The Calgary (CA) Philharmonic has named Karen Kamensek to the newly created role of principal guest conductor; she’s also to act as an artistic advisor and open the season Sept. 12 and 13 with Gil Shaham in the Beethoven Violin Concerto. … » Read

LONDON (AP)—When pop groups practice or perform, they rely on their keyboards, guitars, and drums to make music. Oliver McCann, a British AI music creator who goes by the stage name imoliver, fires up his chatbot. McCann’s songs span … » Read

Philadelphia’s William Penn Foundation (WPF) has announced nearly $10 million in special funding to support 19 local non-profit organizations that, in the words of the foundation’s press release, are “working to defend … » Read

It took Esa-Pekka Salonen barely two months from his fractious parting with the San Francisco Symphony to land in the catbird’s seat.  On Sept. 2 headlines heralded the Finnish conductor/composer’s newly invented role of creative … » Read

Finnish conductor John Storgårds, chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and artistic director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, will move from principal guest conductor to music director of the … » Read

Marcin Kopec, former director of artist management at TACT Artist Management, a huge firm with nearly 200 on its roster, has launched his own agency, to be called MKImpresari. It will specialize in opera singers, 50 of whom have joined Kopec from … » Read

The demise of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has prompted the Los Angeles-based classical music station KUSC-FM (91.5) to lay off employees. James Muhammad, president of Classical California , the entity that operates the nonprofit … » Read

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill.—No one collects fast-rising young talent quite like Decca. Among those on the esteemed label’s artist roster are wundermaestro Klaus Mäkelä, violinist Randall Goosby , and, since 2022, Brazilian guitarist … » Read

The City of London Corporation has named Abigail Pogson as the new chief executive of the Barbican Centre. Pogson, currently chief executive of the Glasshouse International Centre for Music, assumes her new post on Jan. 5, 2026. She succeeds … » Read

Rodion Shchedrin, a prolific Russian composer of the post-Stalinist era, died in Munich on Aug. 29. He was 92. For the last half of the 20 th century, Shchedrin and his wife, ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, were leading cultural figures in Russia. … » Read