The latest orchestra to have serious financial difficulty is the National Philharmonic. The orchestra needs to raise $150,000 in the next week, by July 31.

​A local article about the orchestra's issues can be found here.

The page for their fundraising campaign is here.

(from a press release)

​World-renowned cellist Maya Beiser, legendary dancer Wendy Whelan, and seminal choreographer Lucinda Childs join forces to present the new music/dance work THE DAY, with music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang. A collaboration among legends, THE DAY is an evening-long sensory exploration of two journeys – life and the eternal, post-mortal voyage of the soul. This bold, highly collaborative work explores universal themes through the shared language of music and dance.


Cellist Maya Beiser, who conceived the piece, has been described by the Boston Globe as “a force of nature” and by Rolling Stone as a “cello rock star,” and is a veteran of the world’s most revered stages. Wendy Whelan, widely considered one of the world’s leading dancers, spent 30 years as a principal dancer with New York City Ballet and originated numerous roles in new works by the world's most esteemed choreographers. The two will be onstage all evening, embodying the iconic choreography of Lucinda Childs (a Commandeur in France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and 2018 inductee in Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Dance) to the original music of Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lang.


Maya says, “THE DAY is a response to two solo cello works written for me by the composer David Lang – the day and world to come. During the time I recorded these two pieces for an album, I kept seeing images of a woman, a dancer, emerging from the notes of the cello – embodying the voices, recounting these stories, inhabiting these memories, possessing those lives.” 


THE DAY was co-commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow (world premiere, July 31-August 4);Théâtre de la Ville, Paris; Carolina Performing Arts at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; The Joyce Theater; and Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, all of which will present performances in 2019-2020. This season, THE DAY will also be presented by theKennedy Center, San Francisco Performances, Williams Center for the Arts, OZ Arts Nashville and TPAC in partnership with Nashville Ballet, The O’Shaughnessy co-presented with the Walker Art Center, The Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College, and theICA Boston.

It seems interesting to me that the BSO is looking to hire for any positions due to their questionable future. Nonetheless, they are advertising for a Director of Communications.

Not surprisingly, one of the qualifications reads: "The successful candidate will thrive under pressure..."

You can read the listing here.

In the light of the recent cancellation of the remaining concerts in the season by the Baltimore Symphony, an audit of the orchestra shows sever financial difficulties, and the orchestra's continued existence is in doubt.

​A local article about the situation can be found here.

(from a press release)

Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) has announced the 2019–2020 grant recipients for PlayUSA, a program that supports a wide range of instrumental music education projects across the United States, all specifically designed to reach low-income and underserved students on a local level. For its fifth anniversary year, Carnegie Hall has selected 17 organizations, including 5 new partners receiving a total of $500,000 in grants.

These are the new recipients:

Chicago Jazz Philharmonic (Chicago, IL)
Founded in 2004 by Orbert Davis and Mark Ingram as America’s definitive “Third Stream” orchestra, the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic (CJP) provides rich, accessible, and multicultural music experiences that bridge the gap between jazz and classical music. CJP performs works from jazz big band standards to classical symphonies while creating a new aesthetic through cross-genre collaborations. CJP also provides access to music education through Jazz Alive, a weekly music education program for Chicago Public School students, and Summer Jazz Academy, a two-week program that immerses students in music theory and practice. Chicago Jazz Philharmonic performances entertain and inspire, and the community-based education programs improve lives from school age through adulthood.

Empire State Youth Orchestra (Schenectady, NY)
Empire State Youth Orchestra (ESYO) is changing the lives of its musicians and the communities in which they live and perform, using music as a catalyst for social change. To further expand its impact, ESYO launched CHIME in 2015. CHIME (Creating Harmony Inspiring Musical Excellence) provides free daily music instruction to some of the region’s most underserved elementary and middle school children—youth who might not otherwise have the ability or income to seriously pursue music. Through CHIME, ESYO hopes to ensure the musicians of tomorrow are as diverse as the communities they seek to inspire. ESYO challenges more than 600 of the most talented youth from the Capital Region of New York, Western New England, and all walks of life to achieve musical excellence through intensive instruction and high-level performance. Through 12 performing ensembles and CHIME, ESYO is igniting a lifelong love of music in the youngest members of our communities, breaking boundaries, and fostering new connections.

Hawaii Youth Symphony (Honolulu, HI)
Established as a non-profit organization in 1964, the Hawaii Youth Symphony (HYS) promotes and celebrates the importance of music study on academic achievement and social-emotional development through its mission to develop youth to their fullest potential through orchestral music. Its programs serve youth from complete beginners through advanced performers, in settings ranging from chamber music to full symphony orchestra, band, and jazz ensembles. HYS aspires to make music a right, not a privilege, and aims to empower children everywhere with the joy, skills, and character building that music-making uniquely provides. Each year, the organization serves more than 700 students ages 7–18 from over 100 schools statewide.

