After a two-year search, the Phoenix Chorale, a professional chamber choir based in Phoenix, AZ, has named former Kings Singer Christopher Gabbitas [pictured] as artistic director starting next season. He succeeds Charles Bruffy who led the choir … » Read

Jonathon Heyward, assistant conductor of the Hallé Orchestra , winner of the 2015  Besançon competition , has been named as the new chief conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (NWD), effective in January 2021. Much is … » Read

When Gustavo Dudamel first burst on the scene with his Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, one of their signature pieces was “Mambo” from West Side Story . The players, often clad in their signature yellow-red-and-blue bomber … » Read

Conductor Ward Stare, 36, will not renew his contract as music director of the Rochester Philharmonic when it expires at the end of the summer in 2021. He has been in the job since 2014. He arrived at a chaotic time for the orchestra, which had … » Read

Longtime Metropolitan Opera Orchestra trombonist Weston Sprott is the new dean of Juilliard’s preparatory division, overseeing the school’s pre-college division and Music Advancement Program (MAP). He will also remain with the MET … » Read

James Arkatov, who 51 years ago founded the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) and became its first principal cellist, died on Saturday, May 12. He was 98. Arkatov arrived from Russia in San Francisco at age five with his family. He began … » Read

A little over a year ago, the Hamburg State Opera, unbelievably,  fired soprano Julie Fuchs because she was four months pregnant. It did so without input from her or her physician. At the time, she wrote on Facebook, “The Staatsoper … » Read

George Hanson is the new executive director of the Alexandria (VA) Symphony Orchestra as of June 1. He succeeds Paul Frank, who died two years ago after four months in the job. Hanson arrives in the Virginia orchestra’s top administrative … » Read

Michigan’s Ann Arbor Symphony, with an annual budget of $1.6 million, is in for some major changes at the top. Mary Steffek Blaske, the orchestra’s executive director of 25 years, has said she will retire. At the same time, the … » Read

Anthony Parnther [pictured] is the new music director of the San Bernadino [CA] Symphony, effective next fall. He becomes the 16th individual to do so since the organization’s founding in 1929. Also music director of the Southeast … » Read