and becoming the orchestra's third conductor. He was selected unanimously by a twelve-person committee from a field of more than one hundred candidates, and was officially handed the baton by Avshalomov at the season opening Riverside Classics concert on August 30. After Avshalomov conducted the first half of the concert, Edwards completed PYP's set with performances of works by Ludwig van Beethoven
, Johannes Brahms
, Franz Schubert
and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
. The program for the first subscription series concert, which received positive reception, included Giuseppe Verdi
's Nabucco
Overture, Ralph Vaughan Williams
's Serenade to Music
and Paul Hindemith
's Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber. In addition to the four season subscription concerts performed at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
, the 1995–1996 season included performances at the Newport Performing Arts Center in Newport
and The Resort at the Mountain near Mount Hood
, as well as in Eugene
, Salem
and Newberg
. In 1996 the first interactive Children's Concert was broadcast live via satellite across Oregon. The collaboration between PYP and Multnomah Community TV continued beyond 1996; in 1998 concerts were streamed as far away as Tuscon, Arizona and a 1999 recording became a finalist in the national Hometown Video festival.
Released on March 27, 1998, Fountain of Youth became the orchestra's sixth commercial recording on Compact Disc (previous recordings were vinyl or cassette). The compilation album included works recorded at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
during seasons seventy-three and seventy-four. PYP represented the United States at the Banff International Festival of Youth Orchestras in April 1998. In January 1999, Portland Parent published an article by Edwards titled "The Role of Classical Music in the Lives of Young People", which discussed the benefits of classical music to child learning development. The 1998–1999 season included performances in Salem, Newberg, Welches
, St. Helens
and Milwaukie
and Longview, Washington
in addition to the regular subscription series. On February 10, 1999 the orchestra opened a Portland Trail Blazers
game at the Rose Garden by performing The Star-Spangled Banner
.
During Edwards' seven years with the orchestra, he and other PYP representatives established a peer mentor
program which partnered orchestra musicians with low-income students with little access to music education
, and earned the ensemble its second ASCAP award for "Adventurous Programming and Commitment to Contemporary Music". He made five recordings and led the orchestra on two tours: in 1998 the Philharmonic represented the United States at the Banff International Festival of Youth Orchestras in Canada, and the orchestra toured Australia
and New Zealand
in 2000. The tour included performances in Auckland, Brisbane, Canberra, Armidale, Newcastle, Sydney, and Melbourne. Edwards also recorded Gabriel Fauré
's Requiem
at St. Mary's Cathedral as a collaboration with Cantores in Ecclesia. Edwards left PYP in 2002 and was succeeded by Mei-Ann Chen
. Guest conductors during PYP's 2007–2008 season included Ken Selden, director of orchestral studies at Portland State University, former Seattle Symphony
conductor Alastair Willis, along with former PYP conductors Edwards and Chen.
at the start of its sixtieth season (2002–2003), putting him in charge of 1,000 young musicians participating in the symphony and its four preparatory orchestras as well as the organization's outreach programs and summer music festival (Marrowstone). Edwards increased the Seattle orchestra's repertoire by performing works by British composers of the 20th century and by premiering works by American composers such as John Mackey
. One Seattle Post-Intelligencer
contributor wrote that Edwards made a "fine choice" for the ensemble, noting that he "nurture[d], coache[d] and encourage[d] his musicians". Furthermore, she claimed that his program notes were a "model of clarity and fascinating detail". Edwards remained music director of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra until 2005. He has stated the following about working with young musicians:
. Apart from music, Edwards likes the Chicago Bears
, CrossFit
, golf
, kayaking
, Masterpiece Theater, poetry, and Rhône wine along with the winemaking
process. Edwards is an avid sports fan and fitness advocate; he is a former rugby player, enjoys running and playing squash, and believes there are similarities between how music and sports affect the community. He was sometimes referred to as "coach" by musicians of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. Edwards has shared that he would want to work at a vineyard or winery, or be a sports radio host or travel correspondent for a publication if he were not a conductor.
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and the current music director of Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
's Columbia Symphony Orchestra and Olympia
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
, Washington's Olympia Symphony Orchestra. Edwards' conducting career began at age seventeen when he became music director of the Maidstone Opera Company in England. He later attended the University of Surrey
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
, where he conducted the college orchestra along with an ensemble that he formed on his own. At age twenty-three, he won a conducting competition which sent him to Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He then held a lecturer position at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he was also a doctoral candidate. Edwards was conductor and music director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic
Portland Youth Philharmonic
The Portland Youth Philharmonic is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States, established in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony . Now based in Portland, Oregon, the orchestra's origin dates back to 1910 when music teacher Mary V. Dodge began playing music for local children in Burns...
from 1995 to 2002 followed by the Seattle Youth Symphony
Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras
Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras is the largest youth symphony organization in the United States, the eighth oldest and among the most distinguished....
from 2002 to 2005. He has been music director of the Columbia Symphony Orchestra since 2000 and the Olympia Symphony Orchestra since 2002.
