Martin West News

San Francisco Ballet (SF Ballet) is presented by The Royal Danish Ballet at The Royal Danish Opera House in Copenhagen, Denmark, October 30-November 2, 2019, with four performances of Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson's Romeo & Juliet, set to Sergei Prokofiev's lush and evocative score of the same name. The tour marks the Company's first appearance at The Royal Danish Opera House, which was designed by Danish architect Henning Larsen and publicly inaugurated in 2005.

Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson and San Francisco Ballet today announced programming for the 2020 Repertory Season. Building on a heritage of commissioning groundbreaking dance from today's top choreographers, uncovering new choreographic talent, staging modern classics, and preserving the works that make up the canon of classic ballet, the 2020 Season places SF Ballet at the forefront of innovation and preeminence. Highlights include two new SF Ballet commissions by Cathy Marston and Trey McIntyre, and a co-commission with American Ballet Theatre of a work by Alexei Ratmansky; as well as works by George Balanchine, David Dawson, Harald Lander, Edwaard Liang, Benjamin Millepied, Mark Morris, Liam Scarlett, Helgi Tomasson, and Stanton Welch. The Season's three story ballets include Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Wheeldon's Cinderella, and Tomasson's Romeo & Juliet.

Alexei Ratmansky's Shostakovich Trilogy returns to San Francisco Ballet (SF Ballet) May 7-12, closing the Company's 2019 Repertory Season at the War Memorial Opera House. Called a "fascinating, thrilling, bewilderingly ambiguous evocation of life in Shostakovich's Russia" (The New York Times), and simply, "a masterpiece" (San Francisco Chronicle), Shostakovich Trilogy is Ratmansky's homage to the composer, using three of his full-length works: the Symphony No. 9, Chamber Symphony, and Piano Concerto No. 1.

The Berkeley Symphony returns to SFCM on January 11 for a joint concert with SFCM musicians performing the world premiere of Highsmith Award winner Daniel De Togni's (Class of 2018) Tsuioku: On the Internment of Japanese Americans. Additionally, concerto competition winners Nicole Hillis '18 (trombone), Bradley Pupa '19 (guitar), and Boxianzi Ling '20 (violin) will perform works by Tomasi, Ponce, and Mendelssohn. Martin West, music director and principal conductor of San Francisco Ballet, will conduct the concert.

The Berkeley Symphony returns to SFCM on January 11 for a joint concert with SFCM musicians performing the world premiere of Highsmith Award winner Daniel De Togni's (Class of 2018) Tsuioku: On the Internment of Japanese Americans. Additionally, concerto competition winners Nicole Hillis '18 (trombone), Bradley Pupa '19 (guitar), and Boxianzi Ling '20 (violin) will perform works by Tomasi, Ponce, and Mendelssohn. Martin West, music director and principal conductor of San Francisco Ballet, will conduct the concert.

Ming Luke will act as guest conductor for San Francisco Ballet (SFB) at Kennedy Center in late October. The company will present two programs of new works selected from their groundbreaking Unbound Festival. Luke, along with SFB Music Director Martin West, will lead the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra in live accompaniment for pieces choreographed by some of the world's most renowned dance-makers.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) today announces the details of its 2018-19 season, the 101st year of the institution's existence. After celebrating the Conservatory's centennial last season, SFCM looks to the future in its curricular model combining performance, history, and the humanities in thematically linked programming. This season's theme, 'Sound and Image,' brings the fine arts together with classes, concerts, and other events that examine the relationship between music, visual art, and the moving image.

Known for pushing boundaries in contemporary dance with its bold repertory and distinct virtuosity, Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) makes its Kennedy Center debut, April 4-6, 2018 in the Opera House.

Festival Napa Valley announces the lineup for the 2018 summer season, featuring a host of world premieres, debuts and exclusive engagements set in iconic Napa Valley settings. The 2018 season, July 20-29, is dedicated to the first responders who saved lives, homes and properties in the recent Wine Country wildfires.

Festival Napa Valley announces the lineup for the 2018 summer season, featuring a host of world premieres, debuts and exclusive engagements set in iconic Napa Valley settings. The 2018 season, July 20-29, is dedicated to the first responders who saved lives, homes and properties in the recent Wine Country wildfires.

Sixteen of the most talented grilling professionals are heading outdoors to get ready for a showdown in the return of CHOPPED GRILL MASTERS s, premiering Today, August 1st at 10pm ET/PT on Food Network.

Sixteen of the most talented grilling professionals are heading outdoors to get ready for a showdown in the return of CHOPPED GRILL MASTERS s, premiering Tuesday, August 1st at 10pm ET/PT on Food Network.

The Washington Ballet (TWB) presents the world premiere of Ethan Stiefel's Frontier next month, a ballet inspired by President Kennedy and his space travel aspirations for America.

Artistic Director Julie Kent is pleased to announce participation in The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts JFK Centennial Week.

The 2017 Grammy Awards were announced this past Sunday in Los Angeles.  The complete list of winners and nominees of classical music is below! 

This morning, The Recording Academy and 2016 GRAMMY Best New Artist, Meghan Trainor, kicked off this year's GRAMMY Awards nominations by revealing nominees in the four General Field categories (Best New Artist, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Album Of The Year) live on 'CBS This Morning.

Before ballet stages everywhere become crowded with nutcrackers and their gala holiday accouterments, there is still time for other sturdy folk tales of enchantment set to Russian music and popular with children with which to spin off imaginative ballets.

Artistic Director Julie Kent is pleased to announce details of her first-ever commissioned work, Frontier (working title), choreographed by Ethan Stiefel for The Washington Ballet. The work is inspired by President Kennedy and his aspirations for America as a leader of artistic, cultural and intellectual excellence. His historic May 25, 1961 "urgent needs" address to the United States Congress serves as the impetus for this work. This speech launched what became a legacy in U.S. space travel and exploration with a determination for the United States to be the first to land a man on the moon. The President and First Lady focused national attention on the role of the arts in a country and the need for a nation to represent itself through its art. They also encouraged the development of Washington as a cultural center. The President was an advocate for America's ability to educate and develop individuals in cultural, intellectual and artistic endeavors.

Conversations With Nijinsky, a four-movement musical tribute to the artistry and life of Nijinsky is the centerpiece of Kip Winger's debut album as a classical composer. Performed by the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra with Martin West conducting, and recorded by GRAMMY®-winning recording engineer Leslie Ann Jones, Winger's world-premiere recording declares loudly and clearly that, while he may be the front man of the rock band Winger, he is a force to be reckoned with as a classical composer.