The Cliburn Announces New Cliburn International Competition for Conductors

Hosted in partnership with the Houston Symphony and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, the inaugural competition will take place in June 2028 in Houston, Texas with Marin Alsop as Jury Chair 

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Houston, TX - January 22, 2026

The Cliburn announces the launch of a major new program: the Cliburn International Competition for Conductors, open to 21- to 35-year-old conductors. Taking place in June 2028 in Houston, Texas, in partnership with the Houston Symphony and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, it will be the first major international conducting competition in North America. Marin Alsop, one of the foremost artists of our time and conductor of the 2022 and 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competitions, will serve as Jury Chair, and the Houston Symphony will perform with all competitors.

An esteemed Artistic Advisory Committee will consult on rounds, repertoire, and ways to support young conductors, and includes Alsop, Miguel Harth-Bedoya (Distinguished Resident Director of Orchestras and Professor of Conducting at the Shepherd School), Kent Nagano, Robert Spano, Juraj Valčuha (Music Director of the Houston Symphony), and Xian Zhang.

“Conductors are among the most pivotal figures in classical music and need opportunities to showcase their artistry. For more than 60 years, the Cliburn has focused on discovering exceptional young artists, launching their careers, and bringing classical music to the widest international audience possible. We are uniquely positioned to leverage our experience and reach to launch the first major conducting competition in North America,” said Jacques Marquis, President and CEO of the Cliburn. “Van Cliburn made his orchestra debut with the Houston Symphony at age 12 and later went on to conduct some of the world’s top orchestras himself, so this is a natural continuation of the Cliburn’s mission. We are delighted to come full circle and share his vision of excellence and love of music with the great city of Houston. The future of the arts and the ability to do great things rests on collaborations, and the Cliburn is thrilled to be working alongside the Houston Symphony and its fantastic musicians, and to partner with the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University to host. Inspired by Van’s legacy and Marin Alsop’s vision, we look forward to welcoming the world’s top young conductors to Texas in 2028.”

Applications for the Cliburn International Competition for Conductors, as well as full schedule, rules, rounds, and requirements, will be available in October 2026 and due in November 2027. A screening jury will review online applications and video submissions, selecting up to 25 applicants for a live audition in early 2028 at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. 12 competitors will then be invited to compete in June 2028. The competition itself will take place at the Shepherd School of Music and Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, home of the Houston Symphony. All Competition Rounds will be open to the public; tickets will go on sale in early 2028.

One grand prize winner will receive a cash award of $50,000, concert opportunities, and bolstered publicity efforts. Finalists will each receive cash awards of $20,000.

The Cliburn builds on its already well-established digital presence—with video views topping 100 million in over 180 countries over the past four years—and will livestream all rounds to a passionate international audience.

“Conducting the Finals of the past two Van Cliburn International Piano Competitions and watching the medalists’ careers blossom has been deeply rewarding. Creating access and new opportunities for the next generations of gifted musicians is one of the most meaningful aspects of my work,” said Marin Alsop. “When I was invited to serve as Jury Chair for a new conducting competition modeled on the Cliburn’s piano competition, it felt like a natural next step in my partnership with this wonderful organization and one that strongly aligns with my mission to remove barriers and expand opportunities for emerging conductors.”

“It is an honor for the Houston Symphony to collaborate on bringing the new Cliburn International Competition for Conductors to Houston,” said Gary Ginstling, Houston Symphony Executive Director and CEO and holder of the Margaret Alkek Williams Chair. “Houston is a global hub with a thriving international community and is the perfect place for the Cliburn to launch this new initiative. The Houston Symphony’s artistry and flexibility make us the ideal symphony orchestra to help identify a new generation of conducting talent.”

 “The Shepherd School is thrilled to join our partners in launching this major new conducting competition,” said Matthew Loden, the Lynette S. Autrey Dean of Music at the Shepherd School of Music. “From its earliest days, the Shepherd School has been deeply committed to training young conductors, who study with distinguished faculty such as the late Larry Rachleff and now Miguel Harth-Bedoya. We are eager to host conducting talent from around the world in 2028, and we’re proud to be part of launching this next generation of musical leadership.”

