Artist Updates from Primo Artists

Gemma New, conductor: Off the heels of successes with Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and BBC Scottish Symphony at the BBC Proms, Gemma New leads performances with the Bamberger Symphoniker in Augsburg on September 15, M?lmo Symphony Orchestra from September 7 to 9, and Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal from September 27 to October 1.

James Gaffigan, conductor: James Gaffigan opened his third season as Music Director of Les Arts és Simfònic at the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana on September 1 and 2 with a program that included Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 and Richard Strauss’ Le Bourgeois gentilhomme. He leads the orchestra again on September 10 for the Les Arts Open Doors Day and finishes the month leading Les Arts Valencia Opera’s production of Pique Dame.

Christian Reif, conductor: Christian Reif commences his inaugural season as Chief Conductor at the G?vle Symphony in Sweden on September 15. From there, he opens the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s season on September 30 in a program featuring Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.

Cristian Mǎcelaru, conductor: This month Cristian Mǎcelaru inaugurated his first edition as Artistic Director of the George Enescu Festival in his native Romania. The 2023 Enescu Festival hosts 16 of the world’s highest profile orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra, Orchestre Nationale de France, and many more. The festival runs from August 27 to September 24.

Joshua Bell, violin: On September 1 and 2, Joshua Bell performed the World Premiere of The Elements with the?NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra under the baton of Alan Gilbert in Hamburg, commissioned by Bell and written by leading American composers Kevin Puts, Edgar Meyer, Jennifer Higdon, Jake Heggie and Jessie Montgomery. He performs the U.S. Premiere of The Elements with the New York Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden’s baton from September 30 to October 1.

Itzhak Perlman, violin: Perlman kicks off the season with performances of his multi-media program, An Afternoon with Itzhak Perlman, at NJPAC on October 8. He also performs Cinema Serenade film program with the Utah Symphony on October 14 after performances with Brigham Young University in Provo on October 11 to 12 and the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood on October 8.

Nicola Benedetti, violin: Benedetti finished her inaugural season as Festival Director of the Edinburgh International Festival on August 27, which presented a diverse array of over 2,500 artists hailing from 50 countries and 120,000 audience members. The festival also featured high-profile artistic residencies, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela.

Aaron Dworkin, spoken word: PR client Aaron Dworkin releases his debut spoken word album, The Poetjournalist, on September 8 with Azica Records. The Poetjournalist is a collection of 27 songs focused on themes of history, civil rights, art, and mental health.

Elizabeth Askren, conductor: PR client Elizabeth Askren leads the New Orleans Opera in performances of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro on September 29 and October 1. The production features Anthony Reed as Figaro, Theo Hoffman as Count Almaviva, and Laquita Mitchell as Countess Almaviva.

Eric Nathan, composer: Composer and PR client Eric Nathan releases his new album, Some Favored Nook, on September 15 with New Focus Recordings. He then makes the premiere of Double Concerto No. 2 on September 19 at the New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall. Co-presented by the New England Conservatory and Yellow Barn, the premiere is a Roger Tapping Memorial Concert and will feature solo violinists Hsin-Yun Huang and Misha Amory and members of the Ariel, Jupiter, and Parker String Quartets.

JACK Quartet, ensemble: On September 3, PR client JACK Quartet performed at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco for the first of a series of celebrations for composer John Zorn’s 70th birthday. They continue their celebration of John Zorn at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis on September 9 in a twelve-hour immersive festival featuring Zorn’s key collaborators, including Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, John Medeski, Ches Smith, Kenny Wollesen, and Sae Hashimoto, and finish on September 21 at Columbia University's Miller Theater.

John Aylward, composer: On September 22, PR client John Aylward releases his new chamber opera album, Oblivion, on New Focus Records. Accompanying the album is a one-act film inspired by Dante’s Purgatorio, directed by Laine Rettmer with release slated for this fall.

Karen Slack, soprano: PR client Karen Slack performs selections from The Great American Songbook with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra on September 22 to 24, followed by a recital at the Festival Internacional De Música Sacra De Bogotá in Colombia on September 26 to 29.

Lucas Meachem, baritone: PR client Lucas Meachem performs the title role of Don Giovanni at the Los Angeles Opera from September 23 to October 15. New to Los Angeles, the production will take place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and will feature ensemble singers Craig Colclough, Guanqun Yu and Isabel Leonard?alongside Meachem.

Mary Elizabeth Bowden, trumpet: On September 10, PR client Mary Elizabeth Bowden performs the World Premiere of composer Jeff Luke’s Showcase at the University of Maine, followed by an additional World Premiere of Jennifer Jolley's DUST?on September 14 in Denton, Texas. Bowden then performs with the UNCSA Wind Ensemble on September 22, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and the Oshman Family JCC Recital in Palo Alto, California, on September 28. Finishing the month, Bowden conducts a masterclass followed by a recital at Haverford College on September 30.

Nate Wooley, trumpet: On September 29, PR client Nate Wooley releases a new box set, Four Experiments, the latest from Mutual Aid Music, on Pleasure of the Text Records. The release is accompanied by a live performance at Roulette in Brooklyn on September 26.

Samantha Hankey, mezzo-soprano: PR client Samantha Hankey makes her Lyric Opera of Kansas City debut as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana on September 23 and 29. She performs alongside principal cast members Adam Smith (Tiriddu) and Gevorg Hakobyan (Alfio).

Santiago Ca?ón Valencia, cello: On September 12, PR client Santiago Ca?ón Valencia performs in Medellín, Colombia for the release concert of Ascenso, featuring works from Ponce de León, Pinzón, Albéniz, Hoyos & Ca?ón-Valencia himself. He performs an additional release concert on September 15 in Bogóta before traveling to Cesis, Latvia, to perform with the Latvian National Symphony on September 23.

Simone Menezes, conductor: PR client Simone Menezes releases her new album, Amaz?nia, on September 22 with Alpha Classics. The album, a celebration of the Amazon rainforest, features compositions from Heitor Villa-Lobos and Philip Glass, performances from the Philharmonia Zürich and Soprano Camila Provenzale, and photography by Sebasti?o Salgado.

Third Coast Percussion, ensemble: PR client Third Coast Percussion releases their album,?Between Breaths, on September 8 with Cedille Records. The album features World Premiere recordings of works by Tyondai Braxton, Missy Mazzoli, Gemma Peacocke, Ayanna Woods, and the quartet itself. To promote the album, Third Coast Percussion performed at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts in Chicago on September 2.

Vivian Fung, composer: PR client Vivian Fung is featured in the World Premiere of the Ligeti Etudes project, a compilation of works from various composers celebrating the centenary birthday of Hungarian-Austrian composer Gy?rgy Ligeti. Presented by National Sawdust in Brooklyn, Fung’s composition White on Black will be performed by Han Chen on September 24.