- James Galway
Infobox musical artist
Name = James Galway
Img_capt = Sir James Galway and his wife Jeanne performing in the 2007 New Year's Eve concert at the Culture and Convention Centre Lucerne.
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = James Galway
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Born = Birth date and age|1939|12|8|mf=yBelfast ,Northern Ireland
Died =
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Instrument =Flute ,Tin whistle
Voice_type =
Genre = Classical, Pop
Occupation =Orchestra l, soloist, conductor
Years_active = 1950s–"present"
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Associated_acts =Philharmonia Orchestra Sadler's Wells Opera
Covent Garden OperaLondon Symphony Orchestra Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra London Mozart Players The Chieftains
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Notable_instruments =Sir James Galway OBE (born
December 8 ,1939 ) is aNorthern Ireland –bornvirtuoso flautist fromBelfast , nicknamed "The Man With the Golden Flute". Following in the footsteps ofJean-Pierre Rampal , he became one of the first flute players to establish an international career as a soloist.Education
James Galway studied at the
Royal College of Music under John Francis and then at theGuildhall School of Music underGeoffrey Gilbert . He then studied at theParis Conservatoire underGaston Crunelle andJean-Pierre Rampal and also privately withMarcel Moyse .Career
After his education time he spent 15 years as an orchestral player.Niall O’Loughlin/Richard Wigmore, 'Galway, Sir James', "Grove Music Online", [http://www.grovemusic.com/shared/views/article.html?section=music.10595] , accessed
13 July 2007 ] Galway played with thePhilharmonia Orchestra as it rose to prominence in the 1950s.Fact|date=July 2007He then played with
Sadler's Wells Opera , Covent Garden Opera, theLondon Symphony Orchestra and theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra . He auditioned for theBerlin Philharmonic Orchestra underHerbert von Karajan , and was principal flute of that orchestra from 1969 to 1975. To Karajan's surprise and dismay, after a period of some disagreement, "Jimmy" Galway decided that he would leave to pursue a solo career,Fact|date=July 2007 which he succeeded in doing admirably.In addition to his performances of the standard classical repertoire, he features contemporary music in his programs, including new flute works commissioned by and for him by composers including
David Amram ,Malcolm Arnold ,William Bolcom ,John Corigliano ,Dave Heath , andLowell Liebermann . The album "In Ireland" by "James Galway and the Chieftains" reached number 32 in the UK album charts in 1987.He still performs regularly and is one of the world's most well-known flute players.Fact|date=July 2007
He is Principal Guest Conductor of the
London Mozart Players , based at theFairfield Halls ,Croydon ,South London .Fact|date=July 2007Most recently, Sir James has performed for the Academy Award-winning ensemble recording the soundtracks of
Peter Jackson 's "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, composed byHoward Shore .In June 2008, Sir James was inducted into the
Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame along withLiza Minnelli andB. B. King .He currently performs on Nagahara flutes, as well as some Muramatsu Flutes.
Personal
In the 1970s James Galway moved from Berlin to
Lucerne , Switzerland, the home town of his second wife, Anna (Annie) Renggli, one of the daughters of a well-known local architect. They had twins and a son. In 1978 he recorded for her the famous instrumental version ofJohn Denver 's "Annie's Song ". After their divorce he moved toMeggen , Switzerland, a posh village next to Lucerne, where he resides now with his third wife, U.S.-born Jeanne (nee Cinante). They often tour together playing duets, accompanied by Phillip Moll on piano.Fact|date=July 2007 In addition, they give masterclasses for flutists of all levels.Sir James is also president of a global organization called [http://www.flutewise.com Flutewise] , a charitable organisation which donates flutes to low-income students and people with disabilities, run by Liz Goodwin.
In 2003 he formed the Music Education Consortium together with
Julian Lloyd Webber ,Evelyn Glennie and the lateMichael Kamen to pressure the British Government into providing better music education in schools.He was made an OBE in 1977 and was
knight ed in 2001.James's nephew
Martin Galway is a musician famous for his work onCommodore 64 computer game music in the 1980s.Trivia
*Apparently he was late for his audition for the Berlin Philharmonic, he was denied the right to audition but he somehow convinced the reception to let him audition. Being late, the enraged Karajan made him play all sorts of excerpts and solos that were beyond the originally proposed audition material, hoping to humble and embarrass Galway. To Karajan's surprise, not only did Galway manage to play everything with spot on accuracy and fluid musicality, he was able to do a lot of it by memory when the music was not at hand, demonstrating his extensive knowledge and grasp of the flute repertoire. He was unanimously chosen by the judges and granted the principal flute position slot, but Galway stated he didn't really like how they denied his right to audition and just left for London. It was the Royal Philharmonic that convinced Galway to return as the principal flute.Fact|date=October 2007
Publications
*cite book | last =Galway | first =James | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =An Autobiography |edition= | publisher =Chappell and Company Ltd. | date =1978 | location =London | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn =0-340-24721-5
*cite book | last =Galway | first =James | authorlink = | coauthors =W. Mann | title =James Galway's Music in Time |edition= | publisher =Mitchell Beazley | date =1982 | location =London | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0855333820
*Galway, James. (1982). "Flute". Yehudi Menuhin Music Guides. London: Macdonald. ISBN 0356047113 (cloth); ISBN 0356047121 (pbk.) New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 002871380X Reprinted 1990, London: Kahn & Averill London: Khan & Averill ISBN 1871082137Media
Notes
External links
*cite web |url=http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=174 |title="Official Artist's Page IMGArtists.com September 15, 2008.
*cite web |url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=21399 |title="Sir James Galway's New Recording "O'Reilly Street" to Be Released on September 16th." AllAboutJazz.com August 5, 2008.
*cite web |url=http://www.thegalwaynetwork.com/index.html |title=Sir James Galway |accessdate=|publisher=The Galway Network
*cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/user/LarryKrantz |title=YouTube |accessdate=|publisher=Masterclass videos, performances and interviews
*cite web |url=http://www.mfiles.co.uk/reviews/howard-shore-the-return-of-the-king.htm |title=Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |accessdate= |publisher=Music Files
* [http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=174&c=2 Full Biography]
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