(from a press release)

Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL) was first formally founded at Caramoor 38 years ago, and has long made the idyllic estate its summer home. Fittingly, then, it is at Caramoor – 90 acres of picturesque Italianate architecture and gardens in Katonah, Westchester, just one hour’s drive from Manhattan – that French-Canadian conductor Bernard Labadie makes his eagerly anticipated OSL debut this summer, before launching a four-year tenure as the ensemble’s new Principal Conductor in the fall of 2018. One of the world’s foremost exponents of 18th-century repertoire, Labadie leads an all-Mozart program, pairing three early symphonies with the charming Concerto for Flute and Harp (July 2).

Caramoor is a performing arts center located on a unique 90-acre setting of Italianate architecture and gardens in Westchester County, NY. It enriches the lives of its audiences through innovative and diverse musical performances of the highest quality. Its mission also includes mentoring young professional musicians and providing educational programs for young children centered around music.  Summer concerts take place in two outdoor theaters: the acoustically superb Venetian Theater, which seats approximately 1,500, and the more intimate, romantic Spanish Courtyard, which seats around 470.

Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Caramoor, summer 2017 June 17
Opening Night Concert & Gala:
Celebrating 20 years of Bel Canto at Caramoor with A Night of Italian Opera
Venetian Theater
Artist-in-Residence Angela Meade, soprano
Santiago Ballerini, tenor
Harold Wilson, bass
Bel Canto Young Artists
Orchestra of St. Luke’s / Will Crutchfield
Rossini: Guillaume Tell Overture, final rondo (OSL)
Verdi: “Va, pensiero, sull’ali dorate” from Nabucco (chorus)
Verdi: “Ah, dagli scanni eterei” from Aroldo (Meade) 
Bellini: “A te, o cara” from I puritani (Ballerini, 3 BCYA soloists, chorus)
Thomas: “Enfant chéri” from Le Caïd (Wilson)
Mozart: “Der Hölle Rache” from Die Zauberflöte (BCYA soloist)
Bellini: “Tu! Sciagurato! Ah, fuggi ... Bagnato dalle lagrime” from Il pirata (Meade, Ballerini)
Verdi: “Qui Radamès verrà…O patria mia” from Aida (Meade)
Donizetti: “Chi mi frena” from Lucia di Lammermoor (6 BCYA soloists, chorus)
Mascagni: Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (OSL)
Donizetti: “Pour mon âme quel destin” from La fille du régiment (Ballerini)
Rossini: Final hymn from Guillaume Tell (tutti)
 
July 2
Orchestra of St. Luke’s / Bernard Labadie
Mozart: Symphony No. 17 in G, K. 129
Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp in C, K. 299 (with OSL’s Elizabeth Mann, flute; Emmanuel Ceysson, harp)
Mozart: Symphony in D, K. 196/121 “La finta giardiniera”
Mozart: Symphony No. 29 in A, K. 201
 
July 8
Bel Canto at Caramoor
Bellini: Il pirata
Venetian Theater
Artist-in-Residence Angela Meade, soprano (Imogene)
Santiago Ballerini, tenor (Gualtiero)
Harold Wilson, bass (Ernesto)
Bel Canto Young Artists
Orchestra of St. Luke’s / Will Crutchfield, conductor
 
July 16
Orchestra of St. Luke's
Jason Vieaux, Artist-in-Residence and guitar
Venetian Theater
Vivaldi: Guitar Concerto in D, RV 93
Piazzolla (arr. Labro): Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (with Julian Labro, bandoneon)
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (with OSL concertmaster Krista Bennion Feeney, violin)
 
July 30
Orchestra of St. Luke's / Pablo Heras-Casado
Venetian Theater
Liszt: Les Préludes
Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A (with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano)
Schumann: Symphony No. 2

(from a press release)
Tonight through June 6, Esa-Pekka Salonen leads The MET Orchestra in three programs at Carnegie Hall, returning to the hall for the first time since the '90s. The last time Salonen appeared at Carnegie Hall, he was leading the orchestra from the Sibelius Academy, where he had studied horn, conducting, and composition. The concerts include music by Sibelius, Mahler, and Schumann, and feature mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, tenor Matthew Polenzani, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, tenor Stuart Skelton, mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, and violinist Christian Tetzlaff.

