Yo-Yo Ma News

In celebration of Black History Month, Associate Conductor for Education and Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestras Artistic Director Ken Lam leads the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a Family Concert Series program celebrating African-American Innovators, Saturday, February 21 at 11 a.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Featuring the music of Duke Ellington and Heitor Villa-Lobos, the Baltimore City College Choir led by Director Marcus Smith, lends their voices for a collection of African-American spirituals, honoring the impact of innovation on our collective history. Entertainer Shannan E. Johnson narrates. Please see below for complete program details.

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Aoife O'Donovan - who founded and fronted the bluegrass band Crooked Still - is now a 'formidable folk-pop solo artist' (NPR). The guitar-strumming, feathery-voiced, soulful O'Donovan steps into The Eccles Center spotlight tonight, January 17. Concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

Fo Yo Soul Recordings/RCA, a joint venture between gospel music icon Kirk Franklin and RCA Records, receives twelve Stellar Award Nominations in the label's first year of operation, with multiple nominations for founder Kirk Franklin and the hit debuts by The Walls Group and Tasha Page-Lockhart.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its February 2015 schedule, featuring John Pizzarelli Quartet, Marilyn Maye, Sarah Gazarek, Billy Childs Jazz Quartet, The 5th Annual Broadway Belts for PFF, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more. Details below!

CHICAGO—Jeff Alexander, President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA), announced today that CSOA Trustee Bruce Clinton and his wife, Martha, along with members of The Clinton Family Fund, pledged $2 million to the CSOA to endow the Principal Timpani position in the Orchestra. The position, held since 2013 by David Herbert, will be known as The Clinton Family Fund Principal Timpani Chair of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Tenor Russell Thomas will replace Brandon Jovanovich, who has withdrawn due to illness, in the New York Philharmonic performances of the Verdi Requiem, conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert. The performances will also feature soprano Angela Meade (in her Philharmonic debut), mezzo-soprano Lilli Paasikivi, bass-baritone Eric Owens, and the New York Choral Artists, directed by Joseph Flummerfelt, this weekend, January 15, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, January 16 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, January 17 at 8:00 p.m.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the New York Philharmonic today announced plans for the two organizations to collaborate on a new, multi-year opera initiative to present fully-staged productions of significant modern operas not yet seen in New York.

The American Symphony Orchestra begins its 2015 Classics Declassified series with Tchaikovsky's impassioned and Romantic Symphony No. 4 at Symphony Space on Sunday, February 8, 2015. Discover why the composer said of his work, "Perhaps I'm mistaken, but it seems to me that this symphony is better than anything I've done so far" as Leon Botstein and the Orchestra shed new light on a time-honored masterpiece. Hosted by WQXR's Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and producer Elliott Forrest, the three-part format of Classics Declassified begins with an animated talk providing a guided tour of the work, followed with its full performance. Mr. Forrest then leads a dynamic Q & A with the audience that allows them to make the music personal in a whole new way.

The New York Philharmonic, in collaboration with CAMI Music, will celebrate the Chinese New Year for the fourth consecutive year, this time welcoming the Year of the Sheep with a program of Chinese composers, musicians, and traditional instruments, celebrating the cultural heritage of China and honoring the Chinese-American community, on Tuesday, February 24, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. Long Yu - music director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, artistic director and chief conductor of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, artistic director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, and founding artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival - will return to the Philharmonic following his January subscription debut to conduct the Chinese New Year Concert for the fourth consecutive season.

La comedia musical 'Mi madre, Serrat y yo' cumple este mes seis años de representación en ArtEspacio PLOT POINT, convirtiéndose así en uno de los espectáculos más longevos de la cartelera teatral madrileña. Desde su estreno la obra ya ha sido vista por más de 14.000 espectadores.

Tenor Russell Thomas will replace Brandon Jovanovich, who has withdrawn due to illness, in the New York Philharmonic performances of the Verdi Requiem, conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert. The performances will also feature soprano Angela Meade (in her Philharmonic debut), mezzo-soprano Lilli Paasikivi, bass-baritone Eric Owens, and the New York Choral Artists, directed by Joseph Flummerfelt, Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, January 16 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, January 17 at 8:00 p.m.

The 2013 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Opening Night Gala and Soiree, "Once Upon a Time," has a won a 2015 Gala Award, "Best Fundraising Event," by Special Events magazine. Pittsburgh Symphony Director of Events Shannon Capellupo accepted the award at a black-tie ceremony on January 8 in Anaheim, Calif.

Bagpiper, pianist and composer Cristina Pato will perform at the Ware Center of Millersville University on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m., as part of the performing arts center's World Music and Festivals series. The concert is made possible by an ArtsConnect grant from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

On Wednesday, January 28, banjo legend Béla Fleck will join Brooklyn's own innovative chamber orchestra, The Knights, at Schimmel Center at Pace University to kick off a seven-state East Coast tour. The concert features the title track of the orchestra's brand new album, being released on January 26 on Warner Classics, The Ground Beneath Our Feet, a group composition that was written collaboratively by the members of the ensemble and is named after the Baroque ground bass that inspired it. Additional repertoire includes Rossini (overture and Se il mio nome spaer voi bramate, both from The Barber of Seville) and John Adams (Chamber Symphony).

CANTON, OHIO (January 8, 2015) – The Canton Symphony Orchestra is honored to be the first orchestra in Ohio to perform China native Zhao Jiping's Pipa Concerto No. 2. Guest artist, Wu Man will perform the solo pipa. The concert, part of the CSO's MasterWorks Series, is Saturday January 24 at 8:00pm at Umstattd Performing Arts Hall (2323 17th Street NW, Canton).

MUMMENSCHANZ, the legendary Swiss mask troupe that revolutionized wordless theatrical entertainment, will be in Providence this month to thrill audiences of all ages with its famously uproarious performances and to kick off the FirstWorks 2015 "Artistic Icons" series. MUMMENSCHANZ will delight Rhode Island audiences with classic favorites and brilliant new works on Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 7:00 P.M. at Veterans Memorial Auditorium (The Vets).

The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma will perform alongside the New York Philharmonic, led by Alan Gilbert, for a celebration of the innovative world-music ensemble's 15th anniversary, Thursday, February 19, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, February 20 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, February 21 at 8:00 p.m.

The January broadcasts of The New York Philharmonic This Week - the weekly radio series of concerts and recordings by the New York Philharmonic, hosted by Alec Baldwin - begin with Alan Gilbert leading the Orchestra in an all-Mozart program: the Mass in C minor, Great, and Piano Concerto No. 22, featuring Emanuel Ax as soloist. The Mass features soprano Jennifer Zetlan, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, tenor Paul Appleby, baritone Joshua Hopkins, and the New York Choral Artists, directed by Joseph Flummerfelt.

The New York Philharmonic has announced the 2014-15 season's free Insights at the Atrium series. All held at the David Rubinstein Atrium and beginning at 7:30 p.m., these events combine discussion, often with live performance and video, to explore themes of the season.

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Aoife O'Donovan – who founded and fronted the bluegrass band Crooked Still – is now a “formidable folk-pop solo artist” (NPR). The guitar-strumming, feathery-voiced, soulful O'Donovan steps into The Eccles Center spotlight on Saturday, January 17. Concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available by calling ?435-655-3114 or online at EcclesCenter.org.