Through this new competition, the Cliburn, the Houston Symphony, the Shepherd School of Music, and Alsop demonstrate dedication to discovering the best young artists and to sharing music with the largest global audience possible. Building on the legacy of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—described by The Guardian as “the instrument’s Olympics”— the Cliburn International Competition for Conductors will be a catalyst for launching significant worldwide careers for its winners.

The Cliburn’s four-year cycle now evolves to:

 YEAR ONE–Non-Competition Year 
(focus on winners’ career management and other programs)
YEAR TWO–Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition
(for pianists age 13-17; June 2027)
YEAR THREE–Cliburn International Competition for Conductors
(for conductors age 21-35, June 2028)
YEAR FOUR–Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
(for pianists age 18-30, May/June 2029)

The Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, inaugurated in 1999 to highlight the importance of music-making in everyday life, will be retired. The first event of its kind in the United States, the program has largely accomplished its mission of growing a thriving community of non-professional pianists.

Cliburn International Competition for Conductors Key Dates:

October 2026: Applications open for the Cliburn International Competition for Conductors; rules, rounds, and requirements are announced

November 2027: Applications due

 January 2028: Tickets on sale

Winter 2028: Live screening round, hosted by the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, for up to 25 conductors

April 2028: 12 competitors announced

June 2028: Cliburn International Competition for Conductors takes place, with 12 invited competitors conducting the Houston Symphony

About the Cliburn

The Cliburn advances classical piano music throughout the world. Its international competitions, education programs, and concert series embody an enduring commitment to artistic excellence and the discovery of new artists. The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (eighteenth edition, May/June 2029) is widely considered “the instrument’s Olympics” (The Guardian, June 2025) and “one of the most prestigious contests in classical music” (The New York Times, June 2022). From its origins in 1962 through today, it has remained dedicated to sharing music with the largest international audience possible and to launching the careers of its winners. Known for excellence and innovation in the digital space, the Cliburn is one of the most-watched events in classical music: video views over the past four years have topped 100 million across 200 countries.

The Cliburn is a proven catalyst to significant worldwide touring careers for its winners, with a laureate roster that—in the past 25 years alone—includes Olga Kern, Joyce Yang, Haochen Zhang, Nobuyuki Tsujii, Yeol Eum Son, Vadym Kholodenko, Beatrice Rana, Yekwon Sunwoo, and Yunchan Lim. And to that list, it now adds its 2025 class: Aristo Sham (gold), Vitaly Starikov (silver), and Evren Ozel (bronze). This track record of success brings an elite group of 18- to 30-year-old pianists to Fort Worth every four years to compete for the coveted medals. The total Cliburn prize package is worth an estimated $2 million and includes comprehensive and personalized career management, concert bookings, artistic support, and bolstered publicity efforts.

Over a four-year cycle, the Cliburn contributes to North Texas’ cultural landscape with over 170 classical music performances for 150,000 attendees through competitions, free community concerts, and its signature Cliburn Concerts series. It presents 1,000 Cliburn in the Classroom in-school, interactive music education programs for more than 200,000 area elementary students. 

About the Houston Symphony

Under the leadership of Music Director Juraj Valčuha, the Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony continues to inspire and engage diverse audiences in Houston and beyond with exceptional musical performances and enduring community impact. The Symphony held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Now in its second century as one of America’s premier orchestras, the Houston Symphony is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas and remains a cultural cornerstone of the region.

With an annual operating budget of $42 million, the Symphony presents over 150 concerts each year, making it one of the largest performing arts organizations in Texas. Its reach extends far beyond the concert hall, delivering more than 600 performances annually at schools, community centers, hospitals, and other venues, engaging over 160,000 people throughout Greater Houston.

 The Symphony's innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic—completing its 2020-21 Season with in-person audiences and weekly livestreams—earned national recognition and the ASCAP Foundation’s Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Broadcast/Media Award. Its commitment to innovation continues, with its 2024-25 Season reaching audiences in over 45 countries and all 50 states via livestreaming, making it one of the few American orchestras to sustain such global digital engagement.

Renowned for its artistry, the Symphony has a distinguished recording legacy under prestigious labels, including Koch International Classics, Naxos, RCA Red Seal, and Pentatone. Highlights include a Grammy and ECHO Klassik Award-winning live recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck and recent releases such as Jimmy López Bellido’s Aurora and Ad Astra (2022) and Jennifer Higdon’s Duo Duel (2023).

