Tag: Students

Saxophonist Steven Banks Brings Billy Childs’ “Diaspora” to Quad City Symphony—and Public Schools

Posted on November 10, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Saturday’s (11/8) Quad City Times (Iowa), Nina Baker writes, “As world-renowned saxophonist Steven Banks has performed the concerto ‘Diaspora,’ he’s seen few of the people the concerto was for in the audiences. The concerto, written by Grammy-winning Black composer Billy Childs, chronicles the forced Black American diaspora, stretching from Africa, before the transatlantic slave trade, to modern day. Friday morning, Banks gave a talk for Rock Island High School music students and students from Davenport Central High School’s Cultural Diversity Club. The visit was part of Banks’ new ‘Come As You Are’ initiative, a community engagement effort to make classical concerts more inclusive and accessible, and to ensure Black and other marginalized communities feel welcomed in the concert hall…. Banks is performing in schools, churches and other community centers as he tours the world performing Childs’ concerto. In addition to the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Childs has partnered with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Oregon Symphony, Schubert Club, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Deutsches Symphonic-Orchester Berlin. Banks’ visit to Rock Island High School was the second iteration of the initiative; the first with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra in September…. In February 2023, Banks premiered ‘Diaspora’ with the Kansas City Symphony…. This weekend will be the Quad City Symphony Orchestra’s local premiere of ‘Diaspora.’ ”

In U.K., Moves to Restore Arts Curriculum in Schools

Posted on November 10, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Friday’s (11/7) Guardian (U.K.), Lanre Bakare and Nadia Khomami write, “For years, Britain’s leading cultural figures have warned that substandard arts provision in schools is devaluing the sector and creating an increasingly elite industry…. On Wednesday the Department for Education said it wanted to boost the creative subjects … as part of its wider changes to England’s national curriculum. The changes were unveiled in the government’s response to the curriculum and assessment review published this week by Prof. Becky Francis, which stated: ‘The arts subjects are an entitlement rather than an optional extra and are disciplines in their own right.’ The playwright James Graham [said], ‘It’s important now to look to the future and use this as an opportunity to ask what a modern-day arts curriculum should look and feel like for 21st-century kids, and the challenging times they’re growing up.’ The composer Andrew Lloyd Webber said he was pleased the government had acknowledged … ‘that arts and music in schools is a fundamental right for young people as part of a successful education.’… The number of UK students taking arts subjects has plummeted in recent years, leading to a creativity crisis in state schools…. Beth Steel, who has regularly campaigned for better working-class representation in the cultural sector, said art, music and drama ‘are not extracurricular subjects, they are foundational.’ ”

League of American Orchestras Celebrates Youth Orchestra Division’s 50th Anniversary with Commissioning Project and Community Impact Awards

Posted on November 6, 2025 by - News Briefs

The League of American Orchestras has announced multiple initiatives to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its Youth Orchestra Division (YOD). Founded in 1975, the YOD promotes youth orchestras as essential cultural assets, building and maintaining artistic and organizational excellence in these vital programs. A key focus of the anniversary is the development of new repertoire designed specifically for youth orchestras, with the launch of a nationwide commissioning initiative, Composing Our Tomorrow: A Celebration of the League’s Youth Orchestra Division at 50. Commemorating the YOD’s roots in volunteer leadership, the group also announces the inaugural Betty Utter Community Impact Award.

Composing Our Tomorrow empowers youth orchestras to commission and premiere short, celebratory works, expanding the repertoire for youth ensembles and highlighting the next generation of creators. Participating orchestras will submit scores, recordings, and program notes, which will be added to a national database of youth orchestra repertoire. The Betty Utter Community Impact Award honors the legacy of Betty Utter, co-founder of the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra and founder of the League’s Youth Orchestra Division. Each youth orchestra is invited to recognize its own local changemaker who has made an extraordinary impact. 50th Anniversary celebrations will continue at the League’s National Conference in June 2026, and the League will spotlight member youth orchestras during the anniversary year.

