“I wanted to encourage young emerging LGBTQ+ composers to write pieces that tell their story in an authentic way… This concert series is both a celebration of how far we have come and how far we still have to go.”

The father, Sergio, is a guitarist, composer, arranger, educator, and the daughter, Clarice, is a bold and highly innovative vocalist, composer, orchestrator, videographer, and mentor.

Over the span of just 9 months, Philadelphia Orchestra went from being one of the least representative orchestras of women composers to being the most.

A musical treat even more delicious than an alfajor.

CHICAGO (AP) — A music composition professor in Illinois has learned he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Music . Western Illinois University notes that finalists aren’t known until after a winner is announced. A Friday statement from the school says one of its professors, James Romig, found out he’d been up for the award after Los Angeles composer Ellen Reid was …

Moby-Dick is a Great American Novel, no doubt. But that fact doesn’t make Herman Melville’s 600+ page opus any less intimidating.

The Chicago-born artist attributes his interest in politics and social justice to his many years singing in the Chicago Children’s Choir.

More than two decades after a tragedy catalyzed a generation of LGBTQ activists, Matthew Shepard’s story is being shared with a new generation through music.

Known for composing in styles ranging from melody to dissonance, he earned the Pulitzer in 1975 for From the Diary of Virginia Woolf, a composition for voice and piano.

“I believe that Karenina is a magical moment of looking at our beautiful art form and taking it a step forward,” says Ashley Wheater, Joffrey Ballet’s artistic director. One of the cornerstones of the production is 35-year-old composer Ilya Demutsky’s brand new, full-length orchestral score, the first such commission in Joffrey’s 62-year history.

Renée Baker’s interest in Baldwin began when she first heard recordings of his voice. “The person that I’d only accessed from books became quite real once I was able to actually hear and listen to him speak.” She notes.

“Right now, we’re in a golden era of American opera”

With pianist Justina Lee, Wilson shared a selection from Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos and Weightless Dreams, a song cycle composed for Wilson based on the writings and experiences of women astronauts.

Winter can be grueling, but music can warm and soothe. Here’s the music that helps WFMT get through the season.

The eighty-fifth annual season opens June 12 and will run through August 17, with most performances taking place at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

Andris Nelsons, Mariss Jansons, Kristine Opolais: when we think of classical music in Latvia, most are either conductors or musicians. But Latvia also has an abundance of composers whose works you will want to hear.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ten years ago at age 27, Nico Muhly became the youngest composer ever to have a piece commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. “It was completely terrifying,” Muhly said of the offer from Met general manager Peter Gelb to write “Two Boys” for America’s leading opera house. As with any commission he gets, he said, “It’s not …

When it comes to Czech composers, most are familiar only with Antonín Dvořák. Here are ten more Czech composers that we think you should know!

Corky Siegel is one of the world’s great blues harmonica players. He is also a composer, pianist, singer, bandleader, teacher, and author whose curiosity about classical music and American blues has inspired much of his distinguished half-century career.

Missy Mazzoli is a composer who is inspired by “weird stories,” and that’s a good thing. Her fascination with “humans who support, undermine, and love each other” has paved the way for opportunities in nearly every realm of the music industry. She is one of two women composers commissioned to write an opera for the Metropolitan Opera in New York …

Violinist Jennifer Koh visited WFMT for a Facebook live broadcast and shared two contrasting works — the “Sarabande” from Bach’s Violin Partita No.2 in D minor and “Kinski Paganini,” by Missy Mazzoli. She also spoke about the importance of ensuring that there is diversity in future generations of classical artists. “One of the things that’s important to me,” Koh shared, “is to bring voice to people who didn’t have that voice before.”

When composer Mohammed Fairouz isn’t busy writing symphonies or operas, he’s likely writing about international politics for the Huffington Post, On Being, or Foreign Policy.

Mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges is known for her interpretations of classic and contemporary works, and she shared both with us live in the WFMT studios – including a world premiere!

CINCINNATI (AP) — Composer Gregory Spears and U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith have been commissioned by the Cincinnati Opera to write Castor and Patience, a story of black cousins in the American South who disagree about the future of land they inherited. The company said Tuesday that the work will premiere at the Corbett Theater in July 2020. Smith’s …

With the Supreme Court very much in the news these days, a Chicago label has released a musical tribute illuminating the personal and professional life of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is marking 25 years on the high court.