The Symphony’s educational impact is equally remarkable, with its Harry and Cora Sue Mach Student Concert Series reaching over 50,000 students annually. Its In Harmony after-school program and partnerships with institutions like the Houston Methodist Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Texas Children’s Hospital further demonstrate the Symphony’s commitment to fostering community connections and accessibility to the arts.

With a vision centered on artistic excellence, community engagement, and accessibility, the Houston Symphony remains a cultural leader in Houston and a global ambassador for the transformative power of music.

About the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University

Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music cultivates the mastery of musical performance, combining a conservatory experience with the educational opportunities of a leading research university. Guided by the belief that talent manifests along unique paths, the Shepherd School limits its student body to 285 uniquely gifted young musicians.

Shepherd gives each music major access to world class teachers—all accomplished artists in their own right—dedicated to cultivating talent and professional success. Its faculty is known for their individualized instruction and for equipping musicians with the skills and experience necessary to develop their own esteemed careers. 

Shepherd alumni include Pulitzer Prize and Grammy winners. They have debuted at Carnegie Hall, appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera, and hold positions in orchestras and chamber music groups around the country and the globe.

In just fifty years, the Shepherd School of Music has become a leading international music school, making it both one of the youngest and one of the most prestigious university-level programs in the country. 

About Marin Alsop

One of the foremost conductors of our time, Marin Alsop is the first woman to serve as the head of major orchestras in the United States, South America, Austria, and Great Britain. Winner of the 2025 Golden Baton Award from the League of American Orchestras, Alsop is also the first and only conductor to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.

Alsop serves as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Chief Conductor of the Ravinia Festival. 

Alsop is a 2025-26 Carnegie Hall Perspectives artist, leading concerts with the Philharmonia Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic, The Juilliard Orchestra and Carnegie Hall’s own Ensemble Connect. Additional season highlights include conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra’s season opener concerts as well as concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. 

To nurture the careers of women conductors, Alsop founded the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship to empower extraordinary women conductors through intensive coaching, mentoring, and financial support.  Today, all 36 award winners hold over 30 music director or chief conductor positions.

In 2021, Alsop assumed the title of Music Director Laureate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. During her 14-year tenure as Music Director, she led the orchestra on its first European tour in 13 years, conducted more than two dozen world premieres, and founded the music education program OrchKids. 

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Media Contacts:
Caroline Finane / 8VA Music Consultancy
caroline@8vamusicconsultancy.com
+49 152 27073037

Patricia Price / 8VA Music Consultancy
patricia@8vamusicconsultancy.com
+1 509-995-5546

Remembering A Fire’s Devastation, Violinist Offers Balm Of Music

By Paul Bodine - January 9, 2026. (Photos by Elizabeth Asher)

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Like a haunting reversion-to-nature scene, the quiet seaside community of Pacific Palisades appeared surprisingly green and lush Jan. 7 after winter rains. It was eerily quiet, the rare ostinato of construction hammers and whir of power screwdrivers overwhelmed by the vastness of empty lots, like silent gravesites. Exactly one year after a catastrophic fire that claimed 12 lives and destroyed 6,833 homes (the largest fire ever in Los Angeles in terms of structures lost), Pacific Palisades courageously mounted a one-year commemoration concert at the community’s Saint Matthew’s Episcopal Church, whose original building was destroyed by wildfire in 1978.

As Thomas Neenan, a member of St. Matthew’s Music Guild Board of Directors, bluntly confirmed, the concert was largely the work of one person — violinist and local resident Anne Akiko Meyers. “Anne has been the driving force behind everything that’s happened today,” he said.

The arson-caused firestorm that destroyed the neighborhood on Jan. 7, 2025, had direct effects on Los Angeles’ musical community. Not only did countless musicians lose homes and instruments, some historically significant, but it also took down local landmarks like Belmont Music Publishers, founded by Arnold Schoenberg’s son, home to thousands of now destroyed Schoenberg scores and parts. Meyers’ home, though damaged, was largely spared.

The violinist’s identification with Pacific Palisades, where she’s lived since 2016, runs deep. She was raised in Los Angeles, where one of her daughters attended the St. Matthews Parish School. Proceeds from the January 7 concert supported four arts organizations, and Meyers serves on the Board of Trustees of The Juilliard School and The Dudamel Foundation.

Read more.

Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship Announces 2026-28 Fellow, Associate Fellow, and Award Recipients

New partnerships launching with Reno Philharmonic, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

Mentees chosen for the 2026 and 2027 TACF Mentorship Program, supported by the Sherman Family Foundation

Click here to download headshots of 2026–28 Fellow, Associate Fellow, and Award Recipients

January 15, 2026

Today, the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship (TACF) proudly announces that Taiwanese conductor Chi-Yuan Lin has been chosen as the 2026–28 TACF Fellow. In a competitive cycle with nearly 150 applicants representing 41 nationalities, the TACF also names Michelle Di Russo as Associate Fellow, and Joséphine Korda, Polina Lebedieva, Ziwei Ma, and Molly Turner as Award Recipients. The Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship is a two-year award that includes intensive coaching and mentoring with Marin Alsop and other music industry professionals. The TACF honorarium for Fellows is $30,000 over two years; other awards are distributed on a merit basis. Since 2003, 42 women conductors have been chosen to participate in the program. The TACF Mentoring Program was established in 2022 and has added 50 additional women conductors to the TACF.

“Since launching the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship in 2002, I have been impressed and inspired by the talent, dedication, and creativity of the women who apply. Their level of expertise and accomplishment rises exponentially every application cycle.” said Marin Alsop, TACF Founder and one of the foremost conductors of our time. “In the nearly 25 years since its founding, I have watched the TACF blossom into a community of women who support each other professionally as well as personally. It’s especially gratifying to see that, among the 2026–28 cohort, three conductors — including the Fellow and Associate Fellow — are past participants in the TACF Mentoring Program, a testament to the important contribution TACF is making to conductors’ growth in multiple phases of their careers. I’m proud and thrilled to welcome this year’s class of Fellows, Award Recipients, and Mentees to the TACF family.”

Chi-Yuan Lin, the TACF 2026–28 Fellow

Born in Taoyuan, Taiwan, Chi-Yuan Lin is currently serving in the Conductor position with the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center Ensemble.  This season at Lyric she will work on Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci, Salome, and Madama Butterfly, and will also return for another season as Music Director and Conductor of the Avanti Orchestra in Washington, DC. Previous engagements include the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, and Peabody Opera Theatre. She received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from National Taiwan Normal University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. She was a 2023–24 Mentee in the TACF Mentoring Program.

“It’s an unbelievable honor to be selected as the 2026 Fellow of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship,” Lin said. “I have long cherished the TACF as a truly special organization. It offers generous, hands-on guidance while creating space, opportunity, and a strong support system as we navigate our future careers. I am especially excited for the opportunity to work with orchestras around the world, to learn through meaningful mentorship with Marin Alsop, and to grow alongside other inspiring female conductors. Music has carried me through difficult moments in life, and as a conductor, I feel deeply fortunate to share passion and joy and to bring people together. As a TACF Fellow, I hope to pass this light on and bring strength and belief wherever I go.”

Clockwise from top left: Polina Lebedieva, Michelle Di Russo, Ziwei Ma, Joséphine Korda, and Molly Turner

Argentinian-Italian conductor Michelle Di Russo is currently Music Director of the Delaware Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony. She was a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and a two-time recipient of The Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award. This season’s highlights include guest conducting debuts with Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic, and Toledo Ballet. She was a TACF Mentee in 2023–24.

British conductor Joséphine Korda is the top prize winner of the Neeme Järvi Prize at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival 2025, receiving invitations to conduct in four Swiss-German orchestras in the 2026-27 season. She has conducted orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, The Philharmonia, and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra. Equally at home in the theatre, she conducts at Northern Ballet, Opera Holland Park, and is currently Conductor in Residence at the Academie de l’Opéra de Paris.

Polina Lebedieva is assistant conductor of Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris. In July 2023, she was a semi-finalist (Top 5) in the Mahler Competition in Bamberg, Germany, and in June 2024, she reached the semi-finals of the International Conducting Competition in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She has also worked with the Berner Symphonieorchester, the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra, and L’Orchestre du Pays Basque, among others.

Born and raised in Beijing, China, Ziwei Ma is currently the Conducting Fellow at the New World Symphony. She recently served as Cover Conductor for The Philadelphia Orchestra (under Stéphane Denève) and appeared as Offstage Conductor with members of the orchestra in performances of Richard Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony. Ma also served as a conducting fellow at the Lakes Area Music Festival and has been invited to return in 2026.