Carnegie Hall
The MET Orchestra
May 31 - 8 pm
Mahler: Lieder from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
"Der Schildwache Nachtlied"
"Verlorne Müh’!"
"Trost im Unglück"
 "Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht?"
"Das irdische Leben"
"Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt"
"Rheinlegendchen"
"Lied des Verfolgten im Turm"
"Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen"
"Lob des hohen Verstandes"
Mahler: Symphony No. 1

Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
Matthew Polenzani, tenor


June 3 - 3 pm
Schumann: Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish"
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano
Stuart Skelton, tenor


June 6 - 8 pm
Mahler: Blumine
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Mahler: Kindertotenlieder
"Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n"
"Nun seh’ ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen"
"Wenn dein Mütterlein"
"Oft denk’ ich, sie sind nur ausgegangen"
"In diesem Wetter, in diesem Braus"
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
Christian Tetzlaff, violin
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano

The quadrennial Van Cliburn Competition began in Ft. Worth last Thursday, and will continue until June 10th. 

For those who can't be there in person, the Cliburn folks are streaming the competition on their web site.  You can watch it here.

After 60 years--and after bringing in pianist Awadagin Pratt to help fix things--the Cincinnati World Piano Competition is closing up shop.  The organization needed to raise $300,000 that it was unable to secure.  It will officially dissolve at the end of June, with all debts paid.

More can be found in a local news report here.

(from a press release)

The Pacifica Quartet, touring since 1994, announced its first member change in seventeen years. Violinist Austin Hartman and violist Guy Ben-Ziony will replace violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson and violist Masumi Per Rostad at the end of the 2016-17 season, respectively. 
 
Mr. Bernhardsson, who joined the Pacifica Quartet in 2000, will leave the group to join the Oberlin Conservatory School of Music faculty. Mr. Rostad, who joined the group in 2001, will join the faculty of the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester.
​
Founding members Brandon Vamos and Simin Ganatra jointly commented: "Over the past 17 years, the Pacifica Quartet has played nearly 1,500 concerts all over the world from the monumental cycles of Beethoven and Carter to numerous premieres. We have traveled together, laughed together, learned together. The special bond we all share has greatly influenced us as musicians, artists and human beings. Our respect and admiration for all that Sibbi and Masumi have contributed to the quartet is boundless.
 
As we see them off and wish them well on their next adventures, we are thrilled to welcome both Guy and Austin to the ensemble at the start of the Quartet's 23rd season. Both share a strong passion and dedication to performing at the highest level. They are the perfect fit for the ensemble as we look to the future and prepare to embark on new, exciting projects ahead."

(from a press release)

The Gateway Chamber Orchestra (GCO) is proud to announce a one-day, exclusive event on Saturday, June 17 with flautist William Bennett, an Order of the British Empire (OBE) recipient for distinguished service to the music community. The Historic Franklin Masonic Hall will host an afternoon matinee with Bennett supported by soloists from the GCO and a grand evening soirée with Bennett as a featured performer with the GCO.

“William Bennett is one of the most celebrated performers and teachers in the history of the flute,” says GCO Music Director Gregory Wolynec. “He has served as Principal Flute with the London Symphony Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra and has been featured on literally hundreds of CDs. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear this legendary figure of the flute world perform in historic Franklin!” 
 
In addition to being awarded OBE in 1995, an honor that is ranked one step below knighthood, Bennett has received the following accolades:

• "Lifetime Achievement Award" - National Flute Association
• "Flautist Laureate" - British Flute Society
• "Flute of Gold" - Italian “Falaut” Flute Society
• "Lifetime Achievement Award" - Chicago Flute Club

Full details on the performances are below:

Date: Saturday, June 17
Location: Historic Franklin Masonic Hall Hiram Lodge #7
Address: 115 2nd Ave S, Franklin, TN 37064
Note: A portion of the proceeds from both performances will be donated to support the rehabilitation efforts of the Historic Franklin Masonic Hall.    

Matinee: William Bennett and Gateway Chamber Orchestra Soloists  
Time: 3:00PM
Program to include works by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, and Mozart.  

