The Charlotte Symphony has put on a happy face before the arrival of a new music director Kwamw Ryan.

Here’s the small print of the new agreement:

• Salary Increases: 13.5% increase in weekly salary for all full-time musicians over the
three-year term.
• Season Expansion: The addition of one week beginning in the second year of the
contract, increasing the number of working weeks from 38 to 39. This expansion allows
the Symphony to bring more music to the community and provide a more stable work
environment for musicians. With the salary increase, and the additional week of work, the
minimum salary for musicians rises from $45,861 to $53,709 over the course of the
contract.
• Industry-Leading Tenure Process: Updates to the tenure process that align with and
support the CSO’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. These new provisions
offer additional support for musicians during the probationary period, with clear and
transparent feedback mechanisms. The changes were heavily informed by guidance from
the Black Orchestral Network and the study of best practice in the League of American
Orchestras, both of which aim to increase diversity in American Orchestras.
• Increased Flexibility: Updated work practices that allow for more flexibility in planning,
enabling the CSO to be more collaborative and responsive to the evolving needs of the
community, while preserving CSO musicians’ ability to organize their working lives
effectively, including other personal performance and teaching opportunities as residents
of the Charlotte region.

From the press release:

Jacquelyn Stucker has withdrawn from all performances of The Marriage of Figaro for health reasons. The role of Countess Almaviva will be performed by Maria Bengtsson.

Press release

Wednesday 28 August 2024

Cast change announcements
The Marriage of Figaro and Tosca

The Marriage of Figaro | 2 – 15 Sept 2024

Jacquelyn Stucker has withdrawn from all performances of The Marriage of Figaro for health reasons. The role of Countess Almaviva will be performed by Maria Bengtsson.

Sonya Yoncheva has withdrawn from all performances of Tosca for personal reasons. The role of Floria Tosca will be performed by Natalya Romaniw (26, 29 Nov and 6, 8 (matinee) Dec), and Chiara Isotton (11, 13 Dec), who makes her House debut.

To lose one soprano is unfortunate. Two starts to look like a trend.

Katharina Wagner’s parting message last night at the closing of the Bayreuth Festival 2024 was: The entire Festspielchor must re-audition. The existing Festspielchor has been disbanded.

The Festspiele will hold auditions on around 10 weekends across Europe (but none in the UK) starting in late autumn. Only two venues in Germany are planned.

Until now, Katie has merely shrunk the Chor. Now she’s ujsing the arrival of a new chorusmaster to sweep the backroom of simmering discontent and start again.

‘We have effectively been laid off,’ said one singer. ‘Nobody knows what will happen next and whether any of us will be here next year..

It’s a brutal decision. Many of the chorus members return every summer and know every detail of Bayreuth procedure. They will leave with a bitter taste, and justly so.

The Minnesota Orchestra, which is losing its prez to Dallas, has offered the job on an interime basis to the veteran Brent Assink.

He was executive director of the San Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas for 18 years, retiring in 2017.

press release:

Anthony Roth Costanzo, the star countertenor who took the helm as General Director and President of Opera Philadelphia on June 1, announced today that all tickets for every performance in the 2024-2025 Season will be available for $11, or a higher price of your choosing, as part of a new initiative called Pick Your Price. The pioneering ticket program, the first of its kind initiated by a major American opera company, represents a radical shift aimed at bringing opera to more people.

“Price can be a big barrier to entry at the opera, and ticket sales are a metric that too often determines how we program, how we engage, and how we market. If we are worried about making sure we sell expensive tickets, it limits the possibility of who we reach and what we make.” Costanzo said. “Pick Your Price invites everyone to connect with Opera Philadelphia at a price that works for them.”

Michael Heaston was promoted yesterday to Deputy General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera.

Heaston was hired five years ago as artistic administrator in place of Jonathan Friend.

Now he’s just a heartbeat away from the hot seat.

The British composer, who died yesterday, gave a long interview about the contributions of his father and other immigrants to the evolution of music in Britain and elsewhere.

PR message:
I wanted to let you know about cellist and composer Joshua Roman’s Immunity project, centered around his experience of Long COVID, which he will tour to Long COVID clinics around the country this fall, and release as an album on Bright Shiny Things, October 4.

The Immunity program features music ranging from J.S. Bach, Allison Loggins-Hull, George Crumb, Caroline Shaw, Leonard Cohen, and two of Roman’s own compositions. The varied works are woven into a narrative that traces key moments over the last three years, as Roman has navigated the complex challenges of chronic illness, ultimately finding a newfound strength in his vulnerability.

In Fall 2024, Roman will tour the Immunity program to Long COVID clinics across the United States, giving intimate performances to patients suffering from the chronic illness. Sharing music and community with other Long COVID patients, the Immunity Tour seeks to bring awareness to the condition and provide a safe space for patients to listen and engage in their shared experience. Events will take place at clinics in New York City, Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, St. Louis, and more.

The Baltimore conservatory has made half a dozen new faculty appointments, it said today.

Rachel Brashier (pic), Associate Professor and Chair of Music Education; Richard Drehoff, Assistant Professor in Ear Training; Annie Fullard, Professor and Director of Chamber Music; Emily Milius, Assistant Professor in Music Theory; Ian Rosenbaum, Associate Professor of Percussion; Darin Atwater, Distinguished Visiting Professor, who will continue working with our faculty on expanding the range and diversity of music being studied and performed at Peabody, while building out new offerings in Gospel music; and Boris Slutzky returns to Peabody as Distinguished Professor of Piano.

There are the new teachers:
Soloist, chamber musician, and humorist Nicholas Canellakis (Cello ’06);
Philadelphia Orchestra assistant principal Yumi Kendall (Cello ’04);
Boston Symphony Orchestra member Christine Jeonghyoun Lee (Cello ’13);
and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra principal clarinet YaoGuang Zhai (Clarinet ’09),

The board of the Los Angeles Philharmonic has elected Jason Subotky in place of Thomas L. Beckmen as its chair from the beginning of October. Beckmen has presided over several management departures in his five-year term and the ship has only just begun to stabilise under new CEO Kim Noltemy.

Subotky, a wealthy asset manager, is a trained musician. He is married to the concert violinist Anne Akiko Meyers.

The Finale technology has made this announcement:

– There will be no further updates to Finale, or any of its associated tools (PrintMusic, Notepad, Songwriter)
– It is no longer possible to purchase or upgrade Finale in the MakeMusic eStore
– Finale will continue to work on devices where it is currently installed (barring OS changes)
– After one year, beginning August 2025, these changes will go into effect:

– It will not be possible to authorize Finale on any new devices, or reauthorize Finale
– Support for Finale v27 or any other version of Finale will no longer be available.

For a limited time, users of any version of Finale or PrintMusic can purchase Dorico Pro for just $149 (retail price $579).

Composer responses on social media range from outrage to despair. ‘A bummer for many of us,’ is one of the milder comments.