In the latest bout of singers being pelted by concert fans, the country star Kelsea Ballerini was hit in the face by a bracelet thrown by someone in the audience at her Wednesday night show in Boise, Idaho. - Los Angeles Times
The music industry is at a tipping point. There is still time for the creators and businesses within it to help shape what comes next, but that window of opportunity is both small, and closing. - Music Industry Blog
"When it's 150 people standing crammed into a small room and you're closer to the musicians than you would ever be at the Festival Hall ... it does feel like it's this tightrope, and it has a sense of jeopardy and danger in the performance." - BBC
If you miss the sound quality and visual image qualities of the 1970s, or you're in an altered state, you're in luck. "Sober, none of the music was more interesting, effective, illuminated or illuminating in this space than it would have been elsewhere." - The New York Times
At the Kennedy Center: "Enter the organ through a hidden passageway tucked into a side office, descend down a ladder into its belly, and you find yourself surrounded by pipes — no two the same." - Washington Post
The Czech conductor seems to think he's found the ideal spot. "Opera is kind of a pinnacle of what is possible to achieve in music. But it’s a genre which, in practice, demands an incredible amount of compromise. Covent Garden is a fantastic exception." - The New York Times
As the storied competition unfolds this month for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine and became a pariah in the West, it is struggling to live up to its reputation. - The New York Times
We're not talking valveless Baroque trumpets or 16th-century sacbuts, mind you, but several of the CSO's musicians are serious collectors of trumpets and trombones from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And yes, they do use them in CSO concerts, and they do make a real difference. - Chicago Tribune
The study, which enrolled 192, is part of a growing body of research that points to the physical and mental health benefits of singing with others. Sing With Us linked singing in the choir to reduced stress hormones and increased cytokines, proteins that can boost the body’s ability to fight serious illness. - Washington Post
The new chief of the orchestra — formed last year by the musicians of the defunct San Antonio Symphony — is Roberto Treviño, a former city councilman who was on the SA Phil's first board of directors and had served on a city-county task force trying to save the Symphony. - San Antonio Report
The response was overwhelmingly positive, with a common refrain of, “It’s about time!” One patron was grateful to move around and said that sitting for long periods “gives his back fits.” Another patron brought her adult autistic son to McCaw Hall for the first time, having waited decades to do so. - Seattle Times
"The science behind the phenomenon is still poorly understood, but it is such a noticeable and common occurrence that it has become something of a truism in opera: After childbirth, the voice seems enriched with warmth, creaminess and depth of color." If only that were all … - The New York Times
"The new study used 24 subjects who were advanced piano and vocal students (in) Vienna. The researchers specifically wanted to look at how musicians' head movements related to the phrasing of the piece, and how those movements related to the musician's empathy profile." - Ludwig Van
"There’s no getting around it. I’ve been covering this company since 1985, and in all that time there’s never been a season in which so much ambition has been paired with such a high level of execution." - San Francisco Chronicle
Composer Matthew Aucoin: "What's healthy about the kind of aesthetic ecosystem that Yannick is nurturing is that it relieves the pressure on every piece to be a singular masterpiece in the same tradition. … You've got to write the bad operas to get to the good ones. Verdi knew that." - AP