Juneau Alaska Music Matters (Juneau, AK)
Juneau Alaska Music Matters (JAMM) is an El Sistema-inspired, tuition-free school readiness and enrichment program in Juneau, Alaska’s capital city, that uses music and community partnerships to promote academic success for all students. JAMM directly serves 500 students in three public elementary schools, including two Title One schools. In the 2019 – 2020 season, JAMM will expand into a middle school as well. JAMM and its partners—including the Juneau Symphony—are highly committed to at-risk students through programming that takes place both during and after school.

Trenton Music Makers (Trenton, NJ)
Trenton Music Makers is a free, high-intensity string program for students in grades 2–12. Young people learn violin, viola, cello or bass, and play as an orchestra, in addition to studying theory, choral singing, and bucket drumming. They are empowered to find and use their voice, and to work closely together to cultivate harmony and pursue ambitious goals for their orchestra and their city. 
 
And these are the returning recipients:

​

(from a press release)

Founded in 1936, the Brevard Music Center stands as one of this country’s premier summer classical music training programs and festivals. Each year, 500 gifted students (ages 14 through post-college) come to the Music Center from across the United States and around the world to study with a distinguished faculty and renowned guest artists. 

Each summer, students participate in a vigorous program of instruction and performance led by BMC Artistic Director and alumnus Keith Lockhart, the Principal Conductor of the Boston Pops and Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra in London. Brevard’s hallmark is the powerful sense of community that re-emerges every June through August as faculty and students present more than 80 remarkable concerts to summer audiences totaling over 40,000. ​

The 2019 season of the Brevard Music Center (BMC) Summer Festival concludes with a breathtaking finale weekend—August 2 through August 4—featuring three exuberant and impassioned masterworks including Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, Stravinsky’s Firebird, and Mahler 2. All three performances feature BMC's resident orchestras and take place at the 1800-seat, open-air Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium (WPA), which also boasts lawn seating for 400, lakeside ambiance, casual concessions fare, and picnic-friendly grounds on the Music Center's expansive campus. Ticket prices start at $20.

“Brevard Music Center is a mission-driven summer music institute and festival dedicated to training the next generation of gifted young musicians,” noted Brevard Music Center President & CEO Mark Weinstein. “Each summer our festival grows in stature and reputation as our BMC student body raises the bar to new heights of artistic and performance excellence. Combined with our esteemed faculty, world-class guest artists, and the exquisite natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, an experience at the Brevard Music Center Summer Festival is not only transformative for our students, but also for our audiences. Please join us!" 

On Friday, August 2 at 7:30 p.m., BMC Artistic Director Keith Lockhart takes center stage with the Brevard Concert Orchestra in a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. The evening’s program also features Maslanka's Hymn for World Peace and Mackey's Aurora Awakes, performed by the Brevard Symphonic Winds under the direction of Kraig Alan Williams. 

On Saturday, August 3 at 7:30 p.m., BMC Resident Conductor Ken Lam leads the Brevard Sinfonia in Stravinsky’s vibrant and rhythmic Firebird Suite, composed for Diaghilev's famed Ballets Russes. Additional works include the composer's Song of the Nightingale, as well as Liadov's From The Apocalypse and the Brevard debut of violinist SooBeen Lee in Sibelius' Violin Concerto in D minor.

On Sunday, August 4 at 3:00 p.m., BMC Artistic Director Keith Lockhart, the Brevard Music Center Orchestra, and hundreds of artists fill the WPA stage for the season finale performance of Mahler 2. Mezzo-soprano Susan Platts, soprano Ilana Davidson, and the Brevard Music Festival Chorus, under the direction of chorus master David Gresham, are also featured in Mahler's impassioned and apocalyptic Resurrection Symphony.

American violinist Aaron Rosand has passed away at the age of 92.

I interviewed Rosand several years ago when he was traveling through the area for a performance.  In talking to him and discussing his extensive links to great teachers and performers he had worked with and encountered in his already long life, I said to him "You're really the last of the romantics, aren't you?".  I don't remember his exact words, but his response was something along the lines of "Yes, I am".

In addition to performing, Rosand taught at the Curtis Institute, retiring only three months ago. Pneumonia was the cause of death.

​You can find an article about his life and career here.

Southern California station KUSC will be the beneficiary of a $2 million bequest from a listener and devotee of classical music.

The entire story can be found here.