Arts Global

I am delighted to welcome you to our refreshed edition of the Swiss Global Artistic Foundationʼs newsletter. As we enter our second decade, we are proud to reflect on our past accomplishments: to date, we have assisted more than sixty artists from eighteen countries and produced numerous artistic events in collaboration with distinguished individuals, embassies and cultural institutions. We are now eager to embark on new challenges.

In 2010, we created the Swiss Global Virtuoso Orchestra, which will perform twice in Switzerland in 2011.

We are delighted that the Foundation's distinctive set of instruments, The Evangelists, were awarded this past July to the UK-based Finzi Quartet for a period of two years. Also, our bespoke mentoring programme for emerging talents continued apace in 2010, including another successful collaboration with the Playhouse Project in America. Most of all, we are proud of the numerous successes of the artists on our roster.

The needs of emerging artists are plentiful and diverse. We are hard at work devising ways in which the involvement and support of many more people can flourish in partnership with us so that we can better support our artists. In the coming months, we will expand our programmes and forge new partnerships with like-minded organisations and individuals. Our aim is to deliver outstanding artistic experiences for the benefit of our artists and audiences alike. For 2011 we have planned a comprehensive programme of events in the USA, UK and Switzerland.

To help us realise our vision for the future, I am delighted to announce that Benoit Savoret has been appointed Chairman of our Development Board. His considerable managerial and financial expertise will be of great benefit to us. The Development Board will work in tandem with Advanced Philanthropy, headed by Barbara Davidson. She and her team bring a wealth of successful fundraising experience to our 2011 activities.

We feel privileged to have the enthusiastic support of so many passionate individuals. I would like to thank especially our esteemed global Advisors and Patrons for their invaluable assistance. In particular, I would like to thank Udo Westphal for his staunch support for so many years and wish him well in his retirement.

I look forward to keeping you updated as 2011 progresses, and I hope that you enjoy this newsletter.

Heather de Haes, President and Founder

Foundation Appoints Chairman of Development Board

Advisory Board member Benoit Savoret has agreed to serve as the new Chairman of the Development Board and assist with the recruitment of new members in 2011. Mr Savoret studied engineering at the École Centrale de Paris and later specialized in economics and finance at the Institute of Political Sciences of Paris; he then worked for Société Général (1990-97) as a derivatives specialist, and lived in Paris, Philadelphia, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. In 1997 he joined Lehman Brothers in London as an Executive Director; by 2008, he was serving as COO for Europe and the Middle East, and as a member of their Executive Committee. Currently, he is consultant to the Dean of École Centrale de Paris and a member of their Board of Directors and fundraising committee. He lives in the UK with his family. Savoret brings vast leadership expertise to the Foundation, which will be immensely beneficial as it expands its operations. On his appointment, Mr Savoret said: "I am delighted to become more deeply involved in this Foundation, whose focus on emerging artists appeals to my own personal interests. SGAF has the vision and capacity to reach many more artists and I look forward to helping its operations grow and evolve to meet the needs of talented young people."

Meet our Patrons: Sir James Galway

Sir James Galway, long considered the worldʼs most eminent flautist, and still at over 70, giving concerts and recitals at the highest level with his wife Lady Jeanne, herself an accomplished master of the instrument, has been a Patron of the SGAF for ten years. The couple are based, when not touring the globe, in their home on the shores of Lake Lucerne, Switzerland.

We asked Sir James about his long career, his thoughts on music and young musicians, and the SGAF itself:

HOW DID YOUR EARLY LEARNING EXPERIENCES SHAPE YOUR INTENTION TO MAKE A CAREER IN MUSIC?

I was born in Belfast in 1939 and started playing the penny whistle as a small child, graduating to the flute at the age of nine. From then on that was all I wanted to do. It was a kind of vocation if you like. I studied at the Royal College of Music in London, Guildhall School in London and the Paris Conservatoire, before beginning my professional career as an orchestral flautist with Sadlerʼs Wells Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

YOU LAUNCHED YOUR SOLO CAREER IN 1975; DID YOU FIND IT CHALLENGING TO BREAK AWAY FROM LIFE IN AN ORCHESTRA?

