Tuesday , March 19 2024

Elton John Benefits in New York

Elton John has made multiple buttloads of money in the music biz over the last 30+ years, but he certainly has gone out of his way to give back in return.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, July 13) he is performing a benefit for for the Juilliard School and London’s Royal Academy of Music at NYC’s Radio City Music Hall:

    Sir Elton and his band will be accompanied for the first time in North America by a full symphony orchestra and choir featuring students from The Juilliard School and The Royal Academy of Music, London. James Newton Howard conducts. Verizon is the title sponsor for these concerts. The concert will be filmed for a television special to be aired on Bravo during the holiday season. The net proceeds from the opening night concert Tuesday, July 13, will support the Elton John Musical Scholarship at The Royal Academy of Music, established last year, and fund a scholarship at The Juilliard School.

More on the Elton John Scholarships at the Royal Academy:

    Elton John visited the Royal Academy of Music on 19th May to present scholarships to the first Academy students who have been awarded Elton John Scholarships. The scholarships were endowed by Elton for talented young musicians who might otherwise be unable to study at the Academy. The annual scholarships are financed in perpetuity by a dedicated Elton John Scholarship Fund.

    Following the vastly successful Royal Opera House event in December 2002, Elton John will give a second performance to raise further scholarship funds in a gala evening at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 4th July. For this concert, presented in collaboration with event title sponsors 3i, he will be once again accompanied by the Academy’s Symphony Orchestra and Choir.

    The first recipients of the scholarships (left to right in photo above) are:

    Linda Kidwell (viola). Linda studied at Manchester University and since joining the Academy in September 2003 has played in many prestigious concerts. She will perform with the Academy’s Symphony Orchestra and Sir Elton at the Royal Albert Hall on 4th July.

    Allan Clayton (tenor voice). Allan studied in Worcester and Cambridge University. He has already performed thorughout the UK, Europe, the Far East and USA.

    Christopher White (piano). Christopher began playing piano aged seven and joined the Academy’s undergraduate programme in September 2003. He attended Junior Academy, where he won many prizes.

    Hugh Pascall (jazz trumpet). Hugh comes from Nottingham and is in his third of four years on the Academy’s highly-respected jazz course. He has just returned from an exchange period at the Paris Conservatoire.

    Separate scholarships will be announced at a later date for students at Junior Academy, the Academy’s specialist training programme for school-age musicians.

    Sir Elton was an Exhibitioner at Junior Academy, the Royal Academy of Music’s programme for talented young musicians. He says: “I have always regarded my training at the Royal Academy of Music as vitally important to the development of my career as a musician. I am delighted that the Elton John Scholarship Fund enables several deserving young musicians to study here every year, and I look forward to following ‘my’ students throughout their time at the Academy and in their future careers.”

    Professor Curtis Price, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, says: “Elton John is one of our most famous alumni, and he continues to contribute hugely to Academy life in many ways. His scholarships help the musicians of the future through their studies here, and by performing with him many of our current students have gained invaluable professional experience as well
    as having a great time.”

About Eric Olsen

Career media professional and serial entrepreneur Eric Olsen flung himself into the paranormal world in 2012, creating the America's Most Haunted brand and co-authoring the award-winning America's Most Haunted book, published by Berkley/Penguin in Sept, 2014. Olsen is co-host of the nationally syndicated broadcast and Internet radio talk show After Hours AM; his entertaining and informative America's Most Haunted website and social media outlets are must-reads: Twitter@amhaunted, Facebook.com/amhaunted, Pinterest America's Most Haunted. Olsen is also guitarist/singer for popular and wildly eclectic Cleveland cover band The Props.

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