EarRelevant

EarRelevant Staff | 9 SEP 2026 ATLANTA, Georgia— Atlanta contemporary music group ensemble vim will open its eighth season Oct. 12 with the Atlanta premiere of Raven Chacon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Voiceless Mass, beginning a 2026-27 season that will combine contemporary chamber music with dance, visual art and community engagement. The season will include four principal concert programs, along with activities connected to the ensemble’s spark2 interdisciplinary initiative.

What the Boston Symphony dispute and negotiations reveal William Ford | 7 SEP 2026 For months, the dispute surrounding Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra was presented in unusually consequential terms. This was not simply a disagreement about a music director whose contract would not be renewed. Musicians described the decision as a threat to artistic quality, institutional stability, trust, and the BSO’s international standing. Then came contract negotiations.

EarRelevant Staff | 4 SEP 2026 CLEVELAND, Ohio— Musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra voted unanimously on Thursday to authorize a strike if a new labor agreement is not reached by Sept. 23, raising the prospect of a work stoppage at one of the nation’s most prominent ensembles. The vote followed weeks of bargaining that began in July. The players’ previous contract expired Aug. 30 and was extended through Sept. 23. Negotiations continued Friday.

EarRelevant Staff | 3 SEP 2026 ATLANTA, Georgia— The Atlanta Chamber Players will mark their 51st season with three public concerts in 2026-27, combining works by composers including Brahms, Dvořák, Bartók and Schubert with contemporary music and a world premiere. The season follows the Atlanta ensemble’s landmark 50th anniversary and continues its emphasis on both established chamber repertoire and new music.

EarRelevant Staff | 3 SEP 2026 ATLANTA, Georgia— The Atlanta Opera and Alliance Theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof received 12 nominations Wednesday for the 2026 Suzi Bass Awards, including recognition for outstanding production of a musical. The nominations, which span 11 categories, include direction, music direction, choreography, acting and five design categories. Tomer Zvulun, The Atlanta Opera’s general and artistic director, was nominated for outstanding direction of a musical.

The real problem is treating a federal board as illegitimate Mark Gresham | 2 SEP 2026 On August 29, The Atlantic published a short culture piece by Janay Kingsberry titled “The Kennedy Center Has a Problem That Courts Can’t Fix.” Its argument is straightforward: a board of “Trump loyalists” keeps making new decisions—renaming plans, shutting down for renovation—that send the John F.

Four singers and two stage directors join the company for a season of professional performance, directing and training opportunities EarRelevant Staff | 31 AUG 2026 ATLANTA, Georgia— The Atlanta Opera has selected four singers and two stage directors for its 2026–27 Studio Artist program, bringing six early-career artists to Atlanta for a season of performances, directing assignments, understudy and cover work, rehearsals and specialized coaching.

EarRelevant Staff | 31 AUG 2026 ATLANTA, Georgia— The Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta will begin its 34th season Sept. 11 with more than 60 free concerts, masterclasses, classes, world premieres and other programs at venues throughout Atlanta and at Emory University.

Childhood curiosity and what education programs risk forgetting Henry Cheng | 28 AUG 2026 This essay begins an ongoing EarRelevant series, The Public Life of an Orchestra, examining how orchestras earn a lasting place in their communities through artistic choices, education, relationships, and the institutional memory that allows good work to deepen over time. • • • When I was seven, summer seemed to last forever. I had just moved to Georgia and was waiting to turn eight.

EarRelevant Staff | 27 AUG 2026 ATLANTA, Georgia— After 25 years of teaching young musicians that chamber music requires as much listening as playing, Franklin Pond Chamber Music is preparing for a leadership transition that will begin a new chapter for the Atlanta-based educational organization. Ronda Respess, who founded Franklin Pond in 2001, plans to retire from the organization at the beginning of 2027.