A federal judge has ruled in favour of the Archdiocese of Chicago in a lawsuit brought by a gay music director who was fired after announcing his same-sex marriage engagement, the Daily Herald (Arlington Heights) reports. Former music director Colin Collette filed the lawsuit in March 2016 seeking his job back, back pay and damages. He had worked at the church for 17 years. Read More →

Stéphane Denève
(c) Henry Fair

Today, the St. Louis Symphony announced the appointment of French conductor Stéphane Denève, 45, as its next Music Director. Denève, who will serve as the St. Louis Symphony’s 13th Music Director, has been a frequent guest conductor with the orchestra since 2003.  His initial three-year contract begins with the 2019-2020 season. He will serve as Music Director Designate during the 2018-2019 season. Stéphane Denève will succeed David Robertson. Read More →

Sunday, 18 June, Sir Jeffrey Tate was scheduled to conduct his last concert with his Symphoniker Hamburg before the summer break. The orchestra announces this concert now as a farewell concert for the deceased chief conductor. The concert will be conducted by Ion Marin, Principal Guest conductor of Symphoniker Hamburg. Read More →

Rei Hotoda

Rei Hotoda has been named as the eighth music director for the Fresno Philharmonic. Hotoda signed a four year contract, commencing on July 1, 2017. She succeeds Theodore Kuchar who stepped down one year ago after 15 years in the position. Born in Japan and raised in the US was Associate Conductor of the Utah Symphony Orchestra from fall 2015 to Summer 2017.

The California based San Diego Symphony has announced a new sales record. In the 2016/17 season, their series Jacobs Masterworks generated revenues that are 15.6 percent higher than last year’s. Read More →

Determination characterizes the actions of the doomed NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) in the United States. Director Greg Reinersays in a communication: « The President’s FY 2018 budget proposes the elimination of the NEA. This budget request is a first step in a long process, as Congress begins to draft the FY18 budget over the summer. We continue to accept grant applications for FY 2018 at our usual deadlines and will continue to operate as usual until a new budget is enacted by Congress. If you are planning to apply at the July deadline continue to do so! »

Oper Frankfurt

Die Diskussion um die Sanierung der Frankfurter Bühnen – Oper und Schauspiel, die ja bekanntlich in einem riesigen Gebäude untergebracht sind – hat mit einer neuen Studie Aufwind bekommen. Read More →

The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (taking place May 25-June 10 in Fort Worth, Texas), has announced the six pianists advancing to Final Round. They are: Kenneth Broberg, 23, United States, Rachel Cheung, 25, Hong Kong,Yury Favorin, 30, Russia, Daniel Hsu, 19, United States, Yekwon Sunwoo, 28, South Korea, Georgy Tchaidze, 29, Russia.

Paul Haas

American conductor Paul Haas has been named music director of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, Ontario, Canada. He officially takes over July 1. Paul Haas, a graduate of Yale University and the Juilliard School has previously served as the head of the New York Youth Symphony and is since 2010 Music Director of the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas.

The musicians and singers of the opera house in Toulon, Southern France, began a strike on Sunday and refused to play and sing this evening (6/6). The reason is, according to the unions, insufficient salaries and a total lack of negotiation from the city. The strikers also say, they are very worried about the future. The Opera in Toulon suffered a strike already in April 2017.