Early life and education
Born in South WalesSouth Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, Edwards moved with his parents to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and sang in choirs as a child. He witnessed his first opera (Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
) at eleven years old when his parents took him to the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
. Seven years later, he was conducting W. S. Gilbert
W. S. Gilbert
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
and Arthur Sullivan
Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
's operetta H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
on that same podium. Edwards played violin and trumpet through grammar school and high school but abandoned performance for conducting.
Edwards has been conducting since age seventeen when he became music director of the Maidstone Opera Company in England, a position he held for six years. Edwards attended the University of Surrey
University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a university located within the county town of Guildford, Surrey in the South East of England. It received its charter on 9 September 1966, and was previously situated near Battersea Park in south-west London. The institution was known as Battersea College of Technology...
, where he conducted the college orchestra along with an ensemble that he formed on his own. He won a conducting competition in 1988 which sent him to Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
at twenty-three years old. There he experienced "culture shock", being "accustomed to the rolling hills of England and the cosmopolitan buzz of London". He held a lecturer position at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he was also a doctoral candidate. Four years later he moved to the Pacific Northwest. Throughout his lifetime, Edwards has received instruction from Anshel Brusilow
Anshel Brusilow
Anshel Brusilow is an American conductor and violinist.Anshel Brusilow began his violin study at the age of five and entered the Curtis Institute of Music when he was eleven. He attended the Philadelphia Musical Academy and at sixteen was the youngest conducting student ever accepted by Pierre...
(Dallas), chorus leader Simon Johnson (London), Eduardo Mata
Eduardo Mata
Eduardo Mata was a Mexican conductor and composer.Mata was born in Mexico City. He studied guitar privately for three years before enrolling in the National Conservatory of Music. From 1960 to 1963 he studied composition under Carlos Chávez, Héctor Quintanar and Julián Orbón. In 1964 he received a...
, Barry Wordsworth
Barry Wordsworth
Barry Wordsworth is a British conductor.From 1989 to 2006, Wordsworth was principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and now holds the title of conductor laureate. From 1990 to 1995, Wordsworth was music director of the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. He began his second tenure in that post in...
, and Victor Yampolsky (Northwestern University).
Career
Prior to joining the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Edwards had written extensively about music. He contributed to Stagebill in Chicago, Dallas, London and Washington, D.C. and wrote program notes for Daniel BarenboimDaniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
, Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
and the Guarnari Quartet. He had also conducted opera and orchestras throughout Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Edwards has performed with the Annas Bay Opera, Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra. It performs its concerts in the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States....
, Eugene Symphony
Eugene Symphony
The Eugene Symphony is an American orchestra based in Eugene, Oregon. Its home venue is the Silva Concert Hall at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts.Approximately 27,000 people attend Eugene Symphony's classical and pops concert performances each year....
, Memphis Symphony Orchestra
Memphis Symphony Orchestra
-History:The Memphis Symphony Orchestra was established in its present form in 1960 as an outgrowth of the Memphis Sinfonietta, a chamber group formed eight years earlier under the direction of cellist Vincent DeFrank, with support from the Memphis Orchestral Society and the Memphis Arts...
, Oregon Symphony
Oregon Symphony
The Oregon Symphony is an American orchestra based in Portland, Oregon. Founded as the Portland Symphony Society in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States...
, Rose City Chamber Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 240,000 people attend its live performances each year. It was founded in 1930 and plays in 12 venues. Its home is the Orpheum theatre. With an annual operating budget of $9.5 million, it is the...
, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra is a professional chamber orchestra in Madison, Wisconsin. Its current conductor, Andrew Sewell, began his tenure with the orchestra in 2000. It was founded in 1960 by Gordon B. Wright...
, and Yakima Symphony. He has been invited to speak at the American Symphony Orchestra League
League of American Orchestras
The League of American Orchestras, known until Fall 2007 as the American Symphony Orchestra League , is an association of U.S. and Canadian orchestras. Over 950 orchestras are members, including youth, community, and professional orchestras....
convention in Boston and assisted with the organization's "Meet for the Millennium" project.
