Artist Updates from Primo Artists

Joshua Bell, violin : Joshua Bell performs the Midwest premiere of The Elements, a commissioned work by 5 leading American composers, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conductor Juraj Val?uha from June 13 to 15. He performs the West Coast premiere of The Elements with the Seattle Symphony , conducted by Peter Oundjian, on June 20 and 22.

Randall Goosby, violin : Randall Goosby makes his Toronto Symphony Orchestra debut on Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with Music Director Gustavo Gimeno on June 6, 8, and 9. He performs with the New York Philharmonic in their "Concerts in the Parks" series at outdoor venues in all 5 NYC boroughs, conducted by Thomas Wilkins, from June 11 to 14.

James Gaffigan, conductor : James Gaffigan leads the production of The Magic Flute at Les Arts Valencia Opera from June 3 to 19 and returns to the States to open the Aspen Music Festival’s Summer 2024 Season on June 28 leading the Aspen Chamber Symphony on a program featuring Daniil Trifonov.

Wynton Marsalis, composer : Brevard Music Center presents works by Wynton Marsalis on June 29 with conductor Keith Lockhart. Performances include Violin Concerto featuring violinist Tai Murray and Symphony No. 4 “The Jungle” performed by Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and Brevard Music Center Orchestra.?

Gemma New, conductor : Conductor Gemma New was just awarded the title of Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Royal Honours for her services to music direction. New leads the World Premiere of Huang Ruo's City of Floating Sounds from June 6 to 8 with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in Manchester. She opens the San Diego Symphony's 2024 Summer season on June 28 at the Rady Shell.?

Enescu Festival : The 2024 edition of PR client Enescu Festival’s biennial George Enescu International Competition will take place from August 31 to September 27, 2024, in Bucharest, Romania. Registrations for the Cello, Violin, and Piano Divisions have closed, with 555 applications hailing from 57 countries. The Composition Division application deadline is June 30.

American Composers Orchestra : PR client American Composers Orchestra presented the New York premiere of An American Soldier, conducted by Carolyn Kuan and directed by Chay Yew, at Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC) . The Wall Street Journal praised the work for its “rich orchestral palette and explosive vocal writing.” From June 4 to 7, EarShot Readings will be held with ROCO in conjunction with the League of American Orchestras conference in Houston, TX. On June 13-14, ACO presents and performs its own EarShot Readings at the Manhattan School of Music.

Layale Chaker, violin/composer : PR client Layale Chaker’s debut opera, Ruinous Gods, received its world premiere run at Spoleto Festival USA. Charleston’s The Post and Courier raved, “Ruinous Gods is a mesmerizing work perfect for the Spoleto Festival stage. Its score, by Layale Chaker, is an innovative mix of musical styles, among them old choral chants and melodies tinged with Middle-Eastern flourishes.”

Mary Elizabeth Bowden, trumpet : Cedille Records releases PR client Mary Elizabeth Bowden’s third solo album, Storyteller: Contemporary Concertos for Trumpet, on June 14. The album features three concerti specially commissioned for this project — by Clarice V. Assad, Tyson Gholston Davis, and Vivian Fung — and newly commissioned concerto arrangements by Reena Esmail, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and James M. Stephenson.

MATA : PR client Music at the Anthology (MATA) presented its 26th MATA Festival under new executive director Pauline Kim Harris, praised by the Financial Times for its “enormous range of ideas and invigorating surprises.” Tickets were sold out for the opening night, “Integration,” on May 15, and the closing night, “Open Waters,” on May 18.?

Jessica Meyer, conductor : The Brooklyn Art Song Society presents a world premiere by PR client Jessica Meyer, with a gift for burning, featuring Meyer as a solo violist on June 6 as part of the New Voices Festival 2024: Departures III. Along with Daniel Felsenfeld, their new works explore themes of loneliness and Pandemic-era songs by Caroline Shaw and Alex Weiser.?

Mary Kouyoumdjian : PR client Mary Kouyoumdjian’s musical documentary, Paper Pianos, was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Music. The Kronos Quartet performs the world premiere of her The Space Between at the 50th Anniversary Kronos Festival 2024 at SF Jazz on June 22, commissioned in celebration of KRONOS Five Decades. On June 27, San Francisco Opera ’s Merola Opera Program presents Kouyoumdjian’s "Everlastingness" from Gorky.

Seth Parker Woods, cello : Spoleto Festival USA presented PR client Seth Parker Woods in the world premiere of Nathalie Joachim's Cello Concerto, "Had to Be," in Charleston, SC, on June 1. As a member of the GRAMMY-winning music collective Wild Up, Woods is featured soloist in the latest album, Julius Eastman, Vol. 4: The Holy Presence, out on June 21 via New Amsterdam .?

Jeffrey Kahane, conductor : From June 2 to 25, PR Client Jeffrey Kahane will lead the Sarasota Music Festival as Music Director for its 60th season, conducting three weeks of thrilling performances, coachings, and masterclasses.

Hera Hyesang Park, soprano : PR client Hera Hyesang Park will be featured as Despina in The Paris Opera ’s production of Così fan tutte, conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, from June 10 to July 9.?

Karen Slack, soprano : PR client Karen Slack has been named Lyric Unlimited Artist-in-Residence at the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the 2024/25 season.

Natalie Tenenbaum, composer/pianist/music producer : Platoon releases PR client Natalie Tenenbaum’s newest album, Standard Repertoire, Vol. 1, on June 7. The album reimagines standard classical piano repertoire by Bach, Stravinsky, Liszt, Piazzolla, Chopin, Rimsky-Korsokov, and Tchaikovsky, interlaced with Tenenbaum’s original compositions and joined on select tracks by collaborators D Smoke , SUUVI , and Bryan Carter .?

Scott Wollschleger, composer : PR client Scott Wollschleger’s fourth portrait album, BETWEEN BREATH , is out on June 21 via New Focus Recordings. The album features four works commissioned from Wollschleger by four separate artists or duos, each performing their own commissioned work on the recording.

The Knights : On June 25, Naumburg Orchestral Concerts presents PR Clients The Knights in a free performance of Mozart, Farrenc, and Beethoven with conductor and artistic director Eric Jacobson. The orchestra performs Mary Lou Williams’ Zodiac Suite from its GRAMMY?-Nominated Album with Aaron Diehl at the Ravinia Festival on June 29 and Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts on June 30.

Samantha Hankey, mezzo-soprano : PR client Samantha Hankey made her house debut in the role of Fox in Detroit Opera’s The Cunning Little Vixen , conducted by Roberto Kalb, on May 11. This month, she makes her debut at London’s Royal Opera House as Dorabella in Così fan tutte from June 26 to July 10.

John-Henry Crawford, cello : PR client John-Henry Crawford releases his latest album, Dvo?ák & Tchaikovsky , on June 28 on Orchid Classics. Recorded with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra led by Music Director and Principal Conductor Martin West at Skywalker Sound, the new album focuses on two works by the title composers: Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations and Dvo?ák’s Cello Concerto in B minor.?