Wray Armstrong
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| Wray Armstrong | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | James Wray Armstrong 2 August 1950 Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| 🌐 Website | www |
James Wray Armstrong, known professionally as Wray Armstrong, is a Canadian talent manager, tour promoter, and classical music impresario. He is Chairman and Founder of Armstrong Music and Arts and Chief Executive Officer of Poly Armstrong International Arts and Communications Co., Ltd.
Education and Early Career[edit]
After working briefly as a translator for the Federal Translation Bureau in Ottawa,[1] he began his music career at a Toronto music management agency, David Haber Artists Management, in 1976.[citation needed]
1979–1991: Toronto Symphony Orchestra[edit]
In 1979 he began a long association with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, serving as Artistic Administrator from 1979–1985 and Managing Director from 1987–1991.[2]
1991–2009: Career with ICM and IMG Artists, London Office[edit]
In 1991 he moved to London to become Managing Director of talent agency ICM's UK office. In 1999 he was appointed Director of the Conductor and Instrumentalists division of IMG Artists (London), where he served as conductor and artist manager. His work there included co-producing a series of classical music projects for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[1]
in the mid-2000s he participated in the founding of the Canton International Summer Music Academy (CISMA) in Guangzhou, China, with Long Yu as Chairman and Charles Dutoit as Music Director.
2009–Present: Armstrong Music and Arts[edit]
In 2009 he parted ways with IMG[1] and struck off on his own, founding Armstrong Music and Arts in Hong Kong and Beijing.[3]
In 2011 he began serving as Global Consultant for the Czech Philharmonic,[4] and in 2012 he served as the international programming adviser for the Tianjin Grand Theatre, Tianjin's first-ever opera house.[5][6]
In 2017 he produced the sold-out[7] China tour of the San Francisco Opera's production of the opera Dream of the Red Chamber.[8]
Armstrong has produced musical events, dance, theater, and visual arts exhibitions,[9] in part through a joint venture company, Poly Armstrong International Arts and Communications Co., Ltd., which he formed in 2019 with Poly Theatre Management Group,[9] China's largest promoter and theatre operator.[10] His management clients include Krzysztof Penderecki, Hélène Grimaud, Joshua Bell, Maxim Vengerov, Misha Maisky, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the Guarneri Trio, and the Israel Philharmonic, as well as Chinese artists who tour the West, such as Meng Su,[9] Tianxu An,[11] and Tony Siqi Yun, winner of the inaugural China International Music Competition.[12]
He has served on the board of directors of the Glory of Mozart Festival in Toronto, the International Choral Festival, the Toronto Arts Awards, and the Toronto International Festival, and as Director of the Canton Summer Music Academy with Charles Dutoit.
Major Stagings and Tours[edit]
- 2022: China Philharmonic Orchestra online streaming events ‘Spring Festival Overture’ and ‘The Skaters Waltz’ (Les Patineurs) in celebration of Chinese New Year and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
- 2022: Yuanyuan Tan dance project and tour (China)[9]
- 2018: Sinfonia Varsovia tour with Krzysztof Penderecki and Anne-Sophie Mutter[15]
- 2016, 2018: Russian National Orchestra tours with Mikhail Pletnev, conductor and soloist
- 2016: Czech Philharmonic Orchestra tour with Jiří Bělohlávek
- 2017: San Francisco Opera's Dream of the Red Chamber in China,[8] performances in Beijing, Changsha (to open the new Zaha Hadid opera house), and Wuhan
- 2015-2016: Israel Philharmonic Orchestra tours with Zubin Mehta
- 2010: Executive Producer, Music in the Summer Air festival, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
- 2010: Handel 'Semele' at Beijing Music Festival, producer on behalf of the KT Wong Foundation, Beijing
- 2008: Co-Producer on behalf of IMG Artists (London) of Divas in Beijing, four concerts with major international opera stars, for the 2008 Beijing Olympics
- 1987: 'The Great Gathering,' a televised concert conducted by Seiji Ozawa and Sir Andrew Davis with guest artists including Murray Perahia, Isaac Stern, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Jean-Pierre Rampal, a tribute to Walter Homburger, Armstrong's predecessor as Managing Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra[16]
- 1984: Founding Producer, Big Valley Jamboree, Regina (Craven), Saskatchewan, 1984
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Andrew Moody (24 November 2017), Interpreter of the Chinese Dream, China Daily, retrieved 31 March 2022
- ↑ Warren, Richard (19 September 2002). Begins with the Oboe: A History of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. University of Toronto Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-0802035882. Search this book on
- ↑ Chinese classic going strong as opera, ECNS, 24 November 2017, retrieved 31 March 2022
- ↑ The Man behind the Music, Tianjin Plus, retrieved 31 March 2022
- ↑ Sheila Melvin (31 May 2012), "Grand Ambitions for Tianjin's Grand Theater", New York Times, retrieved 31 March 2022
- ↑ Nancy Malitz (4 February 2013), CSO plays witness to China's cultural boom, Chicago Tribune, retrieved 31 March 2022
- ↑ Andrew Moody (24 November 2017), Chinese classic going strong as opera, China Daily HK, retrieved 13 April 2022
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Charles Clover (15 September 2017), Chinese opera beset by intrigues old and new, Financial Times, retrieved 31 March 2022
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Jon Sobel (29 December 2021), Interview: Wray Armstrong and Evita Zhang of Armstrong Music & Arts on Bridging the China-West Cultural Divide, Blogcritics, retrieved 31 March 2022
- ↑ Ellie Palmer, THE CLASSICAL MUSIC MARKET IN CHINA, Philharmonie de Paris, retrieved 13 April 2022
- ↑ Ellie Palmer (3 November 2021), Tianxu An's time is here: The pianist talks about his quest for success, Pianist Magazine, retrieved 31 March 2022
- ↑ Canadian pianist wins inaugural China International Music Competition, Gramophone, 21 May 2019, retrieved 13 April 2022
- ↑ Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, APO, retrieved 31 March 2022
- ↑ Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra Historic Tour of China, Silk Road Futures, 12 January 2020, retrieved 31 March 2022
- ↑ Sinfonia Varsovia Conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki Toured China, Culture.pl, retrieved 27 May 2022
- ↑ Ford, Clifford; Beckwith, John (1 November 2009), Toronto Symphony Orchestra, The Canadian Encyclopedia, retrieved 21 May 2022
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