Portland Youth Philharmonic
Edwards became conductor and music director of the Portland Youth PhilharmonicPortland Youth Philharmonic
The Portland Youth Philharmonic is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States, established in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony . Now based in Portland, Oregon, the orchestra's origin dates back to 1910 when music teacher Mary V. Dodge began playing music for local children in Burns...
(PYP) in 1995, following Jacob Avshalomov
Jacob Avshalomov
Jacob Avshalomov is a Jewish American composer and conductor.-Early life and education:Jacob Avshalomov was born on March 28, 1919 in Tsingtao, China. His father was Aaron Avshalomov, the Siberian-born composer known for "oriental musical materials cast in western forms and media"; his mother was...
's forty-year tenure and becoming the orchestra's third conductor. He was selected unanimously by a twelve-person committee from a field of more than one hundred candidates, and was officially handed the baton by Avshalomov at the season opening Riverside Classics concert on August 30. After Avshalomov conducted the first half of the concert, Edwards completed PYP's set with performances of works by Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
. The program for the first subscription series concert, which received positive reception, included Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Nabucco
Nabucco
Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the Biblical story and the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornue...
Overture, Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
's Serenade to Music
Serenade to Music
Serenade to Music is a work by Ralph Vaughan Williams for 16 vocal soloists and orchestra, composed in 1938. The text is an adaptation of the discussion about music and the music of the spheres in Act V, Scene 1 of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. Vaughan Williams later arranged...
and Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
's Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber. In addition to the four season subscription concerts performed at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall , opened as the Portland Publix Theater before becoming the Paramount after 1930, is a historic theater building and performing arts center in Portland, Oregon, United States...
, the 1995–1996 season included performances at the Newport Performing Arts Center in Newport
Newport, Oregon
Newport is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It was incorporated in 1882, though the name dates back to the establishment of a post office in 1868...
and The Resort at the Mountain near Mount Hood
Mount Hood
Mount Hood, called Wy'east by the Multnomah tribe, is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. It was formed by a subduction zone and rests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States...
, as well as in Eugene
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
, Salem
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
and Newberg
Newberg, Oregon
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 18,064 people, 6,099 households, and 4,348 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,599.4 people per square mile . There were 6,435 housing units at an average density of 1,282.2 per square mile...
. In 1996 the first interactive Children's Concert was broadcast live via satellite across Oregon. The collaboration between PYP and Multnomah Community TV continued beyond 1996; in 1998 concerts were streamed as far away as Tuscon, Arizona and a 1999 recording became a finalist in the national Hometown Video festival.
Released on March 27, 1998, Fountain of Youth became the orchestra's sixth commercial recording on Compact Disc (previous recordings were vinyl or cassette). The compilation album included works recorded at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall , opened as the Portland Publix Theater before becoming the Paramount after 1930, is a historic theater building and performing arts center in Portland, Oregon, United States...
during seasons seventy-three and seventy-four. PYP represented the United States at the Banff International Festival of Youth Orchestras in April 1998. In January 1999, Portland Parent published an article by Edwards titled "The Role of Classical Music in the Lives of Young People", which discussed the benefits of classical music to child learning development. The 1998–1999 season included performances in Salem, Newberg, Welches
Welches, Oregon
Welches is an unincorporated community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. It is located within the Mount Hood Corridor between Zigzag and Wemme along U.S. Route 26. It is one of the communities that make up the Villages at Mount Hood....
, St. Helens
St. Helens, Oregon
St. Helens is the county seat of Columbia County, Oregon. It was founded by Captain H. M. Knighton, a native of New England, in 1845 as "Plymouth". The name was changed to St. Helens in the latter part of 1850 for its view of Mount St. Helens some away in Washington. The population was 10,019 at...
and Milwaukie
Milwaukie, Oregon
Milwaukie is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County. The population was 20,291 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1848 on the banks of the Willamette River, the city, known as the Dogwood City of the West, was incorporated in...
and Longview, Washington
Longview, Washington
Longview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the "Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area", which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 36,648 at the time of the 2010 census and is the largest city in Cowlitz County...
in addition to the regular subscription series. On February 10, 1999 the orchestra opened a Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
game at the Rose Garden by performing The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
.
During Edwards' seven years with the orchestra, he and other PYP representatives established a peer mentor
Peer mentoring
Peer mentoring is a form of mentorship that takes place in learning environments such as schools, usually between an older more experienced student and a new student. Peer mentors should not be confused with prefects...
program which partnered orchestra musicians with low-income students with little access to music education
Music education
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...
