An intensive summer orchestra program with a focus on rigorous artistic development, the YOLA National Festival is for young musicians from El Sistema-inspired programs and programs similarly invested in youth and community development through music throughout the country.

Join us for a continuation of the work that began during our 2022 Reframing the Narrative celebration recognizing Black contributions to classical ballet. This two-performance engagement features a newly commissioned ballet and excerpts of recently premiered works by Black choreographers.

The Sphinx Medal of Excellence Ceremony is an annual event that recognizes Black and Latinx classical musicians for their artistic excellence, work ethic, determination, and commitment to their communities and leadership. The Sphinx Organization also awards each recipient with a $50,000 career grant.

The Louisville Orchestra has always been an orchestra of innovation, creativity and excellence. Today it is an organization that is changing the very idea of what a 21st Century orchestra can be and do. Welcome to the Louisville Orchestra. We hope you’ll take the time to discover why the LO is well on its way of achieving the goal of Music Director, Teddy Abrams, “to become known as the most interesting orchestra on the planet.”

The Conservatory of Music strives to be the finest student-centered music school possible, one that provides students with an increasingly diverse range of cultural perspectives. Through scholarship, education, performance, and in a range of therapeutic and music industry settings, Pacific’s Conservatory creates new music, considers and reconsiders significant histories, and presents works of and about music through live events and emerging media.

The Oakland Symphony, Youth Orchestra and Chorus bring together orchestral music, choral music and youth education to strengthen the Oakland/East Bay community by providing quality live performances, education for lifetime enrichment and the perpetuation of the performing arts.

Led by Music Director Thomas Søndergård, the Minnesota Orchestra is a Grammy Award-winning orchestra known for acclaimed performances around the world. We’re on a mission to enrich, inspire and serve our community as an enduring symphony orchestra.

New Ballet’s 2023 NutRemix™, presented by Nike, was an electrifying and innovative production that took the entire family on a captivating journey with a story set on Memphis’ iconic Beale Street. At the heart of NutRemix lies New Ballet’s mission: pushing artistic horizons and making dance accessible to all.

With a mission “to inspire, educate, and captivate our community through the transformative power of music,” the Victoria Symphony (VS) is one of British Columbia’s largest performing arts organizations. At the core of VS operations is our commitment to our orchestra: 44 outstanding professional musicians who share their expertise not only on stage with our audiences, but in the community as teachers at the University of Victoria, the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and in private studios. Over 95% of our expenses go to paying local employees, artists, and businesses. The success of VS is tightly connected to our ongoing and valued collaborations with other major artistic partners in the local arts community. Our mutually beneficial relationships with groups like Pacific Opera Victoria, Ballet Victoria, Dance Victoria, Vox Humana Chamber Choir, The Victoria Children’s Choir, the Victoria Philharmonic Choir, the Victoria Choral Society, and the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra put us at the very centre of Victoria’s cultural community.

The Cleveland Institute of Music empowers the world’s most talented classical music students to fulfill their dreams and potential. Its graduates command the most celebrated and revered stages in the world as soloists, leading roles, chamber musicians and ensemble members; compose meaningful, award-winning new repertoire; produce Grammy Award-winning recordings; and are highly sought-after teaching artists, administrators and thought leaders.

A testament to the excellence of a CIM education, more than half of the members of The Cleveland Orchestra are connected to CIM as members of the faculty, alumni or both, and CIM alumni occupy hundreds of chairs in major orchestras worldwide. The school’s increasingly diverse collegiate and pre-college student bodies benefit from access to world-renowned visiting artists, intensive study with CIM’s stellar faculty and the rich curriculum offered by CIM’s partner, Case Western Reserve University. A leader among its peers, CIM is the largest presenter of free performances, master classes and community concerts in the Midwest, hosting hundreds of events each year on campus and at locations regionwide, including Severance Music Center.

Kalena Bovell serves as the Cover Conductor.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest professional symphony orchestra in the United States, preceded only by the New York Philharmonic. Its principal concert venue is Powell Hall, located in midtown St. Louis.

"Deserving of all honor ... for a girl." This is how Alma Schindler recorded in her diary in 1899 the praise her teacher gave her latest songs. Even the good-natured praise had a sexist sting, and her career as a composer ended with her promise to her fiancé Gustav Mahler that she would only live for him and his music. The sparkling "5 Songs" and their range from intoxication to irony at least give an idea of ​​her talent. Fortunately, the British composer Anna Clyne was born a hundred years later. "Within her arms" is an intimate mourning piece; a string elegy like Samuel Barber's Adagio or Richard Strauss's Metamorphoses. The piece develops gently towards a more hopeful conclusion. Tchaikovsky also takes us on a musical journey in his 5th Symphony. An even greater journey that encompasses the clarinet darkness of the beginning and the yearning horn solo of the Andante; that knows heartache and waltz happiness. The fact that Tchaikovsky's work ends in frenetic optimism is perhaps just another form of melancholy... 

An astonishing concert program that fits beautifully with the season’s theme of “Being” and at the same time reflects the artistic stature of the young American conductor Kalena Bovell. (Kalena Bovell dirigiert Tschaikowsky. Konzerte & Events - Detailseite - Musikkollegium Winterthur. (2023). https://www.musikkollegium.ch/programm-tickets/programm/konzerte-events-detailseite?event=6386. (translated from German))

In Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, many of the musical worlds Black people occupy collide to make something thrilling and distinct. The sound is hybrid. The instruments are European and African. The audience is encouraged to embrace the music in any way they see fit! Cheer, talk back, applaud – it’s all good.

This is an opera for everyone.

As author Naomi André puts it: “Opera is an art form that has potential for being a site of critical inquiry, political activism and social change… Opera has become a space where Black people are writing themselves into history…. Unlike the audiences for the very first opera performances in seventeenth century northern Italy… the audiences I envision… are vast…”