Yo-Yo Ma News

The Seventh New York International Piano Competition (NYIPC), presented under the auspices of The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation of New York, will be held at The Manhattan School of Music from Sunday, June 22 through Friday, June 27, 2014. All events are open to the public. The competition will take place in four rounds, and will also include a seminar with Gabriela Lena Frank, this year's chosen composer for the NYIPC Commissioned Composition, moderated by WQXR host Robert Sherman on Thursday, June 26 at 7:00 p.m. as well as a masterclass with Jury members on Friday, June 27, at 2:00 p.m. The week will close with an Awards Ceremony and Performance by the Winners on Friday, June 27 at 7:00 p.m. For a complete schedule, see page 3.

Music Theatre International (MTI) and iTheatrics recently joined First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House to support The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities' (PCAH) successful Turnaround Arts initiative, a program designed to help turn around low-performing schools, narrow the achievement gap, and increase student engagement through the arts. The program was celebrated at the White House with a special showcase of various schools from around the country who have benefitted from the initiative.

Violinist Simone Lamsma makes her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), today, June 5-8, with guest conductor Jaap van Zweden leading Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto. Also featured on the program is Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47. Lamsma's appearance is endowed in part by the Nuveen Investments Emerging Artist Fund, which is committed to nurturing the next generation of great classical music artists.

Violinist Simone Lamsma makes her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), on June 5-8, with guest conductor Jaap van Zweden leading Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto. Also featured on the program is Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47. Lamsma's appearance is endowed in part by the Nuveen Investments Emerging Artist Fund, which is committed to nurturing the next generation of great classical music artists.

Jazz pianist and MacArthur 'Genius' award recipient Jason Moran and internationally acclaimed, Chicago-based visual artist Theaster Gates premiere their new work, Looks of a Lot, in a Symphony Center Presents Jazz series concert tonight, May 30 at 8 p.m. Influenced by Chicago stories from various eras, the project represents the second commission by Symphony Center Presents Jazz series and is also a part of the CSO's Truth to Power Festival, offering an exploration of transformative music composed during some of the most challenging chapters of history.

The 11th season of SYTYCD begins this Wednesday, May 28th at 8:00/7:00 C. Recently I participated in a conference call with the show's creator, Executive Producer, and judge Nigel Lythgoe. In the excerpts from the conversation below, Uncle Nigel talked about the changes for this season, SYTYCD alums on Broadway, and Justin Bieber… yes Justin Bieber (bonus points if you can pick out the questions I asked).

The Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media, home of the archives of the late Fred Rogers, beloved creator and host of the celebrated television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and a national and international resource continuing his commitment to early learning, will honor world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma as the inaugural recipient of the Fred Rogers Legacy Award tonight, May 23, 2014. The renowned musician will also give a recital to benefit the Center, based at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, which is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary.

The chamber music concert co-presented with 92nd Street Y featuring The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Yefim Bronfman, originally scheduled for March 30, will now be performed tonight, May 23, 2014, at 8:00 p.m. at 92nd Street Y. Tickets originally issued for March 30 will be honored on May 23.

In the history of the Holocaust, the fate of Hungarian Jews stands out due to the exceptional speed with which their deportation was carried out by the Hungarian authorities cooperating with the Eichmann bureau very late in the war, in summer 1944. Almost half a million people were deported in less than three months, and over half a million were murdered in the course of World War II in forced labour units, in labor and death camps and in various pogroms conducted by Arrowcross men.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association announces the 2014/15 season programming for its acclaimed MusicNOW contemporary music series—dedicated to showcasing contemporary music through an innovative concert experience. Uniquely curated by CSO Mead Composers-In-Residence Mason Bates and Anna Clyne, the annual, four-concert series in 2014/15 presents a range of work from major musical figures such as Pierre Boulez and established contemporary talents such as John Luther Adams and Michael Gordon. Programs are performed by members of the CSO and guest artists led by MusicNOW principal conductor Cliff Colnot and guest conductors, which this year includes James Feddeck, winner of the 2013 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award.

Joe's Pub at the Public has announced its upcoming shows, today, May 21 through June 1, 2014. Details below!

Joe's Pub at the Public has announced its upcoming shows, May 21 through June 1, 2014. Details below!

The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) concludes its year long 50th Anniversary Season celebration on Sunday, June 8, 2014, 7 pm, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, with 'Today, Tomorrow & Beyond,' a forward-looking program conducted by Music Director Grant Gershon featuring the world premieres of three works commissioned by the acclaimed choir in honor of its 50th jubilee.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) presents its annual spring festival from May 19 to June 8, 2014, which this year is entitled Truth to Power. Inspired by the phrase "speaking truth to power"-part of a 1955 Quaker treatise that outlined alternatives to violence and served as a cornerstone for the pacifist movement-the Truth to Power Festival highlights the works of Dmitri Shostakovich, Benjamin Britten and Sergei Prokofiev, three composers who believed in music's ability to connect people and thus harness the power of shared experience.

The American Symphony Orchestra, led by Leon Botstein, presents Forged From Fire, the final concert of its 2013-14 Vanguard Series at Carnegie Hall, at 8pm, on May 30. On the eve of the 100th anniversary of World War I, the ASO offers a fascinating look at the patriotic music that defined the imperial ambitions of Germany, the war-inspired music that expressed a new consciousness in Poland and the United States, as well as the aspiring nationalism among the Jews of Europe and North America.

Turtle Bay Music School's 10th Annual Perform-A-Thon will be held Friday, May 16th through Sunday, May 18th. The community music marathon opens tonight, May 15th with a Kickoff Concert and Reception, featuring performances by a trio from the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Mark O'Connor, Jason Robert Brown, and Sujari Britt.

Joe's Pub at The Public is known for the most eclectic and diverse programming in New York City. Coming up at the Pub is a slate of extraordinary women performers and artists that span the gambit of genre and style - from the irreverent and explosive alt-cabaret star Bridget Everett to the visionary jazz vocalist and composer Kavita Shah to the prolific and singular singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier. See below for a full list of their leading ladies through June 2014.

Oakland University, Palace Sports & Entertainment and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra are looking forward with anticipation to this summer's 50th anniversary of Meadow Brook Music Festival.

The New York Philharmonic will conclude its 2013-14 subscription season with the final program in The Beethoven Piano Concertos: A Philharmonic Festival, when Music Director Alan Gilbert conducts Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor, featuring The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Yefim Bronfman as soloist, and Beethoven's Triple Concerto, with Mr. Bronfman, Principal Cello Carter Brey, and Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow in his final appearances before concluding his 34-year tenure, Wednesday, June 18, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, June 19 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 20 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, June 21 at 8:00 p.m.