, and earned the ensemble its second ASCAP award for "Adventurous Programming and Commitment to Contemporary Music". He made five recordings and led the orchestra on two tours: in 1998 the Philharmonic represented the United States at the Banff International Festival of Youth Orchestras in Canada, and the orchestra toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 2000. The tour included performances in Auckland, Brisbane, Canberra, Armidale, Newcastle, Sydney, and Melbourne. Edwards also recorded Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
's Requiem
Requiem (Fauré)
Gabriel Fauré composed his Requiem in D minor, Op. 48 between 1887 and 1890. This choral–orchestral setting of the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead is the best known of his large works. The most famous movement is the soprano aria Pie Jesu...
at St. Mary's Cathedral as a collaboration with Cantores in Ecclesia. Edwards left PYP in 2002 and was succeeded by Mei-Ann Chen
Mei-Ann Chen
Mei-Ann Chen is a Taiwanese American conductor currently serving as music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. She has been described as "one of the most dynamic young conductors in America". Encouraged by her parents, Chen began playing violin and piano at a...
. Guest conductors during PYP's 2007–2008 season included Ken Selden, director of orchestral studies at Portland State University, former Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
conductor Alastair Willis, along with former PYP conductors Edwards and Chen.
Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra
He became music director of the Seattle Youth SymphonySeattle Youth Symphony Orchestras
Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras is the largest youth symphony organization in the United States, the eighth oldest and among the most distinguished....
at the start of its sixtieth season (2002–2003), putting him in charge of 1,000 young musicians participating in the symphony and its four preparatory orchestras as well as the organization's outreach programs and summer music festival (Marrowstone). Edwards increased the Seattle orchestra's repertoire by performing works by British composers of the 20th century and by premiering works by American composers such as John Mackey
John Mackey (composer)
John Mackey is an American composer of classical music, with an emphasis on music for wind band, as well as orchestra. For several years, he focused on music for modern dance and ballet.-Background:...
. One Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
contributor wrote that Edwards made a "fine choice" for the ensemble, noting that he "nurture[d], coache[d] and encourage[d] his musicians". Furthermore, she claimed that his program notes were a "model of clarity and fascinating detail". Edwards remained music director of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra until 2005. He has stated the following about working with young musicians:
Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Olympia Symphony Orchestra
Edwards has been music director of the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra in Oregon since 2000. His year-long audition process for the music director position with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra began during the 2002–2003 season. The season also marked his fifth with the Marrowstone Summer Music program, where he remained until 2005. In 2010, Edwards was one of four finalists for the conductor position with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra.Interests
Dedicated to music education, Edwards enjoys conducting Beethoven for youth orchestras. He has admitted that he did not envision a career conducting youth orchestras but also that he "did not rule them out". His favorite composition is "Parsifal" by Wagner; other favorites include unaccompanied choral music, cello suites by Bach, quartets by Beethoven and jazz, including Nat King ColeNat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
. Apart from music, Edwards likes the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, CrossFit
CrossFit
CrossFit is a strength and conditioning brand that combines weightlifting, sprinting, gymnastics, powerlifting, kettlebell training, plyometrics, rowing, and medicine ball training...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
, Masterpiece Theater, poetry, and Rhône wine along with the winemaking
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
process. Edwards is an avid sports fan and fitness advocate; he is a former rugby player, enjoys running and playing squash, and believes there are similarities between how music and sports affect the community. He was sometimes referred to as "coach" by musicians of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. Edwards has shared that he would want to work at a vineyard or winery, or be a sports radio host or travel correspondent for a publication if he were not a conductor.
See also
- List of people from Swansea
- List of Southern Methodist University people
- List of University of Surrey people
- List of Welsh people
- Music education for young childrenMusic education for young childrenMusic education for young children is an educational program introducing children in a playful manner to singing, speech, music, motion and organology. It is a subarea of music education.- Forms and activities :...
- Music of WalesMusic of WalesWales has a strong and distinctive link with music. The country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song". This is a modern stereotype based on 19th century conceptions of Nonconformist choral music and 20th century male voice choirs, Eisteddfodau and arena singing, such as sporting...
External links
- "Huw Edwards and the Olympia Symphony", a photo gallery by The OlympianThe OlympianThe Olympian is a McClatchy newspaper in Olympia, Washington, in the United States.-History:The Olympian started in 1860 as "The Washington Standard" a weekly paper. Daily papers did not start until February 1889. The Olympian started daily service as a way to lead the crusade to make Olympia the...