Learn more about the League’s Youth Orchestra Division at https://americanorchestras.org/learn/youth-orchestras/.

Mississippi Symphony, Connecting with Local Students

Posted on October 30, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Wednesday’s (10/29) Vicksburg Post (Mississippi), Sally Green writes, “The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will perform for area schoolchildren at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Oct. 30 at the Vicksburg Convention Center. The symphony will introduce children to aspects of the orchestra, including different types of instruments and the sounds they make. Connie Hosemann of Four Seasons of the Arts said she is grateful to Nancy Robertson, who serves as the fine arts curriculum coach at the Vicksburg Warren School District. Robertson coordinates transportation to and from the event and supports and encourages the concert. ‘It’s a massive effort,’ Hosemann said of Robertson’s work in coordinating the logistics of transporting children from area schools to the convention center. ‘Not only do the students get to listen to great music,’ Hoseman said, ‘but they will also learn about instruments and sounds from the MSO maestro, Crafton Beck, who, along with his orchestra members, makes it fun and entertaining.’ Hoseman said last year’s concert at the Vicksburg Convention Center was a massive hit with the children. The symphony is presented by Four Seasons of the Arts and the City of Vicksburg.”

Michael Christie Joins Peabody Conservatory as Artistic Director of Ensembles

Posted on October 30, 2025 by - Who's In

The Peabody Conservatory has appointed Michael Christie as artistic director of ensembles. He will lead the programming and direction of the Baltimore-based conservatory’s instrumental and vocal ensembles beginning in fall 2026. Currently artistic and music director of the New West Symphony in California, Christie has served in leadership posts at the Phoenix Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Colorado Music Festival, the Queensland Orchestra, and Minnesota Opera, and has conducted U.S. and international orchestras and opera companies. Christie led Indiana University’s 2024 world premiere of Mason Bates’ and Gene Scheer’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay before it opened at the Metropolitan Opera this fall, and will lead Kavalier and Clay as his debut at the Met in February 2026. He won a 2019 Grammy Award for Mason Bates’ and Mark Campbell’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs with the Santa Fe Opera. At Minnesota Opera, Christie led the world premieres of Peabody Composition Professor Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night in 2011, and The Manchurian Candidate in 2015. Christie graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance and was an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. At Peabody, Christie will succeed Joseph Young, a 2009 conducting alumnus of the Peabody Conservatory.

School of Music at University of North Carolina School of the Arts Secures $10.1 Million Gift

Posted on October 29, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Tuesday’s (10/28) Triad Business Journal (Greensboro, North Carolina), Anna Blumenthal writes, “The University of North Carolina School of the Arts has received more than $15 million in gifts, contributing to transformational changes to the university, including the launch of a new program and updates to the university’s library. For its School of Music, UNCSA received the university’s largest lead gift in its history of more than $10.1 million from Winston-Salem residents Randall and Kamalakshi Dishmon to establish the American Roots Music Institute. When fully launched, UNCSA will offer a Bachelor of Music in American Roots, alongside a minor for undergraduates and opportunities for students in its high school. School of Music Dean Saxton Rose said that the university had been working with the Dishmons in the past couple of years about developing a program in which students who play instruments involved in American roots such as the banjo, the mandolin, or the fiddle, would have a place to study in the same way that there is a place to study for classical musicians in a structured conservatory training environment…. Rose … hopes that this program adds to the school of music students’ range of performance abilities to be able to secure jobs and be marketable.”

Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra Alum Siana Wong Joins Greensboro Symphony as Associate Concertmaster

Posted on October 29, 2025 by - Who's In

North Carolina’s Greensboro Symphony Orchestra has appointed Siana Wong as associate concertmaster. A native of Greensboro with Malaysian heritage, Wong’s relationship with the Greensboro Symphony began at an early age—first as an audience member at the symphony’s Education Concert Series. Wong went on to attend Weaver Academy for the Performing & Visual Arts and joined the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra (GSYO) in seventh grade. She became a concerto competition winner and soloist with the Greensboro and Winston-Salem Symphony youth orchestras before earning dual degrees: a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Wong was also a Chapel Hill concerto competition winner and has performed chamber music throughout North Carolina, collaborating with faculty from the Eastern Music Festival and UNC Greensboro. Now pursuing a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Violin Performance at UNC Greensboro, Wong is also a member of the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra and the Western Piedmont Symphony.

