Sarah Navin started ballet at age 6, as she couldn’t walk in a straight line without skipping and twirling. As well as studying classical dance, she went on to perform in hip-hop ensembles, cheerleading squads, and developed a love of musical theatre – starring in shows such as The Boy From Oz, Legally Blonde The Musical and Rock of Ages. She is a Sydney-based television journalist by day, and swaps political reporting for dancing at night, either performing or attending performances – where she enjoys the chance to write creatively through a critiquing lens.
Sarah Schnoor hat Musik, Germanistik und Ev. Theologie in Hamburg studiert. Nach Hospitanzen und Assistenzen am Schauspielhaus und der Staatsoper Hamburg hatte sie mit Orpheus in der Unterwelt 2018 ihr Regiedebüt an der HMTM Hannover, zwei weitere Kurzopern (Toch/Hindemith) folgten 2019. Im selben Jahr kam sie als Dramaturgieassistentin ans Stadttheater Ingolstadt. Dort arbeitet sie ab der Spielzeit 2020/21 als Dramaturgin und betreut zusätzlich die Social-Media-Kanäle. Mit der Intendanz von Florian Lutz kam Sie in der Spielzeit 2021/22 als Musiktheaterdramaturgin nach Kassel. Seit kurzem arbeitet sie für die Besucherservices der Elbphilharmonie und ist freiberuflich als Dramaturgin und Autorin unterwegs. Ihre freien Abende verbringt sie im Konzert oder im Theater. Sie singt in einem Kammerchor und im Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg und hört vor allem gern Spätromantik und Barock. Auf Instagram ist sie als @blumentheater aktiv.
Sebastian Urmoneit sudierte Musikwissenschaft und Philosophie in Berlin (u. a. bei Carl Dahlhaus). Ergänzendes Studium an der HdK Berlin (UdK)(u. a. bei Heinrich Poos und Hartmut Fladt), Dissertation zu Wagners „Tristan und Isolde“; Aufsätze über Schubert, Wagner, Wolf, Strauss und Brahms; Herausgabe: Joseph Haydn, Memoria, Band 11 mit Hartmut Fladt. Werkeinführungen für das Berliner Konzerthaus, das Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, die Bamberger Symphoniker, die Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, die Südwestdeutsche Konzertdirektion Erwin Russ GmbH, die Dachauer Schlosskonzerte, die Albert Konzerte GmbH in Freiburg u. a.
Sébastien a fait des études en musique, en littérature et en droit à Montréal. Il travaille désormais comme marin et navigue dans les eaux canadiennes, du fleuve Saint-Laurent aux mers de l’Arctique. Il s’intéresse à toutes les époques musicales, du Moyen-Âge à aujourd’hui, avec un faible néanmoins pour la musique baroque et le romantisme.
Nacida en Asturias, a los trece años ya tenía claro que quería ser musicóloga, en el año 2015 comenzó sus estudios en la Universidad de Oviedo. Posteriormente, se mudaría a Barcelona donde cursó el Máster de Música como arte Interdisciplinar (Universitat de Barcelona / ESMUC / Universitat Rovira i Virgili), a través del cual hizo unas prácticas en el archivo de la Banda Municipal de Barcelona, donde pudo acercarse a una formación sinfónica profesional y al mundo de la documentación musical.
Simon Cummings is a composer, writer and researcher based in the Cotswolds. He composes instrumental and electronic music, exploring aspects of algorithmic composition, and has recently completed a Ph.D. in composition at the Birmingham Conservatoire under the supervision of Richard Causton and Howard Skempton. His musical tastes are ludicrously broad but are focused most on contemporary/avant-garde classical and electronic music. When not composing, he writes regularly about new music; Simon is the author of the contemporary music blog 5:4 (5against4.com), and regularly contributes articles for a variety of books, journals and websites. Follow him on Twitter @5against4.
Simon is an operaphile based in Auckland, New Zealand. He wrote his
dissertation on Japanese popular music. With a background in piano and
classical music retail, he spends his time attending as much
opera or vocal concert as he can and blogs at
irishenceaway.blogspot.com.
Simon lives and works in Edinburgh, and teaches History and Modern Studies at a local high school when he is not writing about music. Born an Irishman, he is an enthusiastic adopted Scot, and has lived in the capital for fifteen years since university days, making the most of its many avenues for classical music. He spends his spare time enthusing about music, theatre, art and literature to anyone who will listen, including his long-suffering students, who have no choice.
Snapdragon is an experienced concert- and opera-goer in Vienna and other music metropoles. Musical emphases include opera (especially Baroque opera) and piano music. As an Austrian native, Snapdragon can’t resist an operetta every now and then.
