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MUSIC

The National Youth Orchestra Of The United States, A Decade On

"Carnegie Hall's initiative to train the next generation turned 10 this year. After arriving July 1 for intensive instruction ... at suburban Purchase College, performers gathered at America's premier concert hall to play for conductor Andrew Davis in a 2,800-seat auditorium filled with many family members and friends." - AP

The Piano Problem: Owners Fret About How To Get Rid Of Them

Go to any online sales site and you'll find dozens of ads for free pianos — mostly large wooden upright instruments that are around a hundred years old. Some people will even pay you to take their piano. - CBC

The Unlikely Composer Of The Music Most Played Over The Phone For Customers On Hold

"(She's) never played a live gig and is unknown to the music industry. But every day since 2017, Harriet Goldberg's jazzy instrumental, 'My Time to Fly,' has been served up to countless callers put on hold by the customer service lines of businesses large and small." - The New York Times

Kansas City Symphony’s First Black Tenure-Track Musician Talks About What Happened

“To deny tenure to such a gifted musician on the basis of some unsubstantial and, frankly, unconvincing reasons seems highly suspect. Any shortcomings in the ‘management and organization’ area would need to be really egregious to justify such a decision.” - The Pitch KC

The Transformative Louis Langrée

At 62, Langrée has never been one of the world’s most famous or sought-after conductors. His career has been a steady climb of prestige and quality, quietly remarkable but undersung even as he has transformed ensembles. - The New York Times

Pittsburgh Opera Company Takes Stock, Decides To Reinvent

Pittsburgh Festival Opera, is a “summer festival company” that typically puts on a few small-scale productions during the summer months and provides a training program for aspiring opera singers. Last year, attendance at Festival Opera was “sad and just horrible." - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Why Are Music Memoirs Big Business Right Now?

There's one very good reason: In 2012, publisher Faber committed to "campaigns that applied lessons learned from record labels, a faster-moving industry – creating a big noise, a big moment, having that book in market as quickly as possible afterwards." - The Guardian (UK)

Octavia Butler’s Seemingly Prophetic Parable Of The Sower Is Now An Opera

The book, published 30 years ago, is a classic that took on new relevance during recent events. Co-writer Toshi Reagon: "Singing this story evokes all of us in the space to be in a vibrational relationship so that we can really feel like we're not alone." - NPR

Just Stop Oil Protesters Interrupt First Night Of Proms In London

"The duo mounted the stage and briefly unfurled an orange banner on Friday. They were met with boos and jeers from some members of the audience at the BBC's classical music festival, before being led away by security staff." - BBC

Amapiano – Can The South African Dance Music Craze Go Global?

In Zulu, amapiano means “the pianos,” or “piano people,” and the genre’s name refers to its origin as a jazzy variant of house music—at parties around Johannesburg and Pretoria, d.j.s would sometimes invite keyboard players to improvise chords over the beats. - The New Yorker

Why Are Published Editions Of Under-represented Composers So Riddled With Errors?

Some inaccuracies were very obvious, while others needed more detailed detective work, and only became apparent as we got to know the music more intimately. - Classical Music UK

AI Company Says It Created 100 Million New Songs

An artificial intelligence company in Delaware boasted, in a press release, that it had created 100 million new songs. That’s roughly equivalent to the entire catalog of music available on Spotify. - The Honest Broker

San Diego Symphony Delays Reopening Of Its Concert Hall

The reasons for the delay are being attributed to unexpected construction and redesign challenges that have emerged as the nearly 100-year-old hall undergoes a $125 million renovation. - San Diego Union-Tribune

Pianist Andre Watts, 77

Watts made his national concert debut when he was 16 years old with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Shortly after, he was asked to substitute in place of Glenn Gould with the Philharmonic. That performance is credited with launching Watts’ career. - WFYI

The Fledgling Festival That’s Helping Revive Boston’s Jazz Scene

"The Charles River Jazz Festival started (in 2021) as a slapdash (post-pandemic) passion project with a $2,000 budget, four local acts and 500 attendees. … Now the all-day festival touts major sponsors, local vendors, food trucks, a lineup of Grammy- and Emmy-nominated artists and a board of directors." - WBUR (Boston)

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