Tony Award Nominee Daniel Fish Directs Acquanetta, A Visual and Musical Tour-de-Force by Michael Gordon and Deborah Artman, at Bard SummerScape
The 2019 Bard SummerScape festival takes a contemporary look at Hollywood’s Golden Age in Acquanetta, a visual and musical tour-de-force inspired by the eponymous B-movie star with a mysterious past.
Cheltenham Music Festival Opens Birthday Fanfare Competition for 75th Anniversary
Cheltenham Music Festival will announce its 75th birthday with a Fanfare for Three Trumpets, which needs to be created by a talented composer. The Festival is calling for composers of all ages and musical ability to submit a fanfare, with a cash prize of £250 for the winner.
Conner Gray Covington Named Principal Conductor of Utah Symphony’s Deer Valley Music Festival
The Utah Symphony announces the appointment of Conner Gray Covington as Principal Conductor for the Deer Valley Music Festival’s 2019 and 2020 seasons, in addition to his responsibilities as year-round Associate Conductor of the orchestra. He is scheduled to conduct nine concerts as part of 2019 summer’s festival, including performances with the Indigo Girls, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, and “E.T. The Extra-terrestrial” in Concert.
New 15-Day International Music Event, Tsinandali Festival, Settles In the Heart of Georgia’s Wine Country
The Tsinandali Festival, a Georgian non-profit foundation, in collaboration with the Georgian government and generous private donors, has established a new international music event in the historic Tsinandali Estate. The annual Festival will present some of the greatest musicians and the specially formed Pan Caucasian Youth Orchestra, which brings together over 80 young musicians from the surrounding region. This Youth Orchestra, supported by all the governments of Georgia’s neighbors and beyond, will ensure that the work of the Tsinandali Festival extends beyond the historic estate.
Inon Barnatan Begins La Jolla Music Directorship; Plays Aspen, Santa Fe, Tanglewood and Spoleto Festivals This Summer
Inon Barnatan – “a true poet of the keyboard, refined, searching [and] unfailingly communicative” (London’s Evening Standard) – takes up his post this summer as the new Music Director of the La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, an annual chamber music festival at which he has been a favorite performer since his first appearance there in 2012.
American Composers Orchestra Announces Three Commissions from the 2019 Underwood New Music Readings
American Composers Orchestra (ACO) announces three commissions for emerging composers Jack Hughes, Jihyun Kim, and Aaron Israel Levin. They were chosen from six participants in ACO’s 28th Underwood New Music Readings, one of the most coveted opportunities for emerging composers in the United States. This year’s Underwood Readings were presented in partnership with NYU Steinhardt Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions.
Naumburg Orchestral Concerts Presents Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Bandoneonist JP Jofre
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra will return to Naumburg Orchestral Concerts for the series’ 114th season on August 6, held this year in Temple Emanu-El due to repairs on the iconic Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park.
Conductor Teddy Abrams Readies For Oregon’s Britt Festival Orchestra Season Following Feature on CBS Sunday Morning
The Britt Festival Orchestra’s 2019 summer season, anchoring Oregon’s Britt Music and Arts Festival with three weeks of exhilarating open-air programming in the scenic Rogue Valley, opens July 26. Under the galvanizing leadership of Music Director Teddy Abrams, the 2019 season features a compelling combination of beloved staples of the repertoire and cutting-edge, 21st-century compositions.
Music with Meaning: Oregon Bach Festival Artists Express Personal Perspectives Through Performance
For nearly 50 years, Oregon Bach Festival has showcased the incomparable works of composer J. S. Bach, and those inspired by his timeless masterpieces. This mission continues in 2019, with a collection of creative and innovative artists who express their own unique experiences and personal perspectives through music.
Three NYC Organizations Commemorate 50 Years Since The Stonewall Uprising With Two Concerts
Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF), in collaboration with the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) and the LGBT Community Center (The Center), will celebrate WorldPride in two programs featuring LGBT composers and librettists, both commemorating 50 years since the Stonewall uprising.
Canadian Pianist Tony Siqi Yun Wins First Prize at Inaugural China International Music Competition
“Words cannot express how I feel to have been awarded the Gold Medal of the China International Music Competition. It has been an extraordinary time in Beijing, and I am so grateful to the jury and everyone here who have been such great colleagues,” says Tony Siqi Yun, a Canadian pianist who won first prize at the inaugural China International Music Competition.
Inaugural Strings & Piano Festival Celebrates Legacy of Violinist Josef Gingold
The Josef Gingold Chamber Music Festival of Miami announces the inaugural season of world-class concerts and intensive educational initiatives celebrating the legacy of violinist Josef Gingold—the primary exponent of the “Golden Age” of violin—on the Miami Shores campus of Barry University, July 7-28, 2019.
Harpist Yolanda Kondonassis’ New Album Features Powerful, Whimsical Harp Concerto by Jennifer Higdon
Harpist Yolanda Kondonassis’s new album American Rapture features the world premiere recording of Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Higdon's Harp Concerto, a piece that is deeply personal to both artists.
Minnesota Orchestra Announces Sommerfest 2019: Música Juntos (Music Together)
The Minnesota Orchestra announced plans for Sommerfest 2019, unveiling a four-week July festival, presented under the banner Música Juntos (Music Together), that spotlights Latin American music and culminates in performances of Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov’s La Pasión según San Marcos, a much-celebrated, genre-blurring retelling of the biblical passion of St. Mark.
Grammy-Winning The Crossing Performs World Premiere of Aniara: fragments of time and space
Grammy-winning new music choir The Crossing is set to perform the world premiere of Aniara: fragments of time and space in five performances – Thursday, June 20, through Sunday, June 23, at Christ Church Neighborhood House in Philadelphia.
BASS Season Finale Features 3 World Premieres, Including James Matheson
The Brooklyn Art Song Society (BASS) concludes its season on Friday, June 7, with New Voices, its innovative new music series focused on song after 2010. The program features three world premieres, Herschel Garfein’s 3 Rides, David Ludwig’s Songs of the Spirit of Turpentine, and James Matheson’s Pessoa Songs, the first ever settings of acclaimed Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa and a BASS commission. The event will take place at the Brooklyn Historical Society.
First China International Music Competition Announces 12 Semi-Finalists From 8 Countries
The first China International Music Competition – newly created by the China Conservatory of Music and Global Music Education League – recently announces the details of the 12 pianists who will progress to the semi-final rounds of the competition. They are competing for the chance to win unprecedented cash prizes, international management, and the chance to perform in the final concert with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra on Monday, May 20. The awards ceremony will take place Tuesday, May 21.
Celebratory Gala Concert To Mark 200th Birthdays Of Queen Victoria & Prince Albert
The bicentenaries of Queen Victoria and Price Albert will be celebrated with high-profile cultural events taking place throughout the UK, including exhibitions at Kensington Palace, Osborne House and the Victoria & Albert Museum, and even a BBC Prom. In the first significant musical celebration of this historic double anniversary year, the Royal Choral Society will join forces with the Coburg Philharmonic Orchestra – the orchestra from Prince Albert’s hometown – for a special concert at London’s Cadogan Hall on Saturday, May 25, just a day after Victoria’s 200th birthday. The concert will feature several works by the royal couple’s favorite composer, Felix Mendelssohn, and a delightful composition by Prince Albert himself.
New York Philharmonic Concludes Season with Music of Conscience
The New York Philharmonic will conclude the 2018–19 subscription season with Music of Conscience, three weeks of concerts and events exploring the ways in which composers have used music to respond to the social and political issues of their times, from May 22 to June 8.
