JOSEPH CALLEJA

BIOGRAPHY

Calleja was born in Attard, Malta. He began singing at the age of 16, having been discovered by tenor Brian Cefai and continued his studies with Maltese tenor Paul Asciak. He attended De La Salle College. At the age of 19 he made his operatic debut as Macduff in Verdi's Macbeth at the Astra Theatre in Gozo and went on to become a prize winner at the Belvedere Hans Gabor Competition the same year. In 1998 he won the Caruso Competition in Milan and was a prize winner in Plácido Domingo's Operalia in 1999.

On November 2, 2012, the University of Malta presented Calleja with a Doctor of Literature Honoris Causa in acknowledgment of his achievements as an internationally renowned tenor.

On October 8, 2015, Calleja was elected to the board of directors of the European Academy of Music Theatre.

The Drake Calleja Trust came into existence on the 1st September 2015. Established by publisher and philanthropist James JP Drake, the patron of this trust is Joseph Calleja. It has completed six application calls until 2021 and awarded seventy scholarships for studies in the United Kingdom to exceptionally talented music students of classical music on undergraduate, postgraduate and research levels. Through these grants, students have purchased new instruments, participated in competitions, masterclasses and training, attended auditions in the UK and other countries, made recordings and furthered their studies.

On 25 October 2013, Calleja together with Bank of Valletta launched the BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation. The aim of the foundation is to help vulnerable individuals and social groups in the Maltese community. Specifically, its attention is directed towards helping underprivileged children with unique artistic or musical talents.

Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award 2013 to Malala Yousafzai and Harry Belafonte.

CLUESO

BIOGRAPHY

Thomas Hübner (born 9 April 1980), better known by his stage name Clueso —named after Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther—, is a German singer, rapper, songwriter, and producer. His music is notable for being a mix of hip hop, pop and electronic music, and sometimes reggae.

Clueso started making music in 1995. In 1998, he got to know his future manager Andreas Welskop. His first vinyl, Clüsolo, was released on BMG Ufa the same year. In 1999, he moved to the 10vor10-Studios in Cologne with Welskop. A year later, he signed a label contract at Four Music and released Text und Ton in 2001. Around that time, he performed with Curfew at the MTV HipHop Open in Stuttgart and at Beats for Life in Cologne.

In 2002, Clueso moved back to Erfurt and recorded the Rowdy-Club-Tape 2002. One year later, he started producing his second album Gute Musik, which translates to "Good Music" (featuring Blumentopf, Steer M, Tilmann Jarmer, Delhia, Tim Neuhaus and Jürgen Kerth), which was finished by 2004. In 2005, Clueso represented Thuringia in the Bundesvision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Kein Bock zu gehen". The same year, he was the partner of Start Ab, the "biggest non-commercial remix contest in Europe". On 19 May 2006, his third album, Weit weg, was released. In conjunction with the STÜBAphilharmonie, a Thuringian orchestra, Clueso gave a concert in the Fritz-Club in Berlin on 3 February 2007, where he performed his songs together with the orchestra and his band in an arrangement for more than 70 instruments. On 14 February 2008, Clueso again represented Thuringia in Stefan Raab's Bundesvision Song Contest. With his song "Keinen Zentimeter", he came second, only one point behind the winner. On 30 May 2008, his fourth album So sehr dabei was released. His next studio album An und für sich ("In and of itself") was released on 25 March 2011. The same year, Clueso collaborated with Udo Lindenberg performing the song "Cello" on the album MTV Unplugged – Live im Hotel Atlantic. The song was also released as a single and reached number 4 in the German charts. After having released number 1 album Stadtrandlichter in 2014, Clueso parted ways with his long-standing band and management team. He wrote his following album about this period of separation and fittingly named it Neuanfang"("New Beginning"). The album reached number 1 of the German charts.

After the release of Neuanfang, he started working on a new album called Handgepäck I ("Hand Luggage I"), a collection of acoustic songs that he has written and collected over the last seven years during several trips and journeys around the world.

Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award 2015 to Joan Baez and Ai Wei Wei.