Molly Turner served as Conducting Fellow of New World Symphony during the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons, and was also a Dudamel Fellow with Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2024–25. Highlights of the current season include return engagements with the LA Phil, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris, as well as debuts with Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and Opera Grand Rapids. In addition to conducting, Turner is also a composer and plays violin, viola, and piano. She was a TACF Mentee in 2023–24.

New and continuing partnerships with U.S. and international orchestras

This year, the TACF solidifies exciting partnerships with multiple international orchestras that will provide additional opportunities for the TACF network of conductors. These orchestras are: the Reno Phil in Reno, NV; the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra in South Africa; and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) in Katowice, Poland.

The Reno Phil, with support from Charlotte and Dick McConnell, launches the annual McConnell Conducting Fellowship in the 2026–27 season. In partnership with the TACF, the Reno Phil will choose some of its fellows each year from the Taki community; additional details to be announced. “The Reno Phil is proud to partner with the Taki Alsop Fellowship to expand opportunities for emerging conductors,” said Reno Phil Music Director Laura Jackson, the TACF 2004 Fellow. “Marin Alsop’s mentorship and the strength of the Taki community have played a meaningful role in my own journey. It’s deeply important to me to use my work at the Reno Phil to help support and elevate the next generation.”

The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, two leading South African orchestras, will offer conducting residencies for TACF conductors. “The KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestras are proud to meaningfully contribute to the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, which fosters talented women conductors through active mentorship,” said Bongani Tembe, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of both orchestras.

TACF and the NOSPR — where Alsop serves as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor — have enjoyed a fruitful collaboration going back several seasons; the orchestra has hired numerous TACF alumni for guest conducting engagements, and invites two TACF conductors each season to participate in its annual week of masterclasses, led by Alsop. 

TACF Mentoring Program, supported by the Sherman Family Foundation

In 2022, the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship launched its Mentoring Program, which provides 10 free mentoring sessions with TACF alumni. Initially funded by AT&T in 2022, the program has since accepted 50 conductors and continues to expand with the generous support of the Sherman Family Foundation.

Through the Mentoring Program, TACF expands its network of women conductors and collects research and data to create a mentoring model for the future. As evidenced by the 2026–28 class of Fellows and Award Recipients, past Mentees can reapply for the Fellowship and are frequently chosen for higher level awards.

The 2026 class of Mentees includes: Sara Aldana, Ying Lam Chu, Jeanne Cousin, Claudia Fuller, Nina Haug, Guro Ansteensen Haugli, Sohye Jung, Michal Oren, Damali Willingham, and Naomi Woo. Their mentorship period runs from January 1 to December 31, 2026. 

The 2027 class of Mentees includes: Katarine Araujo, Maria Bazou, Yudania Gómez Heredia, Nadia Kisseleva, Fang-Ju Kuo, Mojca Lavrenčič, Heeseong Lee, Chloé Meyzie, Gabriela Opacka-Boccadoro, and Leanna Mei-Ling Puttick. Their mentorship period runs from January 1 to December 31, 2027. 

About the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship

In 2002, Marin Alsop, with the support of Tomio Taki, created the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship in order to mentor, support, and promote women conductors as they advance in their professional careers. Since 2003, 42 women conductors have been chosen to participate in the program. The TACF Mentoring Program was established in 2022 and has added 50 additional women conductors to the TACF. All are working to ensure a more equitable future in classical music through their artistry and advocacy. Among them, 32 Music Director/Chief Conductor titles are held with orchestras around the world.

The selection process for the 2026–28 Fellow and other award recipients included a thorough application, conducting videos, a personal statement video, references, and interviews for the finalists. In addition to Alsop and the TACF staff, other esteemed conductors and industry leaders also assessed the finalists and provided observations. Learn more at takialsop.org. 

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Media contact:

Caroline Finane
8VA Music Consultancy
+49 152 2706 3037
caroline@8vamusicconsultancy.com

The Pacific Has No Memory

Everything changed on January 7, 2025

I never imagined we would evacuate our home in the Palisades—a place alive with laughter, music, and the joyful chaos of my husband, our two young daughters, and crazy rescue dog—never to return.

