Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera fills long awaited Principal Conductor roleThe 2023-24 season continues with a new leader at the baton, and one that is no stranger to Sacramento. Listen /Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
Jessie Montgomery, composing from a place of self-honorMarch 1, 2023Watch Lara Downes' conversation with the composer-in-residence of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra about balancing her roots, her craft and the shifting field of classical music.
Gustavo Dudamel's new musical home is the New York PhilharmonicFebruary 8, 2023The New York Philharmonic announced Tuesday afternoon that the charismatic 42-year-old conductor will be taking on the music director designate post at the start of the 2025-26 concert season.
Lara Downes' season 3 of 'Amplify' launches with a theme of renaissanceFebruary 2, 2023NPR's Leila Fadel talks to pianist Lara Downes about her interview series Amplify, which examines how Black artists today might find themselves in a new cultural renaissance.
For Missy Mazzoli, composing is the hard work of making life easierJanuary 26, 2023The composer of Breaking the Waves speaks candidly about equity in her field, the importance of role models and the unglamorous side of writing music every day.
Ned Rorem, major American composer and diarist, has died at age 99November 18, 2022The Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and diarist died Friday at age 99. Although he won the Pulitzer for an orchestral work, he was most celebrated for his huge body of art songs — over 500 in all.
Where are the Black musicians in the country's largest orchestras?October 4, 2022In 2014, a study found that only 1.4% of orchestra musicians were Black. In 2022, it's hard to know if that number is better or worse.
A new label revives forgotten female composers' musicAugust 18, 2022The new record label La Boîte à Pépites is dedicated to raising the profile of female composers whose works have been neglected.
Carlos Simon's new work addresses a nation's — and a university's — troubled historyJuly 22, 2022 | Jennifer ReasonComposer Carlos Simon sheds light on a dark moment in Georgetown University’s history with a 21st-century rendering of an old musical form.
John Bullard breaks the banjo barrier in latest classical releaseJune 9, 2022 | Avery JeffryJohn Bullard is a banjo player who’s been hoping to make his instrument a mainstay on the classical stage. His newest release, 24 Preludes for Solo Banjo, Vol. 1, bringing the unlikely instrument into a whole new spotlight.
The debut of 'Omar,' a thoroughly American operaJune 7, 2022Composers Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels have brought a true story to the opera stage: the life of Omar Ibn Said, a Senegalese Muslim scholar who was enslaved and brought to the Carolinas.