Stefan ist gelernter Toningenieur mit dem Schwerpunkt Orchesteraufnahmen und lebt in Hamburg. Er durchlief eine klassische Klavierausbildung ebenso wie Violinunterricht und ist mit dem Hören klassischer Musik groß geworden. Heute bloggt er zu diesem Thema. Durch seine langjährige Berufserfahrung und das eigene Spielen im Orchester hat er es schätzen gelernt, ganz genau zuzuhören.
While studying Art History, French and German Literature in Frankfurt/Main and Montpellier, Stephan developed his first interests in theater, opera and dance. This led him to various productions for festivals and opera houses, including the Rheingau Musikfestival 2011, Montpellier Danse 2013, and the Frankfurt Opera. Stephan has a particular passion for 20th century and contemporary opera and dance. After a work experience in Paris for two years, he is now working on his PhD thesis at the University of Cologne.
Stéphane Lelièvre est maître de conférences en littérature comparée. Il est responsable de l’équipe « Littérature et musique » du Centre de Recherche en Littérature Comparée à la Faculté des Lettres de Sorbonne Universités. Spécialiste des romantismes allemand et français, il s’intéresse d’une manière générale aux liens entre les lettres et la musique, et donc particulièrement à l’opéra.
Writer, composer, broadcaster and arranger Stephen Johnson presented Radio 3’s Discovering Music for 14 years. He is also a regular contributor to the BBC Music Magazine. He is the author of Bruckner Remembered (Faber 1998), and studies of Mahler and Wagner (Naxos 2006, 2007). His book How Shostakovich Changed My Mind (Notting Hill Editions, 2018) won a Rubery Book Award in 2021. It was followed in 2020 by a book about Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, The Eighth: Mahler and the World in 1910 (Faber).
Stephen Pritchard began singing as a treble at the age of eight and progressed to become a tenor in Portsmouth Cathedral Choir, the Gibbons Consort and now the English Chamber Choir. Writing about music has been at the core of his 40-year career in journalism, chiefly at the Observer. He has been known to play a pretty mean jazz double bass.
Based in New York City, Susan is a retired specialist in second and foreign language teaching and the author/editor of several professional books for language teachers and many widely used textbooks for English language learners around the world. An avid concertgoer, she spends her time attending operas and other classical music events in New York and Paris. Since 2002, she has regularly published reviews on Classical Source. A keen Francophile, she has a particularly strong interest in French music, literature and film.
Docteure en littérature comparée, passionnée de langues, Suzanne a consacré sa thèse de doctorat à Jean-Sébastien Bach. Elle enseigne le français, la littérature et l’histoire de l’Opéra à l’Institute for American Universities et à Sciences Po Aix. Collaboratrice régulière du journal Zibeline, elle publie dans les rubriques Musiques, Livres, Cinéma, Spectacle vivant et Arts Visuels.
Für Svenja Koch bringt das Schreiben über Musik zwei langjährige Leidenschaften zusammen. Dabei ist die Wahl-Berlinerin immer auf der Suche nach der Geschichte hinter dem Gehört- und Gesehenen. Sie mag Ungewöhnliches, neue Blicke auf Bekanntes und findet lange Vernachlässigtes immer eine Entdeckung wert. Auf Twitter ist sie unter @svenja_loves zu finden.
Tatiana Aráez Santiago es licenciada en piano y música de cámara por el RCSMM. Complementa su formación con la licenciatura en Historia y Ciencias de la Música y realiza el Máster en Música Española e Hispanoamericana recibiendo una beca de colaboración con el Departamento de Musicología, en la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Becada por el MECD, lleva a cabo en la actualidad su tesis doctoral sobre la figura y obra de Joaquín Turina. Es además licenciada en Filología Inglesa por la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, estudios finalizados en la University College London, y posee el Certificado de Aptitud Pedagógica.
Licenciada en Historia y Ciencias de la Música, graduada en Historia del Arte y con título profesional de piano, me dedico a la docencia y a la divulgación musical a través de cursos y publicaciones en diferentes medios. Tengo debilidad por los barrocos y los clásicos, aunque mi curiosidad alcanza cualquier estilo musical y artístico. Me encanta introducir a nuevos públicos en el mundo de la música clásica y descubrir los secretos de sus maravillas.
Terez Rose is a writer and former dancer whose work has appeared in numerous journals, anthologies and online publications. She is the author (as Terez Mertes Rose) of the Ballet Theatre Chronicles (Off Balance, Outside the Limelight, Ballet Orphans, Other Stages) and A Dancer’s Guide to Africa. Visit her at The Classical Girl where she blogs about classical music and the performing arts.
