Since 1979, June has been known as Black Music Month. In the classical music world, black artists are so often underrepresented. In this month’s playlist, we’ll be highlighting music by black composers, soloists, conductors, and more. This playlist has selections spanning from the 17th century to today.

Women & The Orchestra Words by Kate Hamori If you take a look at your average symphony concert program, you’re likely to notice a pattern: the majority of the composers that appear on orchestra concerts are white men. This isn’t because women aren’ …

Nicholas Sokol is a composer, conductor, and pianist specializing in solo, chamber, orchestral, choral, and electronic music. Nicholas’ music has been performed throughout the United States and at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall. His music has been performed by members of the Chicago Civic Orchestra, members of the New World Symphony, the Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra, and the Atlantic Music Festival New Music Ensemble. 

Conductor JoAnn Falletta’s recording with the Buffalo philharmonic of Respighi’s Roman Trilogy was recently released by Naxos. She sat down with Classical Music Indy’s Michael Toulouse to talk about some of the highlights of the Third part of this tril …

JoAnn Falletta will be conducting the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra the weekend of April 26th. Among other works on the program, she’ll conduct what she told NPR was her favorite symphony, Samuel Barber’s Symphony No. 1, Op. 9. She sat down recently …

The Marine Corps Women’s Reserve Band (MCWRB) was active during 1943-45. This band, along with other female military ensembles, created valuable opportunities for women to perform within the military, and acted as a catalyst for performing female music …

Recendez begged her parents to play the flute. When she was 8, her mother finally took her to a reluctant music teacher who said she was too young for lessons. “He handed me a flute and said, ‘Here you go. Try to make a sound,’” Recendez says. “I made …

After besting over 130 applicants for the job as music director of the Carmel Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Maestra Janna Hymes has taken the helm as the CSO’s first female conductor. Her journey to the podium began as a teenager when a music teacher was t …

Indianapolis has a robust local classical music scene, worthy of being treasured as one of our city’s defining assets. And with NOTE, Classical Music Indy aims to tell stories that will delight and surprise avid classical fans, as well as welcome those new to the world of classical music. For this first issue, we chose to feature Women in Music, to celebrate local influencers past and present that have made stunning accomplishments not only with their talent, but also with their leadership in the genre.

Indianapolis is filled with vibrant arts organizations, outstanding artists, and stellar partnerships. The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and Butler University School of Music have teamed up to create their Conducting Fellowship which provides one-of-a-kind professional mentorship opportunities to outstanding students. Meet Dr. James Plenty, the 2016-2018 Conducting Fellow with the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir. Read about Plenty’s experience with the fellowship and what he plans to do with the skills he’s learned during his time with the ISC.

There’s a subversive joy in being black and achieving excellence in a field from which black people were traditionally excluded. For black classical musicians and composers, staking a claim in the classical genre means looking up to white composers – m …