Topic: MILESTONES 2008
Wayne Conner, 79, a noted singer, educator and broadcaster, died Friday, 9 MAY 2008, in Philadelphia after a brief illness. For 30 years, Mr. Conner produced and hosted two radio programs -- "Singer's World" and "Collector's Corner" -- heard across the United States on the National Public Radio network. For 12 years, he produced and hosted "The Sunday Opera" on WHYY-FM in Philadelphia. In recent years, he hosted operatic broadcasts from the Academy of Vocal Arts on WRTI-FM. MORE

Topic: MILESTONES 2008
Turkish soprano Leyla Gencer, 79, who made her career at Italy's famed La Scala opera house, died Friday [9 MAY 2008] of respiratory problems and heart failure at her home in Milan, a Turkish arts foundation announced.

Topic: MILESTONES 2008
Ruben Vartanyan, an orchestra conductor who defected from the Soviet Union in 1988 and spent the past 20 years in Northern Virginia, leading the Arlington Philharmonic and other ensembles, died May 7 of a cerebral hemorrhage at his home in Arlington County. He was 71. MORE

Topic: MILESTONES 2008
Frances Yeend, a soprano whose charisma and warmth made her a mainstay of the New York City Opera in the 1940s and ‘50s, has died at 95. OperaNews

Pulitzer Prize composer, Henry Brant dies
Topic: MILESTONES 2008
Henry Brant, best known as a pioneer in the use of spatial effects, died Saturday [26 APR 2008] at his home in Santa Barbara. He was 94. Among the hundreds of works Mr. Brant composed over a long career was "Ice Field," a work for organ and orchestra commissioned by the Other Minds Festival for the San Francisco Symphony. Michael Tilson Thomas led the world premiere in Davies Symphony Hall in December 2001, and the piece was awarded the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Music.

MORE | WEB LINKS | IMAGES | SHOP Henry Brant

Topic: MILESTONES 2008
This is a very sad news I have to give. Great italian baritone Enzo Sordello passed away this 17th of April 2008, at the age of 80.
In the coming weeks, I will totally rebuild his website with new materials, audio, video, and above all some of the many videotaped courses I recorded. (www.enzosordello.com)
Maestro Sordello was such a personnality, it was almost impossible not to like him. Two month ago, he was still singing high bflat while teaching. I will miss him very much. - Addio Maestro.

Topic: MILESTONES 2008
Gerhard Samuel, an innovative conductor and composer who played a pre-eminent role in the musical life of the San Francisco Bay Area throughout the 1960s, died Tuesday, 25 MAR 2008, at his home in Seattle. He was 83. MORE | OBIT

Topic: MILESTONES 2008
Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott has died at the age of 78, it has been announced. Mr Hoddinott, who was born in Bargoed, Caerphilly, had a partnership with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales spanning seven decades. The classical composer, who lived in Gower, Swansea, died at the city's Morriston Hospital on Wednesday. BBC Wales controller, Menna Richards, has said the new home of the orchestra in Cardiff Bay will be named after him. BBC NEWS | WEB LINKS | IMAGES | SHOP Alun Hoddinott

Topic: MILESTONES 2008
Giuseppe Di Stefano, one of the greatest tenors of the 20th century and a celebrated singing partner of soprano Maria Callas, has died at his home near Milan. He was 86.
MORE NEWS | WEB LINKS | IMAGES | SHOP Giuseppe Di Stefano

Topic: MILESTONES 2008
Russian opera singer Artur Eizen, an ``outstanding bass and magnificent actor'' at the Bolshoi Theater for 46 years, has died in his native Moscow at age 80, the Bolshoi said on its Web site. Eizen established his reputation in 1956, singing the role of Don Basilio in a Bolshoi production of Rossini's opera ``The Barber of Seville.'' His large repertoire also included such roles as Don Bartolo in Mozart's ``The Marriage of Figaro,'' Prince Bolkonsky in Prokofiev's ``War and Peace'' and Ivan Khovansky in Mussorgsky's ``Khovanshchina.'' MORE | WEB LINKS | SHOP Artur Eizen