Tag: Artistic Planning

Colorado Symphony Heads to NYC for Concerts at Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall

Posted on January 21, 2026 by - News Briefs

In Monday’s (1/19) Denver Post, Ray Mark Rinaldi writes, “The Colorado Symphony has honed something of a split personality over the past decade, and the strategy has served the 102-year-old organization well…. The orchestra continues to produce annual subscription seasons programmed around the writings of classical composers … But the orchestra has, as many of its younger patrons know, also developed a sizable audience for alternative fare, regularly presenting concerts that employ its talented players to perform the trendy music of today…. That effort has, most notably, featured neo-folk singer-songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov centerstage…. The strategy keeps the ensemble vital to multiple generations and allows it to seize a few special opportunities along the way. The most important of those, at the moment anyway, is a trip the orchestra will make to New York City later this month, and which it will celebrate in advance with a public concert Jan. 27 here in Denver. The Manhattan mini-tour starts on Jan. 30 and 31 with consecutive concerts supporting Isakov at Radio City Music Hall,” led by Resident Conductor Christopher Dragon. “Both are already sold out. It finishes with a one-night-only performance on Feb. 1 with classical superstar Itzhak Perlman at Carnegie Hall” led by Music Director Peter Oundjian.

International Musicians Pull Back U.S. Visits in Face of Trump Travel Bans

Posted on January 20, 2026 by - News Briefs

In Monday’s (1/19) New York Times, Ben Sisario writes that recent Trump Administration travel bans, “along with escalating costs and delays in the always-fraught visa application process, represent a looming crisis for the American performing arts sector, as many overseas musicians, theater companies and others face new and seemingly insurmountable obstacles to travel. Some, assessing the risks, are electing to avoid coming here altogether, according to talent agents and the American promoters and producers who are now contemplating holes in their calendars. The federal government says it is protecting American citizens from danger…. Last week, the State Department said it would soon halt processing of immigrant visa applications from citizens of 75 countries … The processing of petitions by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or U.S.C.I.S., the first step in most performers’ visa application process, has become much more strict. According to one recently instituted rule, the agency is now putting a ‘hold’ on its processing if an applicant was born in any of the 40 or so countries targeted by the administration, regardless of where an applicant has citizenship. For foreign artists and the American producers who are looking to work with them, these changes are beginning to wreak havoc…. Some foreign artists, even from nations unaffected by the bans, may simply be choosing to avoid the United States.”

Musical America Selects Its “Top 30 Professionals” for 2025

Posted on January 9, 2026 by - News Briefs

Musical America, the news site and directory that focuses on classical music and the arts, has announced its “2025 Top 30 Professionals of the Year,” an annual listing of the “movers and shapers of the performing Arts.” Musical America states: “We poll the industry each fall to find those who make the industry tick, brainstorm the new ideas, get the artists on stage, help build the audiences, and train the artists of tomorrow.” Several of the honorees work at orchestras and organizations that are members or partners of the League of American Orchestras, among them: Marie-Hélène Bernard, president and CEO, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; Benjamin Cadwallader, executive director, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; David Fisk, president and CEO, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra; Jed Gaylin, music director, Bay Atlantic Symphony; Delta David Gier, music director, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra; John Holloway, executive director, Seattle Chamber Music Society; Cheyenne King-Bails, director of community experience, Sphinx Organization; Lesley Rosenthal, chief operating officer, corporate secretary to the Board of Directors, the Juilliard School; Hannah Ross, director of learning, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; and Lecolion Washington, executive director, Community Music Center of Boston. Read the complete roster, which includes a brief article about each individual, at https://www.musicalamerica.com/pages/?pagename=2025_top_professionals.

Jazz Great Terence Blanchard to Curate Cleveland Orchestra’s Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival

Posted on January 7, 2026 by - News Briefs

In Wednesday’s (1/7) Cleveland.com, Zachary Lewis writes, “There’s an uncommonly brilliant man behind the curtain at the Cleveland Orchestra’s Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival this year. On Wednesday, the orchestra announced that trumpeter-composer and jazz icon Terence Blanchard will curate the 2026 event, which runs May 15 to 24 and explores the theme of courage as depicted in ‘Fidelio,’ Beethoven’s opera about a woman who rescues her husband from political imprisonment…. Blanchard said the 2026 festival ‘gives us the opportunity to use a range of musical and artistic experiences to explore who we are as human beings, who we need to be moving forward, and how we can reconnect with our shared humanity.’ Blanchard is uniquely qualified to preside over such a grand enterprise. He’s been a sought-after jazz trumpeter and cultural bridge-builder for more than four decades and has enjoyed remarkable success as a composer and recording artist. He’s collaborated with giants in his field, written or performed on the soundtracks to several key films, and penned the first opera by a Black composer (‘Fire Shut Up In My Bones’) at the Metropolitan Opera. Several of his projects have won or were nominated for Grammy Awards…. The complete lineup will be announced in March.”

Music Critics Pick Their Top Classical Concerts for 2025

Posted on December 24, 2025 by - News Briefs

Classical-music critics at media outlets across the country have chosen their “best” or “top ten” concerts and events for the past year. They include Mark Swed at the Los Angeles Times, Joshua Barone and Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim at the New York Times, Jonathan Blumhofer at Boston Classical Review, Lawrence A. Johnson at Chicago Classical Review, and Lawrence Budmen and David Fleshler at South Florida Classical Review.

