THE EVENT AND THE JORDANIA GRAND PRIZE

The Kharkov Philharmonic Society of Kharkov, Ukraine, announces the Third Annual Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition. To be held between August 31 and September 7, 2003 in the beautiful, historic city of Kharkov (first capital of Ukraine) in the northeastern corner of the country, this competition will be open to conductors from around the world who wish to enhance their careers through international competition, expand their network of global contacts and have a wonderful experience working with the musicians of this superb orchestra. We also offer many opportunities for one-on-one contact and individual guidance from our distinguished international panel of judges.

For the first time the 2003 Jordania International Conducting Competition will be offering the Jordania Grand Prize to the winning conductor. This will consist of concert engagements on three continents during the 2004-2005 concert season with:

The Kharkov Philharmonic - Kharkov, Ukraine - http://www.jamesarts.com/KHRKVPHILWEBPAGE.htm

The Saratov Symphony Orchestra - Saratov, Russia - http://www.sgtpp.renet.ru/region/eng_culture.html

The Bolivian National Symphony - La Paz Bolivia - http://www.sinfonicabolivia.org/index2.htm

Arpeggione Chamber Orchestra - Vienna, Austria - http://www.vienna.at/

Daegu City Symphony Orchestra - Daegu, South Korea - http://www.jamesarts.com/DAEGU.htm

Second and third place winners will receive full concerts with the Kharkov Philharmonic during the 2004-2005 concert season.

The 2002 Jordania International Conducting Competition was a great success, with two First Prize winners - Ivan Meylemans of Loenen A/D Vecht, The Netherlands and Yuri Yanko, of Kharkov, Ukraine.

Information about the winners of last year's competition can be found at http://www.jamesarts.com/VJCNDCMP02WINNERS.htm. More about the contestants and jury can be found at http://www.jamesarts.com/VJKRKVCNDCMP02.htm.

THE CITY

Kharkov, the first capital of Ukraine, is a beautiful old city of about 1.7 million people in the northeastern part of the country. Still largely unknown to the outside world, the city was a long-time center of Soviet arms manufacture. Kharkov is now in transition, as is the Ukraine and many former Soviet republics, with the change from a state-controlled to a market-driven economy.

These changes are also affecting the city's rich and varied cultural life. The Kharkov Philharmonic Society, composed of the Kharkov Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chamber Choir, the Ensemble of Folk Music and several other ensembles, is adapting to new ways of presenting themselves and their superb performances to the rest of the world. Warm, welcoming people by nature, they are anxious to bring their artistry to the rest of the world and to have the world visit them and enjoy the richness of the Ukrainian cultural legacy. For more information about Kharkov, visit the city's website at http://kharkov.vbelous.net/index_e.htm.

The Kharkov Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra was founded in October 1929 (before which time is was the Kharkov Philharmonic Society) and has since welcomed many of the world's great conductors and soloists to its stage. Sviatoslav Richter, Evgeny Mravinsky, Leonid Kogan, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Vakhtang Jordania are among the performers who have appeared with the orchestra in its seven decades. Tchaikovsky conducted the orchestra in its earlier Kharkov Philharmonic Society years.

The orchestra has toured Russia, France, Spain, Georgia and Armenia. They have recorded a series of CDs of 20th Century Ukrainian orchestral music for the American Angelok1 label that will be internationally released in 2004. They have also recorded music by the American composers Janice Hamer and James Oliverio.

Concerts are given at the lovely and intimate Philharmonic Hall. Concerts here are a very special experience, bringing the enthusiastic, overflow audiences into close contact with the performers and the music. For more information about the orchestra, visit their website at http://www.jamesarts.com/KHRKVPHILWEBPAGE.htm.

Legendary conductor Vakhtang Jordania was born in the Republic of Georgia, where he studied piano from the age of five. A top prize at the 1971 Herbert von Karajan Competition catapulted him to the highest circle of Soviet artistry. From his assistantship with the legendary Yevgeny Mravinsky until his defection to the United States in 1983, Mr. Jordania held positions as music director of the Leningrad Radio Orchestra, the Saratov Philharmonic, and the Kharkiv Philharmonic. The Tchaikovsky Competition was under his baton twice. Conducting for more than one hundred concerts a year, he regularly toured the USSR, collaborating with musicians such as David and Igor Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Dmitri Shostakovich, Kiril Kondrashin, and Emil Gilels.

In 1983 he made his Carnegie Hall debut, which was hailed by the New York Times as "a confident and spirited performanceÉthe full house leaped to its feet." Success quickly followed in England, France, Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Korea, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South America. In the United States, his appearances in New York, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Rochester, Denver and Fort Worth brought more critical acclaim. Since his move to the U.S., he has held music director positions with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, the Spokane Symphony, the Korean Broadcasting System Symphony Orchestra in Seoul, and is currently Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Russian Federal Orchestra of Moscow, the St. Petersburg Festival Orchestra and the Daegu City Symphony of South Korea.

He has recorded extensively for the Melodiya label as well as for Koch International Classics, Soundset Summit, Helicon, Trained Ear, Cantabile, and Angelok 1.

You can find more information about him at http://www.jamesarts.com/vakjo2.htm.

The third Jordania International Conducting Competition is scheduled to take place between Sunday, August 31 and Sunday, September 7, 2003. Contestants will be screened in a process that will begin with submission of a curriculum vitae, repertoire list and a performance videotape (in NTSC format only) along with a non-refundable processing fee of $50 (U.S. Funds), payable to Viva International. Deadline for receipt of these materials is June 1, 2003.

Entries will be screened by an international panel of judges. 24 people will be selected to compete in the first round.

Round 1 - September 1 and September 2 — The 24 contestants, 12 on each of two successive days, will be allowed 20 minutes to prepare and present one jury designated selection from each pair of required pieces:

Beethoven — Symphony No. 6 or Mozart — Symphony No. 41
and
Brahms — Symphony No. 2 or Tchaikovsky — Symphony No. 6

12 contestants will be selected to move on to the next round.

Round 2 - September 3 and September 4 — The 12 contestants, 6 on each of two successive days, will be allowed 45 minutes to prepare and present one jury designated selection from each pair of required pieces:

R. Strauss — Waltz from Der Rosenkavalier (waltz only) or Ravel — Bolero
and
Prokofiev — Symphony No. 1 or Shostakovich — Symphony No. 9

6 contestants will be selected to move on to the next round.

Round 3 - September 5 and September 6 — The 6 contestants, 3 on each of two successive days, will be allowed 90 minutes to prepare and present selections from the following list of required pieces:

Dvorak — Carnival Overture
or
Rossini — William Tell Overture
or
Wagner — Tannhauser Overture
and
Stravinsky — Rite of Spring
and
Contemporary composition — these selections will be announced when contestants arrive for competition — scores will be provided.

3 contestants will be selected to move on to the final round.

Please note: In the first three rounds, contestants should be prepared to perform whatever section from each piece is requested by the jury.

Round 4 - September 7 - Final Concert Round — The 3 finalists will rehearse and conduct the Kharkov Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in concert at Philharmonic Hall. The jury will decide which pieces are to be performed at the final concert. Prizes will be announced immediately after the concert.

The final concert will be videotaped and DAT recorded. Copies of these recordings will be presented to the 3 finalists.

Simply download the attached entry form, making sure that all of the required elements and the non-refundable entry fee are enclosed, and mail them to:

Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition
PO Box 117
New Market Virginia 22844
USA

Deadline for receipt of these materials is June 1, 2003.

Questions about the competition can be directed to Jeffrey James Arts Consulting at jamesarts@worldnet.att.net, or call 516-586-3433.

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