Welcome to the @ generation: always on, always connected, always communicating with someone — a stranger, a friend, or something in between. As technology races along, our web of connections to people and services grows exponentially. Nowhere is the impact more profound than in the lives of our young people, who move effortlessly from one instrument of communication to another — email, AIM, text messaging, blogging, and others that continue to emerge. According to a Pew Study, 53 million American adults use instant messaging. 63 percent of all those 18 and over use the Internet in some fashion, and 87 percent of people between the ages of 12 and 18 are online. Full Story.

Virginia.edu

The McIntire Department of Music at the University of Virginia recently announced the appointment of conductor Kate Tamarkin as the next Music Director and Conductor of the Charlottesville and University Symphony Orchestra. Tamarkin was selected from a pool of 100 applicants from three continents, ending a far-reaching search.  She will join the U.Va. faculty this fall and will begin leading the orchestra in the upcoming 2006-07 season.  The orchestra’s season opening concerts will be October 7 and 8 at Old Cabell Hall. Full Story.

McIntire Department of Music