Bah Humbug? At Billings Symphony, “Christmas Carol” Takes Center Stage

Posted on December 23, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Sunday’s (12/23) Laurel Outlook (Montana), Jaci Webb writes, “The familiar story of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ took on an exciting twist with the artistry of Billings actor Dan Nickerson, who portrayed more than 70 characters in his performance Saturday with the Billings Symphony Orchestra at the Alberta Bair Theater. If you missed it, you can still catch the performance on KTVQ’s MTN Channel on Christmas Eve from 9 to 10 p.m. and on Christmas Day from 6 to 7 a.m. and from 4 to 5 p.m. BSO chief executive officer Mario Lopez called it the symphony’s holiday gift. And what a gift it was. Nickerson reprised his role from 2017 as narrator of a retelling of the story of ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Using hats, wigs, cloaks and his own dynamic voice to bring the story to life, Nickerson scurried around the stage, evoking all the emotions that feed into this fantastic tale…. James Lowe served as the guest conductor…. The concert began with the lively ‘Polonaise from Christmas Eve’ by composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov…. The festive evening … finished up with an audience singalong with the orchestra.” Also on the program were works by Vaughan Williams, Bizet, and Carl Davis.

Tallahassee Symphony Collaborates with Local Youth Choir for Holiday Concerts

Posted on December 22, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Sunday’s (12/21) WTXL (Tallahassee, Florida), Lyric Sloan reports, “The Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra is making world-class holiday entertainment accessible while opening doors for the next generation of musicians…. Their ‘Hollywood for the Holidays’ concert is not only making the arts more accessible for local families, it’s also opening doors for young musicians, giving them valuable performance experience. This is the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra’s annual seasonal concert, blending iconic movie music with holiday classics … One goal is … ‘Trying to capture all of the nostalgia and joy and warmth of the season that we feel when we watch our favorite holiday movies,’ Mary Kelsay, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra Director of Marketing, said….But the concert isn’t just about entertainment, it’s about opportunity. The symphony is also giving local youth hands-on exposure by allowing them to perform and work alongside professionals…. Two members of FSU Capital Children’s Choir, the group that performed with the orchestra, expressed dreams of making music a future career…. Organizers say experiences like this help inspire the next generation, while strengthening Tallahassee’s arts community, making the holidays meaningful, both on and off the stage…. This is the first time Capital Children’s Choir has partnered with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra.”

Was George Frederick Bristow the “Father” of the American Symphony?

Posted on December 19, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Tuesday’s (12/16) New York Times, Douglas W. Shadle writes, “George Frederick Bristow, born 200 years ago this month … was one of the country’s finest early composers, a musical jack-of-all-trades, a compassionate schoolteacher, a skilled fisherman and, yes, a prankster. Bristow venerated the European classical tradition and wrote squarely within it. But, capturing a growing sense of cultural independence, he used tried-and-true genres like the symphony to tell American stories with musical sounds and imagery familiar to ordinary people. As the United States looks toward its 250th anniversary next year, reflecting on Bristow’s accomplishments in a harsh environment for American musicians can help us appreciate the resilience required to make classical music a living, vital art in this country. Born in Brooklyn … Bristow’s trajectory rose with the founding of the Philharmonic-Society (now called the New York Philharmonic) in 1842. He and his father were inaugural members … George performed as a Philharmonic violinist every season for all but one of the next 40 years. …. But his most ambitious goal was composition.” Bristow’s compositions—symphonies, operas, oratorios, chamber works, and more—were highly popular at the time. “Next month … the American Symphony Orchestra and Leon Botstein will give [Bristow’s 1989] ‘Niagara’ Symphony its second performance ever, again at Carnegie Hall.”

Montgomery Symphony Catches a Holiday Groove

Posted on December 16, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Monday’s (12/15) Montgomery Advertiser (Alabama), Shannon Heupel writes, “When the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and Montgomery Chorale come together Dec. 18 for this year’s Joyce Caddell Holiday Pops concert, the music will be full of nostalgia, with a variety that’ll have something for everybody. ‘My idea when I sat down to plan this concert was, what are the kinds of Christmas music that evoke memories and emotion and nostalgia,’ said James Seay, artistic director and conductor of the Montgomery Chorale, who will be leading the performance in place of MSO Maestro Jamie Reeves. ‘Jamie asked if I could step in and conduct the orchestra and the chorale for Holiday Pops. Of course, I very enthusiastically agreed,’ Seay said. The concert of orchestra and voices is 7 p.m. at Troy University’s Davis Theatre for the Performing Arts … Seay said he’s excited about the diversity in this performance, which will include holiday classics, orchestral arrangements, and beloved carols—including traditional holiday favorites like the ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ medley…. The Montgomery Symphony Orchestra will perform a variety of Christmas and Hanukkah music for the Joyce Caddell Holiday Pops concert. Classic holiday music is also well represented.”

Review: Jon Batiste with San Francisco Symphony

Posted on December 15, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Saturday’s (12/13) San Francisco Chronicle, Andrew Gilbert writes, “In an era of debased and divisive politics, Jon Batiste is putting the pop back into populism. The New Orleans pianist, vocalist and melodica maestro met the San Francisco Symphony … at Davies Symphony Hall on Friday, Dec. 12, and while he didn’t utter a single statement about the state of the union, his far-ranging program offered a road map for national reconciliation. Encompassing blues and Beethoven, soul and Christmas carols, jazz, gospel and standards, the sold-out show was a joyous encounter that embodied Batiste’s vision of music as a unifying force. ‘We play all the different types of music for an allegory of how we can all be together,’ he told the crowd … The seven-time Grammy winner didn’t have to make an explicit political statement. He opened with a section from his ‘American Symphony’ … He crooned Hoagy Carmichael’s ‘Georgia on My Mind’ and ‘What a Wonderful World’ … His original songs, like ‘Freedom,’ are often sing-along anthems, and he coaxed the audience to join in the choruses … While effectively deployed when integrated into an arrangement, the orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Taylor Rush, was under-utilized…. His rapport with the Symphony worked best on Bill Withers’ ‘Ain’t No Sunshine.’ ”