Following its final performance of the season last Friday, the La Jolla Music Society SummerFest announced that it had renewed pianist Inon Barnatan’s contract as music director of the series. Barnatan first signed in … » Read

Lauren Fagan is a singer whose vocal flexibility is matched by faultless diction and a seemingly effortless ability to put across the meaning behind the words. She’s an impressive stage animal too, as proven by her recent debut in Ethel … » Read

The 55-member Central City Chorus, an all-volunteer Manhattan-based ensemble now in its fourth decade, has appointed Bryan Zaros, a protégé of New York choral king Kent Tritle, to be its music director, starting with the coming … » Read

The Los Angeles Ballet, now in its 17th season, has selected Melissa Barak as the company’s new artistic director. An accomplished ballet dancer and choreographer, she succeeds Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, the founding co-artistic … » Read

In addition to movement within the extant ensemble, the Minnesota Orchestra has named a number of new musicians, several of them replacing retirees. Among principals, Katherine Siochi, principal harp of the Kansas City Symphony, will arrive in … » Read

Details are hard to ascertain, but Kirill Petrenko, famed chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, has had a “serious foot injury” that required surgery and so has been advised by medics to “reduce his workload.” The … » Read

English National Ballet has named Aaron S. Watkin to succeed Tamara Mojo as artistic director of the company. Mojo exits to  take over the San Francisco Ballet in the fall; Watkin arrives after 16 years with the Semperoper Ballett Dresden, … » Read

Canada’s Pacific Opera Victoria has announced the departure of its Founding Artistic Director Timothy Vernon after 43 years in the job. He plans plans to remain closely involved, however, finishing out his five-year contract through June of … » Read

Brian Wendel (pictured) former principal trombone of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO), inaugural member of Carnegie Hall’s 2013 National Youth Orchestra USA, and competition winner extraordinaire, is the new principal trombone of the … » Read

At 86, Zubin Mehta is a reminder of the largely bygone era when a conductor ruled his orchestra with an iron fist and felt free to strike terror in the hearts of musicians during rehearsals. But in a conversation with Ivan Hewett, chief classical … » Read