So many dear friends lost everything: cherished family heirlooms, photographs, instruments, and music libraries that had taken a lifetime to build—all vanished in moments. That evening, from our hotel window, I watched the fires rage through the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains and sobbed, completely helpless.

Yet from the ash and destruction, something profoundly beautiful emerged—much like the glowing fairy at the end of Fantasia, rising from Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.

I commissioned Eric Whitacre to write a new work for violin and orchestra, and as the world changed, so did his composition. Little did I know that The Pacific Has No Memory would be born from these epic tragedies. This music has become salve for the soul—a warm, healing embrace for my broken heart. Tender and profound, it radiates love, hope, and renewal.

I am eternally grateful to Eric Whitacre for creating this musical prayer and to the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for breathing life into it together. This recording is dedicated to all who were affected by the Los Angeles fires, and to the brave first responders who risked everything to save lives.

- Anne Akiko Meyers

Shepherd School of Music Profiled for Houston Business Journal

Photo Credit: Jeff Fitlow

Matthew Loden, Dean of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, recently spoke with Janet Miranda from the Houston Business Journal on significant moments in the school’s history and his vision for the future. He cites faculty members such as Larry Rachleff, former director of orchestras, and Stephen King and Richard Bado from the opera program as turning points for the success of the Shepherd School. “If you were going to study the clarinet and you wanted to win an audition with an orchestra,” Loden says, “then you knew that you wanted to go to the Shepherd School to try and learn what you needed to about taking auditions, understanding the repertoire, the music and then learning how to play in a large ensemble.”

Loden emphasizes the importance of bringing in new faculty members “at the height of their professional game,” such as David Chan, former concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, who was hired as Professor of Violin in April of 2025. Other current projects include a Mind, Music and Body Laboratory, led by composer and professor Anthony Brandt, which studies the intersection of creativity and brain plasticity during performance. 

In his vision for the future of the Shepherd School, Loden sees more opportunities to connect with the community, building deeper relationships with arts organizations in Houston and beyond. Last year, Shepherd hosted a community day, which attracted more than 3,000 attendees. The next iteration happens in February and will include a family concert performed by Shepherd students. 

Read the full article here. 

Photo Credit: Brandon Martin

Musicus Fest Celebrated in Classical Voice North America

Photo Credit: Keith Hiro

Founded in 2010 by siblings Trey Lee and Chui-Inn Lee, Musicus promotes international, cross-cultural collaboration through musical performances and educational initiatives in Hong Kong. One of such projects is Musicus Fest, which combines the talents of top-tier young professionals from Hong Kong alongside musicians from around the world. 

James Bash from Classical Voice North America attended the family concert and the festival finale, featuring works by Locatelli, Tartini, Vivaldi, and Beethoven. Soloists for the finale program included Lee himself, Finnish violinist Minna Pensola, and the Musicus Soloists Hong Kong in collaboration with Angela Chan and Jacque Forestier, co-winners of the 2024 Joseph Joachim Violin Competition. The program also featured string orchestra arrangements of Erik Satie’s Gymnopédies Nos. 1 and 3 accompanied by flow artist Chris Lam.

“Overall the ensemble playing was tight and precise and made the quicksilver runs sparkle,” reports Bash. “Superbly crafted dynamics enhanced the music-making, and the performance generated sustained acclamation from concertgoers.” In response to the recent devastating fires in Hong Kong, the festival artists paid tribute with Piazzolla’s Ave Maria. 

Read the full article here. 

Photo Credit: Keith Hiro

Storytelling at the Symphony: Ian Niederhoffer on The Best is Noise

Photo Credit: Rebecca Fay

Conductor Ian Niederhoffer recently appeared on Ben Gambuzza’s The Best Is Noise podcast, which explores the versatility and expansiveness of classical music. They discussed Parlando, the New York City-based chamber orchestra that Niederhoffer founded in 2019, whose mission is to provide intimate and accessible musical experiences through storytelling. For Gambuzza, Parlando is reminiscent of Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic. “No one can compare with Bernstein,” Gambuzza says, “but perhaps Bernstein’s experiment wasn’t a one-off achievement to be eulogized, but a genre unto itself: the learning concert.”

