I got a huge kick out of reading this article about Sir Edward Elgar, a fantastic composer whom I greatly admire. Turns out his facility for trombone playing wasn’t such a strength. As stated in a letter written by his pal Dora Penny: “On one occasion, he [Elgar] got up and fetched a trombone that [...]

Michelle Obama shows her support for music education. Right on.

A charity is being established in honor of William Grant Still–a composer from Mississippi who always wanted to help children from his home state. Finally, his dream comes true.

Yeah, so guess what. John Adams blogs, too! This so just made my day.

Anyone who knows Salon97 knows that we’re huge fans of Bay Area composer, John Adams. He’s just plain fabulous. Not only does he write fantastically invigorating music, but he apparently can write quite a memoir, too. I was extremely excited to hear this week that he will be awarded the 2009 NEA Opera Honors Award. [...]

Booing Tosca at the Met? Oh, come on now.

I guess it’s never too late. Brian Wilson is completing a number of George Gershwin’s unfinished songs and planning to release them on an upcoming album.

Sometimes we need to branch out from our CD or MP3 collections. In moments like these, a solid radio station is key. One of my favorites is Capital Public Radio, a public station based in Sacramento. It’s great mix of mainstream and obscure classical works. Check it out!

Yo, yo! It’s comin’ at ya. Are you in or near San Francisco? Don’t miss the next Salon97 listening party on Tuesday, November 17 at 6:30 p.m. All things autumnal! Send me an email for additional info regarding location etc.

At Salon97, we sure do like El Sistema. And kudos to the New England Conservatory for considering a plan to make this an educational standard in the U.S.!