William Grant News

The Music Conservatory of Westchester, a revered music school celebrating its 90th anniversary, is launching its Collegiate Orchestra Institute, a new opportunity and training ground to prepare serious collegiate music students for professional careers.

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the Motion Pictures and Television nominees for the 31st Annual Producers Guild Awards. Winners in these categories will be announced at the PGA awards ceremony on January 18 at the Hollywood Palladium.  

Rochester's world-renowned Garth Fagan Dance presents its exciting 2019 Home Season just in time for the holidays: December 11 a?" 15 at Nazareth College Arts Center (4245 East Avenue, 14618)'s Callahan Theatre. Home for the Holidays performances are: Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 13 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 14 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. A meet-and-greet in the lobby with the entire company will follow each performance.

Brilliant 23-year-old American violinist Randall Goosby won First Prize in the 2018 YCA International Auditions and five special awards. He just performed with his mentor Itzhak Perlman and the Grand Rapids Symphony. Program includes a work by William Grant Still inspired by the Harlem Renaissance.

On November 15 and 16, Guest Conductor Thomas Wilkins will lead the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in performances of American Life, a concert celebrating the music of five African-American composers: Adolphus Hailstork, James Lee III, Florence Price, William Grant Still, and Duke Ellington.

The Chamber Music Society of Detroit is presenting the Harlem Quartet in two diverse concert programs ranging from classical to contemporary, Latino and jazz.  On Friday, October 11 at 8:00 PM, the quartet performs music of African-American composers at Schaver Music Recital Hall, located at 480 W. Hancock in Detroit, on the campus of Wayne State University.  Then on Saturday, October 12 at 8:00 PM, 14-time Grammy Award winning clarinetist and composer Paquito D'Rivera joins the quartet at Seligman Performing Arts Center, located at 22305 W. 13 Mile Road in Beverly Hills.

The Cleveland Orchestra has announced a new five-year extension of Franz Welser-Möst's contract as Music Director, continuing a partnership that began in 2002 to 2027. The announcement was made at Severance Hall in Cleveland at the Gala Concert opening the Orchestra's 2019-20 season.

The Cleveland Orchestra announced the name of its groundbreaking citywide festival, Censored: Art & Power, scheduled for spring 2020. The festival is centered around the Orchestra's performances of Alban Berg's opera Lulu in May 2020, and seeks to spur discussion about the role of art in society, government censorship, and prejudice, taking as a starting point the Degenerate Art & Music movement in Nazi Germany. As a major focal point of the Orchestra's 2019-20 season, the festival will feature a variety of collaborative presentations surrounding and leading up to the opera performances (May 16, 19, and 22).

Uri Caine's ten-part oratorio, “The Passion of Octavius Catto,” conducted by André Raphel, will be released on August 30 on 816 Music.  This enthralling work combining classical, gospel, jazz and pop styles, features a jazz trio, a 37-piece chamber orchestra, a 32-member gospel choir and vocalist Barbara Walker.  The work was recorded on August 22 and 23, 2018, at the DiMenna Center in New York City.

Young Concert Artists, led by new President Daniel Kellogg, has been discovering and launching the careers of extraordinary talent since 1961. Musicians who began their careers with YCA include pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, soprano Julia Bullock, and violinist Ray Chen. The 2019-20 Young Concert Artists Series presents its newest finds in compelling debuts at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater at 7:30pm.

Young Concert Artists, led by new President Daniel Kellogg, has been discovering and launching the careers of extraordinary talent since 1961. Musicians who began their careers with YCA include pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, soprano Julia Bullock, and violinist Ray Chen. The 2019-20 Young Concert Artists Series presents its newest finds in compelling debuts and encore performances.

Chicago Philharmonic brings Side by Side with the Chicago Philharmonic to Rogers Park for the first time in their final summer 2019 concert of the program, presented in association with Chicago Parks District and Mayor Lori Lightfoot's Night Out in the Parks initiative. Chicago Phil (recipient of the 2019 Community Relations of the Year award by the Illinois Council of Orchestras) brings student and community musicians from across the city to rehearse and perform a symphonic concert alongside world-class musicians in Chicago's beautiful parks.

In its fourth community concert of 2019, Chicago Philharmonic (recipient of the 2019 Community Relations of the Year award by the Illinois Council of Orchestras) presents Side by Side with the Chicago Philharmonic at Hamilton Park in Englewood, presented as part of the Chicago Park District and Mayor Lori Lightfoot's Night Out in the Parks initiative.

CPSTL presents their twelfth season of unique chamber music concerts beginning September 7 at the 560 Music Center. The overarching theme of Season 12 is inspired by local geography: the confluence of two mighty rivers. The blending of two sources to create something new inspires a creative mix music and ideas. From tried and true classics to music that's never been heard before, the dynamic programs for next season are sure to please. Each concert is a unique experience brought to you by some of the best musicians in the region.

In its third community concert of 2019, Chicago Philharmonic (recipient of the 2019 Community Relations of the Year award by the Illinois Council of Orchestras) presents Side by Side with the Chicago Philharmonic at Columbus Park in Austin as part of the Chicago Park District and Mayor Lori Lightfoot's Night Out in the Parks initiative.

In its second community concert of 2019, Chicago Philharmonic (recipient of the 2019 Community Relations of the Year award by the Illinois Council of Orchestras) presents Side by Side with the Chicago Philharmonic at Ping Tom Park in Chinatown, presented as part of the Chicago Park District and Mayor Lori Lightfoot's Night Out in the Parks initiative. Led by guest conductor Kellen Gray, Chicago Philharmonic brings music opportunities to student and community members across the city of Chicago through this signature community engagement program, which encourages musicians of all ages and backgrounds to rehearse and perform alongside Chicago Phil's world-class musicians in Chicago's beautiful parks.

Hot off the heels of its popular, critically-acclaimed 2018- 2019 symphonic season, Chicago Phil (named 2019 Community Relations of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras) announces its fifth summer of Side by Side with the Chicago Philharmonic, presented as part of the Chicago Park District and Mayor Lori Lightfoot's Night Out in the Parks series

Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra (CCCO), the region's newest professional orchestra, presents its second annual Summer Celebration:  America and the Nords, an afternoon of music fit for a Cape Cod summer, on Sunday, July 28, 3 pm, at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Main Street, Rt. 28, Harwich Port.  The orchestra is conducted by Music Director Matthew Scinto, featuring clarinetist David Dziardziel.  A pre-concert talk featuring Conductor Scinto will be held at 2:15 pm.

Hailed as "one of the great amateur choruses of our time (New York Today) for its "full-bodied sound and suppleness (The New York Times)," The Dessoff Choirs today announced its 2019-20 season. The Dessoff Choirs celebrates its 95th season with performances of choral masterworks by both 20th century luminaries and today's most innovative composers. In addition to Dessoff's popular holiday concerts, the season features the New York premiere of Craig Hella Johnson's Considering Matthew Shepard, a reprise performance and CD release of Margaret Bond's The Ballad of the Brown King, and the Faure Requiem in the original 1893 version. (The complete season schedule is below.)

The National Theatre of Scotland in partnership with SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health), supported by Aberdeen Standard Investments and in association with East Ayrshire Council and The City of Edinburgh Council present LIKE FLYING.