Two orchestras have announced new assistant conductors. Na'Zir McFadden [pictured], 25, has been tapped by the Jacksonville (FL) Symphony to succeed Kevin Fitzgerald, who exits at the end of his three-year tenure. McFadden starts next fall; he … » Read

The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) Jazz Arts division, soon to enter its 41 st year as an MSM degree-granting department, has announced that composer/saxophonist James (Jim) Saltzman, a longtime faculty member, is to be its next dean of Jazz … » Read

German conductor André de Ridder, named music director of the English National Opera in May, is to be the next music director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Both positions take full effect in 2027, dovetailing with the end of his … » Read

When Samuel Barber was nine years old, he told his parents he wanted to be a composer. A year later, in 1920, he wrote an operetta, and by 1922 had become a church organist. He was “a genius, and a prodigy,” argues the British … » Read

Cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han, power couple of chamber music and co-artistic directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, will step down from their roles as founding artistic directors of the annual Music@Menlo festival … » Read

The Atlanta Opera has appointed Iván López Reynoso as its new principal conductor with the start of the upcoming 2025–26 season. He debuted with the company this past season with a much-acclaimed performance of Verdi’s … » Read

Although Keith Lockhart’s first concert as the successor to John Williams was in 1995, his debut with the Boston Pops came two years earlier. So Boston’s "Keith Lockhart Day" and celebratory concert on June 6 was several years late … » Read

The  passing of Alfred Brendel brings a flood of memories. And it’s a reminder of the fragility of life, even for those lofty souls who stride atop classical music’s Mt. Olympus. Mr. Brendel’s place among those immortals … » Read

The Music Institute of Chicago (MIC) has announced that Shalisa Kline Ugaz will join the organization as its next president and CEO on July 7. She succeeds Mark George, who resigned after a 15-year tenure this past February . Founded in 1931, the … » Read

The Cleveland Orchestra has added four new musicians to its ranks—one last fall and three this summer. Their addition means that Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, entering his 24 th year and set to leave in 2027, has selected more than … » Read