A. Phillips News

Americana band The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers is set to release a new album, No Glory, on July 14, 2017. A follow-up to the group's 2015 debut, Heavenly Fire, No Glory was produced by Matt Wignall (Cold War Kids, J Roddy Walston and the Business, Sam Outlaw), who also produced the Singers' last album.

 The Music Academy of the West launches its 70th anniversary season on June 12. To celebrate this major milestone anniversary, the Festival will launch three important new initiatives - the Commissions and Premieres program, the Enterprise Awards program for alumni, and the Steinway Competition and tour - besides presenting the inaugural Evolution/Revolution Conference and the largest classical music event in the history of Santa Barbara, California, for which Alan Gilbert will lead the New York Philharmonic in the final performance of his eight-year tenure with the orchestra. This year's four Mosher Guest Artists, Matthew Aucoin, David Daniels, Renee Fleming, and Stephen Hough, will take part in major Academy performances and share their expertise through masterclasses. Taking place from June 12 through August 5, 2017, the 70th Season Festival will comprise more than 200 masterclasses, recitals, performances, and events in Santa Barbara, many of which are free to the public. Festival events will feature the Summer School's 137 fellows, drawn from 22 states and eight countries, as well as nearly 70 faculty and guest artists.

In the third of Alan Gilbert's final four subscription weeks as New York Philharmonic Music Director, he will lead an enhanced concert production of Wagner's Das Rheingold. Soloists include bass-baritone Eric Owens as Wotan, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as Fricka (in her New York Philharmonic debut), baritone Christopher Purves as Alberich (debut), tenor Russell Thomas as Loge, mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor as Erda, bass Morris Robinson as Fasolt (debut), bass Stephen Milling as Fafner (debut), soprano Rachel Willis-Sorensen as Freia (debut), tenor Brian Jagde as Froh (debut), bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Donner (debut), tenor Peter Bronder as Mime (debut), soprano Jennifer Zetlan as Woglinde, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano as Wellgunde, and mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford as Flosshilde. The enhanced concert production will be directed by Louisa Muller with costume design - featuring character-based treatment of modern concert attire - by David C. Woolard. The performances will take place Thursday, June 1, 2017, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 3 at 8:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Music Director Alan Gilbert begins his final weeks by leading the New York Philharmonic in Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. The program juxtaposes the tragedy and optimism of human experience through Schoenberg's depiction of the horror of the Holocaust and the message of hope, brotherhood, and joy in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw will feature Gabriel Ebert as narrator (in his Philharmonic debut) and the men of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, directed by Joe Miller. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony will feature soprano Camilla Tilling, mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack (debut), tenor Joseph Kaiser (debut), bass-baritone Eric Owens, and the Westminster Symphonic Choir, directed by Joe Miller. The performances will take place Wednesday, May 3, 2017, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, May 5 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, May 6 at 8:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, May 9 at 7:30 p.m. The program will be presented without intermission.

40 years ago, Elvis Presley died and left millions heartbroken with devastation. For award-winning Australian actor and musician, Marty Rhone, August 16 ,1977 is a day which affected him tremendously, motivated his career, and lead him to release the tribute, “Graceland on the Line”.

Known for staging 'the ultimate in intimate productions' (The New York Times), On Site Opera (OSO) presents a trio of exciting new site-specific opera productions in 2017, beginning May 11-13 with Mozart's rarely-performed early opera The Secret Gardener (La finta giardiniera) at the West Side Community Garden.

40 years ago, Elvis Presley died and left millions heartbroken with devastation. For award-winning Australian actor and musician, Marty Rhone, August 16 ,1977 is a day which affected him tremendously, motivated his career, and lead him to release the tribute, “Graceland on the Line”.

Knoxville native and University of Tennessee alumna, Dale Dickey, will be awarded the CBT Artistic Achievement Award at the Clarence Brown Theatre's annual Gala to be held Saturday, May 20, 2017 at 6:30pm at Jackson Terminal, 205 W. Jackson Avenue in Knoxville, TN.

