The Eastman School of Music has appointed Ran Dank to the fulltime position of associate professor of piano. A noted advocate for contemporary music, Dank has won honors at the Naumburg, the Sydney, and the Hilton Head piano competitions. This … » Read

Washington National Opera has made some staffing adjustments in artistic planning and production. Samuel Gelber has been promoted from director of artistic planning, a post he assumed in 2018 after working in the same capacity with the Los … » Read

NEW YORK (AP) — Grace Bumbry, a pioneering mezzo-soprano who became the first Black singer to perform at Germany’s Bayreuth Festival during a career of more than three decades on the world’s top stages, has died. She was 86. … » Read

Matthias Pintscher is to be the next music director of the Kansas City Symphony, succeeding Michael Stern as of fall  2024. Pintscher is a composer of note; this will mark his first U.S. orchestra music directorship. German-born, New … » Read

Ben Hartley, CEO and founder of Orama Consulting, whose clientele include “Fortune 500 and not-for-profit clients in luxury, media, lifestyle, and culture industries," is to be the new executive director of Silkroad. He succeeds Kathy … » Read

Menahem Pressler, legendary pianist, chamber musician, and pedagogue, died on May 6 at the age of 99. “Mr. Pressler was a brilliant pianist, extraordinary teacher and gentle soul who has left an indelible mark on generations of pianists … » Read

The York Symphony Orchestra (PA) has named Anthony Wise as its new executive director, effective May 7. As the ensemble’s operations and personnel manager since 2021, Wise succeeds Michael Reichman, now the VP of artistic operations and … » Read

Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO), which serves some 10,000 young musicians annually, both at its own facilities and in schools, has named a new executive director in Jennie Oh Brown. She succeeds Susan Lappe, who left in November after … » Read

It took Robert Schumann just ten days to write his Ghost Variations ; it took 85 years for them to be published. He might have written them faster still had he not paused, on day nine, to throw his wedding ring, and then himself, into the Rhine. … » Read

Toronto’s Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra has named violinist Rachel Podger to the newly created post of principal guest director as of September 2024, for two years. She will lead three mainstage programs per season, including the … » Read