David Chan, concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera for 25 seasons—among many other endeavors—is to join the Shepherd School faculty full time next fall at Rice University. He will phase out, over the next two years, his current … » Read

A new contract through the 2028-29 season for Music Director JoAnn Falletta will extend her tenure at the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra to three decades. When she as appointed to the post in 1999, she became the first woman to hold the title at … » Read

Andrés Salado is to be the next chief conductor of Spain's Orquesta Sinfónica del Vallés (OSV). He starts September 1 for an initial period of two seasons, succeeding Xavier Puig, in the job since 2018. Puig will move to a … » Read

Nowadays the name of John Nelson, who died on March 31 aged 83, is inextricably linked to that of Hector Berlioz. The conductor was, however, much more than a one-trick pony, even if fate rarely pulled him far from Les Troyens . Born December … » Read

Following her 2009 breakout performance in Carmen , Anita Rachvelishvili’s reputation soared. Riccardo Muti praised the Georgian singer as “the best Verdi mezzo-soprano today on the planet,” and Met General Manager Peter Gelb … » Read

The Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, which claim to be “the oldest continuously running free outdoor classical concert series in the world,” has appointed a new executive director in Anthony Bracewell. Longtime president Christopher … » Read

Nicholas Walls is the new chief advancement officer at the Music Academy of the West; he succeeds Jodi Barnard, who retired in January. Walls, who started March 31, most recently served as senior director of philanthropy at the Seattle Symphony, … » Read

An encounter near the Beethoven statue in Los Angeles’s Pershing Square 20 years ago changed the lives of both Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers. Lopez was a columnist for the Los Angeles Times , and Ayers a Cleveland-born musical prodigy and … » Read

Abigail Raiford failed to nab top honors at the  Met Opera’s Laffont Competition Finals Concert on March 16, but when she stepped on the storied stage to accept her runner-up prize (there were four, out of the nine finalists), the … » Read

As of June 2025, Jesús Herrera will assume the role of artistic director for the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He succeeds Elena Dubinets, who joins the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra as its new artistic director on May 1, 2025. In the … » Read