Recent Classical News

From MusicWorld, posted 6.15.18. In celebration of Immigrant Heritage Month, PBS will hold the nationwide premiere of Great Performances – Ellis Island: The Dream of America with Pacific Symphony, on June 29th. Ellis Island features noted composer Peter Boyer’s original orchestral score built around seven firsthand stories of immigrants drawn from the Ellis Island Oral… Read more...

From News, posted 5.15.18. The BMI Foundation, in collaboration with BMI, has announced the nine young classical composers, ages 18 to 26, who have been named winners of the 66th annual BMI Student Composer Awards. Renowned American composer and Chair of the Student Composer Awards Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, BMI President and CEO and BMIF Honorary… Read more...

From News, posted 4.06.18. BMI is saddened by the passing of iconic jazz pianist Cecil Taylor. Taylor, who was a master of the avant-garde, played with a raw energy so intensely precise it was unmatched in any genre. Having studied classical music at the New England Conservatory in the early 50s, Taylor honed his touch,… Read more...

From News, posted 2.12.18. Emmy-winning soprano Adrienne Danrich has performed leading operatic roles around the world, including Aida and Madame Butterfly, and this year she will be heard at the Cincinnati and Metropolitan Operas, as well as the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In addition to being a classically trained singer, the talented BMI affiliate has… Read more...

From News, posted 1.30.18. On January 20, 2018, the GRAMMY-winning Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of also GRAMMY-winning BMI composer/conductor Lucas Richman, triumphantly premiered BMI composer Kathryn Bostic’s magnificent work, The August Wilson Symphony. The symphony, which consists of five movements, was inspired by poems and the ten plays of renowned playwright, August Wilson,… Read more...

From News, posted 11.28.17. BMI is very proud to congratulate our many talented affiliates on their prestigious GRAMMY nominations, which were announced this morning by the Recording Academy. The 60th GRAMMY Awards, to be held in Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, January 28, 2018, will salute a wide array of BMI… Read more...

From News, posted 11.15.17. The New York Times has called it “the most eagerly anticipated new opera of the season,” and judging solely by the unparalleled resumes of BMI composer John Adams, who is the most-performed living American composer, and renowned BMI librettist and director Peter Sellars, serious music lovers would have to agree. Their… Read more...

From News, posted 10.16.17. The extraordinary work of BMI composers Lolita Ritmanis, Peter Boyer and Steven Lebetkin were front and center at Orchestra Moderne NYC’s October 7 performance of Journey to America: From Repression to Freedom (Part 1). The Carnegie Hall concert, which was expertly conducted by the orchestra’s founder, Amy Andersson, celebrated the American… Read more...

From News, posted 10.14.17. BMI is proud to share the news that singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter Rhiannon Giddens and instrumentalist, improviser, composer, ensemble leader and conductor Tyshawn Sorey have been selected to receive fellowships from the prestigious MacArthur Foundation. Fellowships award $625,000 to each individual recipient as an investment in their potential. Giddens and Sorey… Read more...

From News, posted 10.04.17. The BMI Foundation has announced that it is now accepting online applications for its 2018 scholarship season. Open to young musicians and songwriters attending colleges and universities nationwide, the Foundation will administer seven distinct scholarship competitions aided by panelists of international musical acclaim. These annual programs include the BMI Future Jazz… Read more...