Gateway Chamber Orchestra Featuring William Bennett
 Time: 7:30 PM (pre-concert talk at 7:10 PM)
Selections featured in the program:
Felix Mendelssohn - Nocturno
Charles Gounod - Petite Symphonie (This work was written for the legendary Paul Taffanel, a celebrated Parisian flautist. Bennett will perform the part originally performed by Taffanel)
Antonin Dvorak - Czech Suite

More information is on the orchestra's web site here.

Beginning July 6, the Olomouc Baroque Festival begins in Olomouc in the Czech Republic.

From the Czech Republic Tourism web site:

The city of Olomouc has prepared a special event for lovers of Baroque: a tour of Baroque landmarks enriched by summer evenings with Baroque opera on the premises of the former Jesuit monastery. The program has been prepared by the artistic ensemble Damians and you can enjoy not only Baroque arias, but also richly decorated costumes. 

More can be found here.

In addition to the bad press for Bass Hall regarding their new security measures, in mid February the Fort Worth Opera fired their General Director, and now the President of the Fort Worth Symphony is resigning.

You can read about the Opera here.

More on the Symphony can be found here.

Evidently the new security measures at Bass Hall are a little over the top.

Miguel Hart-Bedoya is conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony which plays at Bass.  But he was thrown out of the hall a few days ago.  Evidently instrument cases aren't allowed in the building.  Hart-Bedoya had come to hear his daughter perform in the Fort Worth Youth Symphony, and because he was carrying her violin case, he was thrown out by police.

It seems a bit odd that instrument cases wouldn't be allowed in a concert hall, don't you think?

But it's even worse than that.  Here's a report from a parent, as reported on Slipped Disc:  "This actually happened to my son last night. It was after his performance and he was waiting to be directed to the seats to watch the final group play. After waiting quite a while he felt anxious and followed a group of kids who “looked like they knew where to go” and ended up outside. He realized his mistake and tried to get back in the door and explained to the security. They refused to let him back inside. And he wasn’t the only kid standing on the street at night with his instrument that wasn’t allowed back in. Thankfully, I had my cell on so he was able to contact me. But my whole family had to leave early and we did not get to watch the higher symphony play because we couldn’t leave him standing on the street. We paid $$ to see him and the entire show, and his seat with his group was to be complimentary, but security said he must have a ticket to get back in, which he did not have since he was performing. It was a hard first Bass Hall night for us all.’ - See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2017/05/fort-worth-just-got-even-worse/#sthash.fIIbEIli.dpuf

At least the pianists for the upcoming Cliburn Competition to be held there won't have to bring in their instruments.

The Juilliard School announced on Wednesday that it has selected Damian Woetzel, director of the Aspen Institute Arts Program, artistic director of Vail Dance Festival, and former principal dancer at New York City Ballet, to serve as its seventh president beginning July 2018. Woetzel was chosen after an extensive search process led by a board-appointed search committee and Board Chair Bruce Kovner in consultation with faculty, student, and staff representatives. Juilliard’s current and longest-serving president, Joseph W. Polisi, announced in October that he will be stepping down at the end of June 2018.

As president of Juilliard, Woetzel will inherit a number of large-scale initiatives spearheaded by Polisi, including the continued development of scholarship and entrepreneurship programs, K-12 curricula, online education products, and The Tianjin Juilliard School in China. Woetzel will serve as president-designate during the 2017-18 academic year, during which time he will conclude his work as director of the Aspen Institute Arts Program, finishing in June of 2018 at the end of the Aspen Ideas Festival. He will continue to serve as artistic director of the annual Vail Dance Festival at least through summer 2018.

“It is a tremendous honor to have been selected as the next president of The Juilliard School,” said Woetzel. “Building on collaboration has been a defining principle of my life in the arts, and I can think of no greater privilege than to help shape the future of this extraordinary institution of music, dance, and drama. I’d like to extend my thanks to Bruce Kovner, Juilliard’s board of trustees, and President Polisi for this tremendous opportunity to join in the tradition of excellence that Juilliard embodies, and I am inspired to work alongside them to foster new generations of emboldened citizen artists for the 21st century.”