VIDEO

CARL CARLTON

BIOGRAPHY

Since beginning his playing career at the age of 17 in the Netherlands, German-born Carl Carlton has amassed a dizzying resume as a guitarist, producer, composer and bandleader. The three-time Grammy Award nominee has been has been on the road and in the studios as guitarist/writer/producer with Robert Palmer, Eric Burdon, Jimmy Barnes, Keb Mo, Joe Cocker , Paul Young, Nina Hagen, Udo Lindenberg, Mink De Ville, Manfred Mann’s Earthband, Peter Maffay, Simple Minds, Klaus Voormann and many more. His own band, the Songdogs, has released several acclained albums and included, at varying points, Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of The Band, Robert Palmer, Sonny Landreth, Ian McLagan, Bobby Keys a.o.

ELECTRIC BURMA

Photos 1-2: Joao Pina; 3-11: Christian Berz.

Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award 2013 to Malala Yousafzai and Harry Belafonte.

TOAST TO FREEDOM

LIGHTS OUT IN WONDERLAND

ROSANNE CASH

BIOGRAPHY

Rosanne Cash is the eldest daughter of the legendary Johnny Cash and, since the mid-70s, a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter in her own right, with 12 studio albums. She’s notched 10 No. 1 country hits during her career, and Cash’s 1985 song “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me” won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Cash has four children from her two marriages – to Rodney Crowell and John Leventhal – and published “Composed: a memoir” in 2010. She’s also slated to play the part of Monique in the Stephen King-John Mellencamp stage musical “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County.” – 

CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS

BIOGRAPHY

Christine & the Queens is the nom de disque of French androgyne Christine, who regards herself and her artistry as a cross between comic prankster Andy Kaufman and pop king Michael Jackson. In her tuxedo and flowing long hair, Christine explores the bleeding-edge intersection of music, acting, video, drawing and photography. The Queens are not a band but the laptop that accompanies her onstage.

NACHO CAMPILLO

BIOGRAPHY

Nacho Campillo is a singer/songwriter best known for his work with brother Javier as the Spanish rock/pop combo Tam Tam Go! The innovative group mixed Latin roots music with British pop and sang in English – the first Spanish act to do so. As a solo artist, Nacho Campillo has recreated himself, adopting the name Reyno and releasing his solo debut album, “Animal Reset.”

LENNY CASTRO

BIOGRAPHY

Lenny Castro (born 1957) is an American freelancing percussionist in the studio recording industry in the Los Angeles area.

Because he is a freelancer, Castro is called on by many artists and bands to record. He claims to enjoy this freedom, saying that the members of Toto did him a favor by not asking him to join permanently; “I didn’t get handcuffed or chained down”. The artists and bands that Castro has worked with include Adele, Simply Red, the Rolling Stones, Sir Elton John, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Regina Belle, Eric Clapton, Boz Scaggs, Toto, Alien Ant Farm, Steely Dan, Christopher Cross, The Mars Volta, Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, David Sanborn, Avenged Sevenfold, Little Feat, Tom Petty, Susanna Hoffs, Boney James, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Peter White, Joe Sample, Kenny Loggins, Young Knives, Rickie Lee Jones, Caifanes, Dan Fogelberg, The Crusaders, The Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand, Karizma,[disambiguation needed] Quincy Jones, John Mayer, Randy Newman, Dave Koz, Olivia Newton-John, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eric Burdon, Oasis, Wayne Shorter, Pat Benatar, Dwight Yoakam, Maroon 5, Lisa Marie Presley, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Mick Hucknall, Booker T. Jones, The All-American Rejects,[citation needed] Joe Bonamassa and Slash as well as many Japanese, Italian, English, German, and various other artists.

Castro has recorded with Fleetwood Mac and performed on the The Dance tour in 1997. Castro was also a part of the Fleetwood Mac contingent that surprised former President Bill Clinton on January 6, 2001. Castro toured with Stevie Nicks in 2007 and 2011 for her “In Your Dreams” tour, and will tour with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds in 2011 and 2012.

LARRY CAMPBELL

BIOGRAPHY

Larry Campbell hasn’t played with every musician in the Western world. It just seems that way. Perhaps best known for being part of Bob Dylan’s band between 1997-2004 – and a key contributor to his Grammy Award-winning 2001 album “Love and Theft” – the New York-born multi-instrumentalist has also played with Paul Simon, B.B King, Willie Nelson, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Judy Collins, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, the Black Crowes and Phil & Friends, among others. Campbell produced Levon Helm’s Grammy Award-winning “Dirt Farmer” and “Electric Dirt” albums and serves as musical director and bandleader at Helm’s Midnight Ramble concerts in Woodstock, N.Y. He received a Lifetime Achievement – Instrumentalist award from the Americana Music Association in 2008.