William Christie ’66 to Receive Eighth Annual Harvard Arts Medal
at ARTS FIRST 2002
William Christie ’66, internationally acclaimed harpsichordist,
conductor, musicologist and teacher, will receive the eighth annual Harvard
Arts Medal. The Arts Medal was created to honor a distinguished Harvard
or Radcliffe alumnus/a or faculty member who has achieved excellence in
the arts and who has made a special contribution through the arts to education
or the public good. The award will be presented to Mr. Christie by Harvard
President Larry Summers on Saturday, May 4, as part of ARTS FIRST 2002,
the tenth annual celebration of the arts at Harvard, May 2-5, 2002.
On Sunday, May 5, from 8:30 – 10:30 am, the public is invited to
attend an open rehearsal of the Harvard Baroque Ensemble and Harvard Choral
Fellows, coached by guest conductor Mr. Christie in collaboration with
Dr. Murray Forbes Somerville, Harvard University Organist and Choir Master.
Mr. Christie will then conduct the Baroque Ensemble and Choral Fellows
for a special performance during the 11:00 am religious service at Memorial
Church, Harvard Yard, and will also perform on harpsichord, accompanied
by Robert Mealy on Baroque violin.
William Christie enjoys international renown for his pioneering work in
the field of Baroque music, notably 17th and 18th century French repertoire,
which he has introduced to an ever-growing audience. "William Christie
has performed a remarkable service to the world of early music,"
states Dr. Somerville. "Harvard is proud to welcome back one of its
sons who has made a uniquely valuable contribution to our knowledge and
enjoyment of French Baroque music."
Christie’s training began with the study of piano and organ while
a child in Buffalo, New York. During his undergraduate years at Harvard,
as a Kirkland House resident, he
concentrated in Fine Arts. He continued his studies at the Yale School
of Music where his interest in French music blossomed while studying the
harpsichord. Soon after receiving his MFA from Yale, Christie relocated
to Paris. In 1971, he recorded his first album with Genevieve Thibault
de Chambure, and from 1971 to 1975, performed with the Five Centuries
Ensemble, an experimental group who performed both early music and new
works. From 1976 to 1980, he played the harpsichord and organ for Rene
Jacobs’ Concerto Vocale.
In 1979, Christie founded Les Arts Florissants, a Paris-based vocal and
instrumental ensemble which researches and performs unpublished works
of the 17th and 18th centures. Les Arts Florissants, known worldwide for
its performance of operas, received best opera commendations from French
critics for the 1987 production of Lully Atyls, later staged in New York
in 1989 and 1992 and in Madrid in 1992. The group, which also performed
at the Versailles summit in 1992, is the recipient of the International
Classical Music Award.
The conductor has enjoyed a busy operatic career. Among his most outstanding
operatic achievements are Hippolyte et Aricie (1996), Les Indes galantes
and Alcina (1999) at the Opera de Paris, Medee (1993) at the Theatre de
Caen, Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (1993) at the Opera du Rhin, and King
Arthur (1995) at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. His many engagements
at the Aix-en-Provence Festival with Les Arts Florissants include The
Magic Flute (1994), Orlando (1997), and most recently, the highly successful
Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria by Monteverdi, which will tour to Lausanne,
Paris, Caen, Bordeaux, New York and Vienna in 2002. Currently, Christie
is conducting the revival of Rodelinda at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
In October 2002, he will be the first guest conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic
under Simon Rattle’s directorship.
Christie is committed to the training and professional development of
young artists, and has nurtured several generations of singers and instrumentalists
over the last 25 years. In 1982, he was the first American to be appointed
to a professorship at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique
in Paris. He has also taught at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and the Conservatoire National
Superieur de Musique in Lyons. His latest venture in the field of training
and development, Le Jardin des Voix, is a European workshop for young
singers, which will take place in autumn of 2002.
Previous Harvard Arts Medal recipients have included director Peter
Sellars ’80, composer John Harbison ’60, National
Theatre of the Deaf founder David Hays ’52, author John
Updike ’54, musicians Bonnie Raitt ’72 and Pete
Seeger ’40, and the late actor Jack Lemmon ’47. In
2002, Harvard celebrates the outstanding achievements of Mr. Christie
and welcomes him as the eighth Arts Medal recipient.
For more information on William Christie, the Harvard Arts Medal, and
ARTS FIRST 2002, please contact the Office for the Arts at Harvard, 617.495-8676.