University of Portland Orchestra Concert to Spotlight Latinx Culture

Posted on October 23, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Wednesday’s (10/22) Beacon, the student newspaper of the University of Portland, Oregon, Samantha Zavala writes, “Each orchestra concert has a theme…. This upcoming performance is no different. On Oct. 26 at 3 p.m., the symphony orchestra will perform alongside the Latinx Student Union (LSU) and MEChA de UP in the Buckley Center Auditorium. Additionally, various Latinx staff and faculty were also invited to present a poem on where they come from. This concert’s theme aims to uplift Latinx culture, according to Rebekah Hanson, professor of music and fine arts and director of orchestral studies…. The hour-long concert is open and free to everybody. The performance will also be livestreamed on the department’s YouTube channel. The orchestra will perform multiple pieces by Latinx composers, including Arturo Marquez and José Elizondo…. In addition to the orchestra’s musical performance, LSU will be performing a song…. MEChA de UP will give a presentation on Dia de los Muertos to highlight what the holiday means and how audience members can get involved. For one of the pieces, the orchestra will also be joined by the BRAVO Youth Orchestra, a non-profit organization that provides students with mentorship opportunities and pathways to engage in the arts.”

Brooklyn Conservatory of Music Breaks Ground on Campus Expansion for Music Therapy and Education

Posted on October 22, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Monday’s (10/20) Brooklyn Reader (New York), a staff-written report states, “The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music on Friday broke ground on a new 12,000-square-foot campus … The state-of-the-art facility will double the nonprofit’s capacity to deliver high-quality music therapy and music education, significantly expanding the number of New Yorkers it will be able to serve. The campus expansion will house 13 … studios, a performance hall, and a community space, all designed to be ADA-accessible and sensory-friendly. The new space will also become the official home of BKCM’s future Music Therapy Institute, seeded with support from Billy and Alexis Joel’s The Joel Foundation. The Institute will have national reach and advance the field of clinical creative arts therapies by serving as a destination for workforce training, research and advocacy. BKCM’s music therapy program is the largest in New York City, serving 2,700 clients in Park Slope and at 52 sites across the five boroughs…. BKCM is retaining its home of 80 years, its Park Slope Victorian mansion … ‘The new Music Therapy Institute at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music will be a national model for how the arts can support human development, connection and mental health,’ said Billy and Alexis Joel of The Joel Foundation.”

Mobile Symphony Inspires the Next Generation of Musicians—and Music Lovers

Posted on October 17, 2025 by - News Briefs

In Wednesday’s (10/15) Fox10 TV (Mobile, Alabama), Vanessa Pacheco reports, “In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, FOX10 is highlighting a woman of Peruvian and Venezuelan heritage who is bringing the music education model that shaped her childhood to the Mobile Symphony Orchestra—helping students learn, grow, and fall in love with music. Daniela Pardo is the director of education at Mobile Symphony Orchestra. Her love for music goes hand in hand with her enthusiasm for teaching…. Pardo’s passion for music started in Peru, where she learned how to play the piano … ‘When I was ten, we moved to Venezuela,’ Pardo said. ‘And in Venezuela, I encountered … El Sistema, the system of youth orchestras. And I started in the youth orchestra and then the professional orchestra for 15 years, and then I was teaching all around the country …’ She learned to play the flute, eventually finding her way to the viola…. Today, Pardo channels her passion for teaching through music, working with several schools across Mobile and Baldwin Counties to provide group lessons in violin, viola, or cello—an education program offered through Mobile Symphony Orchestra…. ‘We have 8 faculty members, half of them Hispanic,’ Pardo said…. Each school receives music lessons once a week.”