The accordion, an instrument generally associated with polka bands, rarely gets much respect. That won’t be the case in Kansas City between July 23 and 27, when the Accordionists and Teachers Guild International holds its annual festival. … » Read

The centerpiece of Des Moines Metro Opera’s 2024 season was the world premiere of the Damian Geter/Lila Palmer opera American Apollo , a chronicle of the years-long relationship between John Singer Sargent and his Black model, Thomas … » Read

Violist Jonathan Brown, who began his tenure as the new professor of chamber music at the Colburn School in Los Angeles on July 1, is leaving the Casals Quartet after 22 years. Remaining are violinists Vera Martínez Mehner and Abel … » Read

On July 18 the Cincinnati Opera premiered the first of four fully-staged presentations of Sir Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio . Commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society for its 150 th anniversary, the 90-minute work by … » Read

The 14 th class of Dudamel Fellows has been announced, these for the 2024-25 season. Working with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil musicians as well as visiting artists and conductors, the four will interact with students in key L.A. Phil … » Read

Berklee College of Music has hired Jim Lucchese, a former top executive at Spotify, as its next president. Trained as a lawyer, the Boston-based businessman boasts a successful 20-year track record in connecting music and technology. He has not … » Read

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) has named conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy as its newest artistic partner. The 68-year-old Hungarian maestro trained as a violinist at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and from 1975 to 1992 was … » Read

Hungarian composer György Kurtág, 98, is recipient of the 2024 Wolf Prize in Music , a cash award of $100,000 sponsored by the Wolf Foundation of Israel. Acclaimed for his avant-garde chamber, vocal, and orchestral works, he has been … » Read

In what one union leader called “a big win for musicians,” U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer [pictured] announced that the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) would receive a $1.5 billion pension fix from the American … » Read

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will celebrate the grand opening of the Stella Boyle Smith Music Center with a three-day community celebration Sept. 13-15, 2024. The weekend’s events include the first public performance in the new … » Read