Not really. It was a logical progression. I played in the BBC Symphony, London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic before getting perhaps the most coveted orchestral flute seat of all, as principal flute of the Berlin Philharmonic. Then I felt I was good enough to go solo. It certainly was challenging at the start – in the first year I performed 120 concerts. Since then I have lived a globetrotting experience with a mixture of recitals, and solo or duo appearances with my wife, with the worldʼs major orchestras, chamber and popular music concerts, master classes and regular recording sessions of both classical and contemporary music.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR EMERGING MUSICIANS AS THEY ENDEAVOUR TO BUILD THEIR CAREERS?

Yes. Practice harder.

OVER THE YEARS, YOU HAVE BECOME INVOLVED WITH A NUMBER OF CHARITIES, INCLUDING SGAF. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE OUR CHARITY ACCOMPLISH IN THE DECADE AHEAD?

Naturally to continue to build on its outstanding first decade – many charities, however worthy, soon fall by the wayside, for various reasons. To expand its activities in many artistic areas and around the world and get additional funding. Above all, to unearth and encourage the development of outstanding young international artists. These days, they need all the professional help and support they can get, and they are the future.

LOOKING BACK ON AN INCREDIBLE CAREER, WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF NOW?

Perhaps simply to have survived! And still be playing, I think reasonably well, in my mature years. And of course to have the same abiding love of music that I first had as a little lad, playing my penny whistle in the streets of Belfast.

(Interview by Michael Green)

Exclusive Evening Concert in Lausanne

We are delighted to announce our partnership with Musique & Médecine to present an exciting evening concert set in the beautiful location of Beau-Rivage Palace. Featuring the Swiss Global Virtuoso Orchestra, directed by Wilson Hermanto and accompanied by acclaimed French soloist Gauthier Capuçon, the programme will include Elgar, Haydn and Bartók.

FRIDAY 18 MARCH 2011 / 19.30H / BEAU-RIVAGE PALACE, LAUSANNE / TICKETS FR. 30

FOR BOOKING: CONTACT MME H. BERNHARD / TÉL. 021/314 04 50 (LE MATIN) / EMAIL: DMI.MUSICETMEDECINE@CHUV.CH

Dates for Your Diary

8 March: (New York) An American Friends of SGAF event, generously hosted by the Swiss Consul General in NYC, Ambassador François Barras

12 March: (New York) Speakeasy Moderne the first of a unique series of private events invoking the spirit of 1925 Manhattan. Hosted by pop artist Official Hank and featuring performances by emerging stars of the Broadway, pop, and classical worlds.

21 May: (Lausanne) An evening in the beautiful location of Beau-Rivage Palace with Marie-Stéphanie Janecek Juma, a young artist of unique personal charm and musical charisma.

31 May: (Lausanne) The Atypical Trio (often dubbed The Three Professors) are anything but typical, they are three of the most eminent members of the Swiss medical and teaching professions who are also passionate and well-trained amateur musicians. This evening event will surprise and delight.

TO RESERVE A TICKET OR FOR FURTHER INFORMATION EMAIL INFO@SWISSGLOBAL.ORG

Your Generous Support is Essential

Swiss Global Artistic Foundation relies on charitable contributions to enable the delivery of our important work with emerging artists. In 2011 our expanded activities will require the Foundation to raise $750k (USD / CHF, approx. £500k) therefore our need for your generous support is essential. We will be increasing our performance grants, enlarging our roster of artists and introducing elements of other art forms to our music events.

As always, we are extremely grateful for the support we have received from individuals, other foundations, and corporate sponsors. This has made our work possible, however, we still have much more to do.

Your help is paramount to us moving forward in 2011. For information on how to get involved, please contact our Director of Development, Barbara Davidson. (barbaradavidson@swissglobal.org or +44(0)7729 360 775)

Spread the Word     Pass It On

We hope you have enjoyed reading more about the Foundation and we will keep in regular contact with you this year. We want our subscriptions to grow encourage people to join.

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