The Professionals pages on LocalArtsLive were started around this time last year and since then 64 individuals, ensembles, organizations, and schools have joined.  Though it's much easier today, it still takes some legwork to recruit new members, and summer is a great time for this effort.  In the process of reaching out to the classical community, you'll learn more about it and build connections.  There are other interesting jobs to be done, too, so if you'd like to spice up your summer and…

Performers of all kinds often serve as opening acts for bigger, better-known names as they make their way to the top. At 6:30 pm on Saturday, works by student composers at Settlement will be featured as the opening act for a concert of contemporary music by the award-winning Philadelphia ensembles The Crossing and Network for New Music.

The students' pieces will be presented alongside…

A new initiative to present cultural events at The William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia was described by David Patrick Sterns in Philly.com in January.  Their first event, a piano recital by Ching-Yun Hu, sold out and attendance at the May 14th recital by…

The Singing City was founded in 1948 with a mission of integration which, according to their program guide, "believed that differences between races, religions, and cultures could be bridged by people coming together in shared activities".  They continue to bring people together today and they are additionally involved in underserved communities and educational outreach.  

Peace was the theme of the concert on Sunday…

So you want to "like" the LocalArtsLive Facebook page but you'd really prefer your newsfeed to just show information from friends and family?  There's now a way to do this.  I recently created an interests list that includes all the Facebook pages I know of that are related to classical music in Phildadelphia.  To start using the list and separate…

Tempesta di Mare kicked off their ambitious Opus 10 Festival last night at the Friends meeting house to an audience that I expected would be a bit larger - especially considering that this was a chance to see a top notch baroque concert for free.  Perhaps it was the beautiful day or the fact that there would be three more chances to see Tempesta during the Festival?  Whatever the reason, the folks who did attend were treated to Tempesta's typically high quality performances and a nice…

In its second summer season, Russian Opera Workshop will present free concerts of Rachmaninoff Aleko and Tchaikovsky The Queen of Spades (Pique Dame), June-July, 2012 at the Warden Theater at the Academy of Vocal Arts, 1920 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.…

For ten years during my childhood and adolescence I played the violin in my school orchestra. I was led to the instrument by my parents and stayed with it not because I was necessarily very good, but more so out of a sense of obligation to remain committed to the practice -- although, to be fair, I did very little practicing. Yet, I religiously attended every rehearsal and practice session, participated in concerts and competitions, and regardless of my inner desire to be a percussionist…

Il Postino…

I have come to expect interesting music that I've probably never heard before at Philmore Ensemble concerts and they did not disappoint last night.  Duane Large, artistic director of Philmore Ensemble, consistently finds a wide variety of music that is usually based on a theme.…

I've been introduced to so many works unfamiliar to me this year that I was happy to see that one of the three, "Jephte", to be performed by Choral Arts Philadelphia, was a favorite that I had never heard live.  Its composer, Giacomo Carissimi (1605 - 1674), would be featured in two works:  "Jephte" and "Jonas" and a contrasting, yet related, "Hanukkah Cantata" by David Ludwig brought a contemporary work to the program.  Though Ludwig was born 300 years after Carissimi's death, his use of…