Partageant sa vie entre Toulouse où il exerce un métier d'accompagnement des institutions musicales (contribuant à structurer l’expérience du public, de la découverte à la fidélisation) et sa maison nichée dans les boucles du Lot où il héberge son Érard de 1898, Thibault écoute passionnément de la musique depuis plus de 40 ans. Amateur de beau son en haute fidélité, il cherche dans une quête sans fin à reproduire dans son salon la vérité sensible qu'il entend en concert.
Thomas May is a writer and translator based in Seattle. His books include Decoding Wagner and The John Adams Reader, and he blogs about the arts at memeteria.com. He has written for The Washington Post, Gramophone, Listen, Symphony magazine, OPERA America, crosscut.com, and many other publications.
Thomas Schacher hat an den Universitäten Zürich und Hamburg Musikwissenschaft und Germanistik studiert. Seine Dissertation behandelt die Idee des Dramatischen bei Hector Berlioz. Zudem absolvierte er an der Musikhochschule Zürich eine Ausbildung in Orgel, Klavier und Chorleitung. Er hat im künstlerischen, wissenschaftlichen, journalistischen und pädagogischen Sektor gearbeitet. Während sieben Jahren war er Assistent am Musikwissenschaftlichen Institut der Uni Bern. Während 25 Jahren, bis zum Sommer 2022, hat er als freier journalistischer Mitarbeiter für das Feuilleton der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung geschrieben. Parallel dazu kam die Arbeit mit einem Kirchen- und einem Konzertchor.
Tim Rutherford-Johnson is author of Music after the Fall: Modern Composition and Culture since 1989, and The Music of Liza Lim. He writes about new music for publications and record labels across Europe and the United States.
Musicologue diplômé du CNSMD de Paris, Tristan Labouret collabore avec de nombreux artistes et institutions musicales (Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre national d'Île-de-France, Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, festivals de musique de chambre de Deauville, Just Classik Festival…), menant des activités de médiation à destination de tous les publics. Ex-altiste toujours passionné par les répertoires chambristes et symphoniques, il occupe depuis 2018 le poste de rédacteur en chef de la partie francophone de Bachtrack.
Tsutomu Nasuda studied musicology at the University of Cologne (MA), Germany and after returning to Japan has worked as a critic and journalist. He co-translated Nicolas Harnoncourt’s Music as Speech and has written various other books. Currently a critic for Ongaku no Tomo and other publications, he is a member of the board of directors of the Music Pen Club Japan and a member of the Japan Pen Club.
Viki trained at The Royal Ballet School and The Hammond School of Dancing before joining London Festival Ballet at the age of 17. She danced there for 7 years before moving to Northern Ballet Theatre where she became a principal, dancing and creating many major roles. After retiring from the stage Viki worked as Events Manager for Northern Ballet, then followed her heart into teaching, guesting at many of the top vocational schools in the UK and also in Italy. She now teaches on the graduate programme at Northern Ballet Academy, has her own Pilates Studio at Chatsworth and also writes and reviews for dance magazines.
Vikki Jane Vile has been reviewing dance for over ten years, specialising in Ballroom and Ballet. In 2018, she became a member of the Critics' Circle for Dance. Vikki writes for BroadwayWorld and previously Dancing Times, LondonDance.com and CultureWhisper. She also prides herself on being a Strictly Come Dancing connoisseur since its inception and has appeared on BBC radio and several podcasts as an expert on all things Strictly. Having lived in London for ten years, she is now based in Germany and adapting to the Berlin dance scene.
Vito Lentini is Professor of Philosophy and Human Sciences, specialising in Pedagogy and the History of Dance, which he teaches at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala. His research focuses on the evolution of ballet as an art form during the 18th and 19th centuries, with particular attention to Nureyev’s repertoire and British ballet. Vito is an essayist, gives lectures and contributes writings on dance and ballet to the programme notes of various Italian and international theatres including Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro Regio in Turin, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro Filarmonico, Arena di Verona, Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm and the National Theatre in Prague. Additionally, he is a journalist, dance and ballet critic and editor-in-chief of the magazine Sipario. Vito also writes about dance for the magazine La Scala and for the culture section of the online editorial of Il Sole 24 Ore.
Yukiko Kishinami is a staff writer of The Japan News, the English-language newspaper published by The Yomiuri Shimbun in Japan, with expertise in music and culture. Having studied musicology at the Tokyo National University of Arts and the University of London, Goldsmith College, Yukiko has written reviews, interview stories and other original articles for Opera Now, International Piano, Ongaku no Tomo, among other publications.
