Pola Benke, Polish-born cellist and conductor, is the new assistant conductor of the Pacific Symphony. Recently appointed music director of the Santa Monica Orchestra, Benke is also assistant conductor of the Long Beach Symphony and the Riverside … » Read

After nine years, Jeffrey Kahane is stepping down as music director of the Sarasota Music Festival. “We are immensely grateful to Jeffrey for guiding the festival through the pandemic period,” noted Board Chair Tom Koski, “and … » Read

For tens of thousands of Palestinians living amid the devastation in Gaza, the struggle to find food, shelter, and clean water is paramount. For some lucky few, music offers an opportunity to escape, if only for a short time, the reality … » Read

Despite winning five Oscars and receiving 54 nominations for his motion picture scores, John Williams has confessed to a biographer, “I never liked film music very much.” Other than an occasional eight-minute stretch, he continues, it … » Read

Violin virtuoso Hilary Hahn has had to cancel concerts on her current and fall schedules; the double pinched nerve that kept her off the stage for seven months last year, until February , has returned. She was to perform the Dvorak Concerto at … » Read

The Library of Congress has added rare music and lyric sketches from the iconic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz to its Harold Arlen Collection, itself a gift from the composer’s sister-in-law, Rita Arlen, in 2022. Thirty-five manuscript items … » Read

Lynn University Conservatory of Music has announced the impending retirement of Jon Robertson as its dean after two decades in the job. A pianist and conductor, Robertson will exit at the end of the current academic year. The  onetime … » Read

The Emerging Black Composers Project (EBCP),  launched in 2020 as a collaboration between the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) and the San Francisco Symphony,  lost momentum last March when the Trump administration cut off all … » Read

The Louisville Orchestra has extended Teddy Abrams’s tenure as music director for three years, through the 2027-28 season. He joined the ensemble as music director designate in 2013. “Teddy’s leadership has transformed the … » Read

Kirill Petrenko, chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, will receive the 2026 Léonie Sonning Music Prize, Denmark’s largest music prize, at a gala concert in the Copenhagen Concert Hall on June 13, 2026. He will conduct the … » Read