In White Malice , a new book detailing the CIA’s activities in central and west Africa in the 1950s and early 60s, author Susan Williams relates how Louis Armstrong unwittingly provided cover for a CIA spy while on a 1960 State … » Read

Katherine Dunham deserves far more recognition than she receives as the pioneer in Black dance in America. Born in 1909 to multi-racial parents in Joliet, Illinois, she had founded the country’s first self-supporting Black ballet … » Read

Patrick Hahn, a 26-year-old Austrian conductor, composer, and pianist, is to be the new and first-time-ever principal guest conductor of the Münchner Rundfunkorchester as of this season. He has led the orchestra on several occasions in the … » Read

With Gail Samuel assuming the top administrative post of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in June, the Los Angeles Philharmonic has undergone a major reshuffling of top management, creating new positions aimed at diversity while filling Samuel's … » Read

Alberto W. Vilar, whose record-setting largesse proved chimerical, died on Sept. 4 at age 80. A money manager who built a nearly $1 bn fortune through Amerindo Investment Advisors by focusing on biotechnology and technology stock, Vilar gave or … » Read

James Conlon has extended his contract as music director of the Los Angeles Opera through the end of the 2024-25 season, which will bring his tenure with the company to 19 years. The 71-year-old native New Yorker and the Los Angelenos seemed to … » Read

Dorn Music has signed 21-year-old Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski for worldwide general management. Peltokoski began his studies with famed pedagogue Jorma Panula at the age of 14. He is currently studying with Sakari Oramo at the Sibelius … » Read

A sea change is underway in the San Francisco classical music world, as three new conductors assume their places after a year of silence. At the San Francisco Symphony, Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen finally takes the reins live. Among the … » Read

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, a multi-genre presenter in St. Paul, MN, has named Christopher Harrington as its president and CEO. The announcement arrives just ahead of the venue’s reopening after an 18-month pandemic shutdown, … » Read

The San Francisco Girls’ Chorus (SFGC) has promoted Adriana Marcial, interim executive director since August 2020, to the position full time. She succeeds J. Andrew Bradford, a former development director at Music@Menlo now interim … » Read