The 2020 Tanglewood season, June 19 through August 30, will present major musical events, including an Andris Nelsons-led Act III of Tannhäuser, Paul Lewis performing all five Beethoven piano concertos, a weekend-long celebration of Isaac Stern on the 100th anniversary of his birth, a Boston Pops presentation of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back under the direction of Keith Lockhart, Film Night hosted by John Williams, Thomas Adès directing the 2020 Festival of Contemporary Music, and a Popular Artist series with Ringo Starr, Trey Anastasio, and Judy Collins and Arlo Guthrie. Alongside these programs taking place in the Koussevitzky Music Shed will be intimate chamber music and recital concerts in Ozawa Hall and engaging and thought-provoking activities in the Linde Center, which opened to great popular and critical acclaim in 2019 (see separate press release for 2020 Tanglewood Learning Institute programs here).
Calling all musical adventurists! The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's new CSO Proof series offers a novel way to experience performances at Music Hall. Imagine artists and audience members sharing the stage in casual, intermission-less concerts with elements of music, theater, lighting and dance. During the 2019/2020 season, three CSO Proof performances will help celebrate the Orchestra's 125th anniversary by presenting artists collaborating with different curators who craft themes connecting orchestral music to listeners in adventurous ways.
Much loved songwriters Amanda McBroom and John Bucchino will appear together on stage for the very first time in New York City on Dec.16th at the legendary Birdland Jazz. The show is titled a?oeSweet Dreams and Roses,a?? with a repertoire of mainly their own compositions, including some they wrote as a team.
Mark O'Connor's 'An Appalachian Christmas,' an evening of holiday favorites performed by Grammy Award-winning bluegrass and American roots musicians, comes to Musco Center for the Arts on Tuesday, December 17 at 7:30pm. The O'Connor family and their band invigorate familiar holiday classics for a delightful, musically satisfying gift to Orange County families.
David Hirata is the creator and sole performer of a?oeA Box Without a Bottom (Soko-nashi Bako)a?? currently running at The Marsh Berkeley. Within the context of a magic show, Mr. Hirata connects his own personal story to that of earlier Japanese magicians in a way that explores the illusions of race and identity in America. Talking with him, it's evident that he's a true magic geek as he delights in sharing his extensive knowledge about the history of magic and finding hidden links to his heritage as a Japanese American.
Soka Performing Arts Center presents Hub New Music with Special Guest Kojiro Umezaki on Sunday, April 26, 2020 at 3 PM. Called a?oecontemporary chamber trailblazersa?? by the Boston Globe a?" comprised of flute, clarinet, violin, and cello a?" Hub New Music is forging new pathways in 21st-century repertoire. Through creative programming and ambitious commissioning projects, the quartet of a?oeintrepidsa?? (WQXR) celebrates the fluidity and diversity of today's classical music landscape. Its performances have been described as a?oegobsmackinga?? (Cleveland Classical) and a?oeinnovativea?? (WBUR).
MerleFest, presented by Window World, is proud to announce the initial lineup for MerleFest 2020, which will be held April 23-26. The annual homecoming of musicians and music fans returns to the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. “For over 30 years, one of the major factors that has built and sustained MerleFest has been the quality of the artists and performances that our guests see over the 4-day festival,” says Ted Hagaman, Festival Director. “People truly feel that the festival is a great value and that is why music fans and families return year after year. We feel that the 2020 lineup again reflects the diversity and quality of performers, and we look forward to another successful festival in April.” The complete lineup for MerleFest 2020 will be announced over the next few months.
In March and April 2020, The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst embark on their twentieth international tour together, with seven performances scheduled in three cities across Europe (Vienna, Paris, and Linz), and four concerts in the United Arab Emirates as the first U.S. orchestra to perform at the Abu Dhabi Festival.
Star fiddling duo Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy return to Gettysburg this December with an incredible array of musicians, including their own children. MacMaster, Leahy and clan present a?oeA Celtic Family Christmasa?? at Gettysburg College's Majestic Theater on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. MacMaster and Leahy last performed in the Majestic stage in 2007 and 2008.
On November 22, take a journey through South American jazz with multiple-Grammy Award nominee, pianist, and composer Gustavo Casenave, featuring his eclectic quartet in an adventurous and memorable evening of passionate music, virtuosity and talent, at Flushing Town Hall.
Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato returns to Carnegie Hall for a series of Perspectives concerts throughout the 2019-2020 season, highlighting her full range of vocal artistry as well as her work as an educator.
One of the top jazz pianists of the past half-century and an eclectic improviser who has long had his own sound and open-minded style, Kellaway has been featured on hundreds of recordings and written a countless amount of music since the 1960s. As is obvious from his most recent recording, a?oeThe Many Open Minds of Roger Kellawaya?? (IPO Recordings) he has lost none of his creativity, virtuosity, enthusiasm or willingness to stretch himself.
Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts continues its 20th season of Composer Portraits with Bright Sheng featuring Curtis 20/21 Ensemble, Thursday, December 5, 2019, 8:00 P.M. at Miller Theatre (2960 Broadway at 116th Street)
Humanitarian organization FilmAid International is poised to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a benefit event on Nov. 6, honoring veteran film executive and Participant CEO David Linde with the 2019 Richard C. Holbrooke Memorial Award for Dedication to Humanitarian Service. The event also launches a new phase of FilmAid as a project of Internews: an innovative, international non-profit dedicated to empowering local media and expanding freedom of expression around the world. (For more info: www.internews.org.)
In early 2018, renowned clarinetist David Shifrin announced the formation of a new trio. Shifrin's colleagues in this ensemble are distinguished cellist Peter Wiley (formerly of the Beaux Arts Trio and Guarneri String Quartet), and rising star pianist Anna Polonsky. They make their Detroit debut on the Chamber Music Society of Detroit's Signature Series on Saturday, November 16 at Seligman Performing Arts Center, 22305 W. 13 Mile Road in Beverly Hills.
Over 350+ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Gender Diverse and Intersex elders and their allies will take political action and reclaim a large civic space to eat, drink, dance, reminisce and dream together to create a bright, accessible and inclusive future.
Music Director Rossen Milanov, the musicians of the Columbus Symphony, the Columbus Symphony Chorus, and a host of guest vocalists come together to perform Handel's deeply spiritual oratorio, Messiah, in its entirety for an unforgettable concert experience at the intimate Southern Theatre.
On opening night, October 15, Kyle Abraham, Artistic Director, presented six works, including, for one night only, Ash, a solo for American Ballet Theatre principal ballerina, Misty Copeland. Ash was saved for last on the program. The anticipation was palpable, but the entire performance was riveting. Abraham has earned numerous awards and honors for his choreography, and his work has been presented throughout the United States and abroad.
Carnegie Hall welcomes back two orchestras from the culturally rich city of Munich, Germany: Munich Philharmonic and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO) this fall. On Friday, October 25 at 8:00 p.m., Music Director Valery Gergiev leads the Munich Philharmonic in Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1. with Behzod Abduraimov and Bruckner's Symphony No. 7. The following evening, Saturday, October 26 at 8:00 p.m. they return with Leonidas Kavakos playing Brahms's Violin Concerto. Also on the program is Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 and Jörg Widmann's Con brio.