Parlando concerts are defined by spoken interludes, where Niederhoffer contextualizes each piece within an overarching theme. For instance, their most recent concert performance, “Crossing Over,” examined the influence of jazz rhythms and harmonies in 20th-century classical music using works by Shostakovich, Ellington, and Nikolai Kapustin. Niederhoffer, both a skilled conductor and charismatic speaker, weaves a narrative from the podium that resonates with all types of listeners and builds on their existing knowledge, resulting in greater appreciation and understanding of the music at hand.

Listen to the full episode here. 

Photo Credit: Rebecca Fay

The Music of Now: Alexander Shelley on San Francisco Classical Voice

Photo Credit: Doug Gifford

Victoria Looseleaf from San Francisco Classical Voice recently chatted with Alexander Shelley during his first weekend of concerts with the Pacific Symphony as artistic and music director designate. He will become the third music director in the ensemble’s history, following his departure from the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa at the end of this season. Shelley spoke about his approach for working with an ensemble, particularly in the role of music director. “The most important thing in my life is to build the sound of an orchestra, to build the personality of the orchestra, to build the way we make music – the flexibility, the breadth of music we make together.” Ultimately, his goal is to connect with audiences, equating the concert hall to “a religious and spiritual space,” where listeners can connect with “another part of being and consciousness that is ever more important.”

Looseleaf notes Shelley’s penchant for mixing canonical and contemporary repertoire. “All the music we love from the past was written in response to its time,” he said. “The manifestations of life, they kind of vary…But the underscoring motivations of life and the underscoring questions [of] life and hope, loss and mystery, all those things that are actually the nuts and bolts of our interactions with the material world, they have not changed a jot.” Shelley argues that the solution is “to juxtapose the music of then with the music of now.”

Read the full interview here.

Photo Credit: Doug Gifford

Curtis Opera Theatre Profiled in Opera Now

Photo Credits (left to right): Pete Checchia, Wide Eyed Studios

The Curtis Institute was founded in 1924 by Mary Louise Curtis Bok, who “had a bold vision for the music landscape at the time: to create a conservatory where the most promising young musicians could develop their talents without financial barriers.” It boasts a small enrollment of 160, comprising only 25 vocal and opera students. “Because Curtis is smaller, undergraduates and graduate students and post-graduate students all work together in one cohort,” says Miloš Repický, director of the opera department. “They take studio class together, they take acting classes together, they take movement together. They’re in productions together. They need to understand that they’re here to support each other and to be constructive in the learning.”

Curtis also supports the careers of its graduates in numerous ways, including through Curtis Artist Management, which provides management and global representation for a select group of alumni and faculty artists. In May, Curtis announced the signing of the first two singers to the program: Sarah Fleiss and Juliette Tacchino. 

Hattie Butterworth visited in April for Curtis’ production of Bernstein’s Candide, directed by Emma Griffin. She writes, “Griffin’s colourful production brought a sense of the connection between singers and ease at which they threw themselves into the operetta’s score.” The 2025-26 season of the Curtis Opera Theatre features productions of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Kaija Saariaho’s La Passion de Simone, and Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“It’s clear Curtis offers a unique gift,” Butterworth writes. “There’s a sense of heritage and tradition with a dedication to the new.”

Read the full article here.

Photo Credits: Wide Eyed Studios

Seeking the Complete Artist: Honens Competition on International Piano

The Honens International Piano Competition recently concluded in Calgary, awarding its Gold medal prize to 29-year old Élisabeth Pion. Founded in 1992 by Canadian philanthropist Ester Honens, the Honens Competition awards its laureates with significant cash prizes up to CAD$100,000 in addition to a three-year career development program for the Gold Laureate. 

“The Honens Competition has grown into Canada’s leading pianist agon, known for its combination of holistic vision with serious artistic financial commitment,” writes Thomas May for International Piano. The competition prides itself on seeking ‘the complete artist’ - defined as one “who combines technical mastery with artistic innovation and inspires through deep cultural and social awareness.” This comprehensive view of artistry is apparent in the events surrounding the competition, which Artistic Director Jon Kimura Parker describes as a way “to create a festival atmosphere and to make people in Calgary feel more engaged in Honens.”

The final round of Honens tested its three remaining competitors in a concerto performance with the Calgary Philharmonic. Pion closed the competition with a performance of Prokofiev’s Third Concerto, which May writes was “brilliantly lit” and “rhythmically alive,” with “a striking sense of spontaneity.”

Read the full feature in International Piano here.

Photo Credit: Tim Nguyen