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| A new flavour for Edinburgh festival as Fergus Linehan is appointed director | A new flavour for Edinburgh festival as Fergus Linehan is appointed director |
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| For the second time in a row, the Edinburgh international festival has looked to Australia for an artistic director, with, it has announced, the appointment of Irish native Fergus Linehan to take over from Jonathan Mills from the 2015 festival. | For the second time in a row, the Edinburgh international festival has looked to Australia for an artistic director, with, it has announced, the appointment of Irish native Fergus Linehan to take over from Jonathan Mills from the 2015 festival. |
| Linehan was, until 2012, the head of contemporary music at the Sydney Opera House where he programmed jazz, pop and world music alongside classical music from visiting ensembles. He is currently artistic director of Vivid LIVE, a festival that mingles music, light installations and talks and debates in Sydney, and that this May presents Kraftwerk performing their eight albums and Bobby Womack's Australian debut. | Linehan was, until 2012, the head of contemporary music at the Sydney Opera House where he programmed jazz, pop and world music alongside classical music from visiting ensembles. He is currently artistic director of Vivid LIVE, a festival that mingles music, light installations and talks and debates in Sydney, and that this May presents Kraftwerk performing their eight albums and Bobby Womack's Australian debut. |
| Previously, he was artistic director of the Sydney festival from 2004-9, where he was credited with increasing turnover from aus $12m to aus $20m and increasing audiences. | Previously, he was artistic director of the Sydney festival from 2004-9, where he was credited with increasing turnover from aus $12m to aus $20m and increasing audiences. |
| He began his career in theatre in Dublin, and was director of the Dublin Theatre festival from 1999-2004. He has a degree in English and classics from University College, Dublin. | He began his career in theatre in Dublin, and was director of the Dublin Theatre festival from 1999-2004. He has a degree in English and classics from University College, Dublin. |
| Linehan becomes director designate on May 1. He plans to move to Edinburgh in 2014, and his first fully programmed festival will be in 2015. His initial tenure lasts until 2019. The Sydney-born Mills will step down after the 2014 festival. | |
| Linehan said: "I am delighted and deeply honoured to have been appointed as the next director of the Edinburgh international festival. I look forward to safeguarding the founding principles of the festival in ways which are engaging and relevant to all. Successful festivals respond to both place and provenance to create a unique identity and this is particularly true of Edinburgh, the pre-eminent festival city." | Linehan said: "I am delighted and deeply honoured to have been appointed as the next director of the Edinburgh international festival. I look forward to safeguarding the founding principles of the festival in ways which are engaging and relevant to all. Successful festivals respond to both place and provenance to create a unique identity and this is particularly true of Edinburgh, the pre-eminent festival city." |
| Linehan is an impresario of varied taste and background, used to working in theatre and the opera house, but also with strong experience running a financially stable festival. His enthusiasm for pop, rock and world music may point to a different emphasis for the Edinburgh international festival. Both his immediate predecessors, Mills and Sir Brian McMaster, were specialists in classical music and opera, and the kind of eclectic pop that has been a feature of, for example, the Manchester international festival (which this year has the xx in residence, as well as an encounter between Massive Attack and Adam Curtis), has been notably absent. | Linehan is an impresario of varied taste and background, used to working in theatre and the opera house, but also with strong experience running a financially stable festival. His enthusiasm for pop, rock and world music may point to a different emphasis for the Edinburgh international festival. Both his immediate predecessors, Mills and Sir Brian McMaster, were specialists in classical music and opera, and the kind of eclectic pop that has been a feature of, for example, the Manchester international festival (which this year has the xx in residence, as well as an encounter between Massive Attack and Adam Curtis), has been notably absent. |
| UPDATED, 1511hrs: He said: "I think that each festival director brings their interests and passions to the role. I do love many different types of music – opera, symphonic and chamber music included. However, if we do present a season of contemporary music it will not be at the expense of the classical programme." | |
| Responding to the issue of Manchester's arrival on the UK festival scene, he said: "It is a very different festival in a very different city. Certainly Edinburgh needs to continue to evolve and respond to the times but I don't see that in competitive terms. Of course, I do hope to bring new ideas and approaches to Edinburgh but it's too early to be specific." |