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MUSIC

English National Opera’s Next Music Director Will Also Take Helm At New Zealand Symphony

André de Ridder, currently music director of the opera house and orchestra in Freiburg, Germany, will start work at both ENO and NZSO in 2027. Current principal conductor Gemma New will become the NZSO’s Artistic Partner, a new position. - Limelight (Australia)

The Music Industry Can’t Stop The AI Onslaught

But the industry has new tools to help companies track down what songs are ‘made’ by software, and what are human-created. The focus could "enable more precise licensing, with royalties based on creative influence instead of post-release dispute.” - The Verge

Miss Manners Weighs In On Female Orchestra Musicians’ Concert Attire

A Gentle Reader complains about the seeming informality of some all-black women’s attire on orchestral stages. Miss Manners replies, “Surely women musicians can find long black dresses or trouser suits they can wear at every concert. … Miss Manners recalls reading about a cellist who …” - UExpress

Explaining The ABBA Phenomenon (In Retrospect)

In the wake of the nineties revival, ABBA’s music has come to seem so universal—pure, uncut, lab-grade pop, purified of any particularizing influences—that it can be hard to remember that it originated in a particular milieu, and a marginal one at that. - The New Yorker

Neuroscientist: Music Involves Every Cognitive Ability We Have

“The interesting thing about music is that it touches memory, perception, motor skills, emotions, and reading. It touches everything." - El Pais

Curtis Institute Raises Nearly $200 Million To Keep Tuition Free

“’What will it take to keep Curtis tuition-free?’ asked Curtis president Roberto Díaz in 2016, when the Institute was still in the early days of a major fundraising campaign. Now the small music conservatory has answered, raising nearly $200 million for endowment, musical instruments, programs, and another building.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Audience Members Explain Why They Went To L.A. Opera Despite Protests, Troops, And Curfew

Steven Lass: “L.A. is not scary. You could be in a bad place at the wrong time, but that can happen anywhere.” Jason Roblee: “They did cancel our brunch reservation though.” Lass: “I lived in Hawthorne during the riots, so if all the buildings aren't burning, everything is good.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

How California Became The Home Of Innovation For Music Technology

San Francisco ‘60s utopian counterculture, psychedelic drugs, defying authority, breaking rules, and a general sense of severing from the past for a brighter future all led to an explosion of new ideas,” says California native and instrument luminary Roger Linn. - Music Radar

From Atlanta To Savannah To Valdosta, Orchestras In Georgia Seem To Be Thriving

Indeed, many of them report that they’re having larger audiences and healthier finances than before COVID. The AJC reached out to ten orchestras of various sizes throughout the state to find out how they’re doing, and here are the responses. - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Met Opera Attendance This Spring Was Down, Probably Due To Reduced International Tourism

The company sold 72% of capacity this past season, the same as 2023-24 but below projections. General manager Peter Gelb said that attendance was down in April and May, when overseas visitor numbers to New York fell sharply. - AP

Opera Montreal Picks A New General Director

The company announced that the Board of Directors chose Jen-Pierre Primiani, who currently serves as Chief Philanthropy Officer, for the position and will begin Nov. 1, 2025. - OperaWire

Study: Music Listeners In Cities Have Wider Tastes But Share Less

The researchers calculated each individual's "listening radius"—roughly how far they roamed across genres and artists. They found that people living in larger urban areas also tend to listen to a broader variety of music, expanding their personal musical repertoire. - Phys

Music Is Now UC Berkeley’s Fastest-Growing Major

The increase in music majors may be related to the COVID-19 pandemic. “It turns out people turned to music in their time at home, and they came back — just a (f)lood of people who had really committed themselves to it and wanted to be serious about continuing it." - The Daily Cal

The Scariest Two Musical Notes In Film History

"The 'Main Title' music from Jaws has inspired generations of commercial and cultural riffs and rip-offs — since filed under a larger surge of Jaws-inspired content termed ‘sharksploitation’ — that have dulled its bite a bit.” - Washington Post (MSN)

The Paris Opera House Turns 150 This Year

“It was a time in French history when you could change your birth status with money. The nouveau riche included industrialists and bankers. You could also move up in society with an education, which was the case for opera architect Charles Garnier.” - NPR

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