'The course of true love never did run smooth'...so quotes William Shakespeare in his popular comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream. Door Shakespeare heightens that famous line in this rousing, high energy romp at Bjorklunden Garden in Baileys Harbor this summer. Former Milwaukee Rep Artistic Director and Door County resident Joseph Hanreddy personally stamps Shakespeare's forest fairies and lover's magic with an inventive blend of mayhem that includes some countryfied music for the audience's pleasure.

While William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar dramatically retells history through rich verse, Door Shakespeare at Baileys Harbor's Bjorklunden gives the play a fiercely human touch in this intimate garden setting. Here a serene rose garden might be enjoyed before the show, directly accessible from the bleacher theater seating. While Director and Milwaukee Rep Artistic Associate James Pickering focuses Shakespeare's political tragedy on the personal relationships between Brutus and Caesar, Cassius and Brutus or Brutus and Portia, Marc Anthony weaves between these relationships before laying rest to the murdered dictator in his famous, 'Friends, Romans, Countrymen' oration... In the lush garden on this moonlit stage, the tragic drama acquires a highly intimate and personal interpretation between the litany of interconnections crossing the moral lines between friends and foes, honor and honesty.

The American Composers Forum (ACF) Board of Directors has voted to present its 2016 “Champion of New Music” award to four outstanding recipients: Pianist and Contemporary Chamber Ensemble founding member Gilbert Kalish; Opera Parallèle's artistic director, conductor, and founder Nicole Paiement; new music writer, blogger and New Yorker magazine columnist Alex Ross; and conductor, pianist, composer and pedagogue Robert Spano at public ceremonies this year. The “Champion of New Music” award was established by ACF in 2005 as a national mark of recognition to honor individuals or ensembles that have made a significant contribution to the work and livelihoods of contemporary composers. ACF President and CEO John Nuechterlein will present the awards at three events in the coming months:

Known for capturing the duality of strength and grace, Ariel Rivka Dance (ARD) celebrates its ninth season with a special, contemporary dance festival comprising five world premieres by four of today's top choreographers all on one stage. Curated by ARD, this elegant array of diverse dance and live musicians showcases new works by Ariel Grossman of ARD, soloist Elisa King, Heidi Latsky of Heidi Latsky Dance, and Pascal Rioult of RIOULT Dance NY. (Program details are below.)

Titan Theatre Company opens the final production of its 2015-16 season this week, Shakespeare's epic political drama, JULIUS CEASAR. Performances will begin tonight, March 25th, at the Queens Theatre, and BroadwayWorld has a behind-the-scenes look at rehearsal below!

Titan Theatre Company opens the final production of its 2015-16 season this week, Shakespeare's epic political drama, JULIUS CEASAR. Performances will begin March 25th at the Queens Theatre, and BroadwayWorld has a behind-the-scenes look at rehearsal below!

The actor is starring in the world premiere of a play he's written, 'Burning Desire', in Connecticut.

Titan Theatre Company Artistic Director Lenny Banovez and Producer Kevin Beebee announced today the concept, full cast and creative team for Titan Theatre Company's ambitious new production of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare's brilliant political drama. Performances begin at Queens Theatre in Flushing Meadows Park on March 25th, 2016 and will run through April 10, 2016. 

Tune in to WCRB 99.5 this Sunday, February 7 at 7:00 pm, for a broadcast of Boston Baroque's last season's opera production of Handel's Agrippina led by founder and music director Martin Pearlman.

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in television, new media, news, radio, and promotional writing during 2015.

DEAR PENELOPE by Kat Sparks, produced by SouthWest Theatre Productions that played a short two week run at the Dougherty Arts Center is a sweet love letter to girlfriend/buddy situation comedy.

Following the success of its first series at City Winery in the 2014-15 season, cp2 (Chicago Philharmonic Chamber Players) returns to the venue for a fall series pairing unique mixed instrumental groups with vocalists. Three one-hour programs at noon on October 25, November 22, and December 20 each feature a different singer showcasing styles including classical, soul, and jazz. Brunch will be available for purchase before and during the performances, and patrons are encouraged to dress casually.