Jonas Kaufmann’s cancellations are becoming more frequent than his appearances. In June, reviews reported vocal troubles in Werther at the Royal Opera House, from which he withdrew on the final night (replaced, to acclaim, by Juan Diego … » Read

West Virginia’s Wheeling Symphony Orchestra (WSO) has hired Sonja Thoms as its new executive director. Thoms since 2015 has been VP of operations for the Nashville Symphony. She holds an MM in oboe performance from the Shepherd School of … » Read

The Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF) has announced a three-year extension—to 2029—to the contract of Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles. At that time, he will have served in that capacity for 23 years. Speaking on behalf of the … » Read

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music has announced the death of André Watts, distinguished professor of piano, on July 12 at the age of 77. Born in Nuremberg, Germany, he was a child prodigy and initially studied with his mother; … » Read

A spate of retirements by Bay Area musicians has prompted them to share reflections about their long careers with the San Francisco Chronicle. French hornist Bruce Roberts retired last month after 35 years. When he arrived from Utah in 1988 to … » Read

The Shed, envisioned by its donors as a $495 million font of avant-garde creativity amid the glass and steel of the Hudson Yards remake in lower Manhattan, has hired the CEO of the Boston Ballet, Meredith Hodges, for the same role. The move is … » Read

Italian conductor Mino Marani [pictured], 37, is to be the new Heidelberg General Music Director (GMD) as of 2024-25, pending final approval by the city council. He is the current Kapellmeister of Staatstheater Braunschweig. Recent Heidelberg … » Read

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP)—A document handwritten by singer Aretha Franklin and found in her couch after her 2018 death is a valid Michigan will, a jury said Tuesday, a critical turn in a dispute that has turned her sons against each other. … » Read

On July 6 the South Korean soprano Lee Sang-eun was found dead in a woman’s restroom at Gimcheon Culture and Art Center. Her body was discovered just minutes before she was to perform in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Gimcheon … » Read

Two key chamber ensembles have updated their personnel. The American Brass Quintet (ABQ, est. 1960) has brought on a new trumpet in Brandon Ridenour, and its first ever woman member, trombonist Hillary Simms. Ridenour succeeds Louis Hanzlik, who … » Read