With four of the country's top conductors on the podium and a number of nationally renowned instrumentalists in their midst, the IU Summer Music Festival Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra once again bring world-class music to the Midwest in a series of five upcoming concerts in Bloomington. David Robertson, Mario Venzago and Giancarlo Guerrero will conduct the 2009 Festival Orchestra. In her first Bloomington performance since her appointment to the Jacobs School faculty will serve as concertmaster for the opening concert.   Full Story

This summer marks the 25th anniversary of Indiana University's prestigious Jacobs School of Music Summer String Academy, which brings together students and renowned faculty from around the world. Led by Jacobs Professor Mimi Zweig, the Summer String Academy is geared toward serious students ages 12-18 who wish to study violin, viola or cello in an intensive environment.   Full Story

Two doctoral students from the Musicology Department in the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music have won prestigious fellowships to pursue dissertation research in Europe. Lisa Cooper Vest was awarded a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship to Poland. The topic of her dissertation is "Musical and Political Negotiations in Polish Music Life, 1956-1970." Jonathan Yaeger was awarded a Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD) Research Grant from the German Academic Exchange Service. His dissertation is titled "The Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig in East Germany, 1949-1990."   Full Story

Legendary cellist Janos Starker, a distinguished professor in the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, received the title of honorary professor of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, at a spring ceremony in Bloomington. Starker, who was born in Budapest in 1924, received the certificate and academy plaque from Hungarian Consul General in New York Viktor Polgar in recognition of his contribution to universal music culture, international music life and lifetime artistic achievements.   Full Story

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Professor Stanley Ritchie was awarded Early Music America's (EMA) Howard Mayer Brown lifetime achievement award June 12 at the 2009 Boston Early Music Festival. Ritchie is the first Indiana University faculty member to receive a lifetime achievement award from EMA, although one of its annual honors is named for former IU Early Music Institute Director Thomas Binkley.   Full Story

Indiana University's 2009 Summer Music Festival will include a diverse series of piano recitals highlighted by a July 3 performance by international soloist and chamber musician Jonathan Biss, who was raised in Bloomington and studied with IU Jacobs School of Music professors Karen Taylor and Evelyne Brancart.   Full Story

Indiana University's 2009 Summer Music Festival enters its16th year firmly established as Bloomington's signature summer event, attracting audiences from throughout the Midwest and beyond. The festival is increasingly gaining notice as one of Indiana's premier music festivals. A festival highlight this year is a world-class Chamber Music Series featuring an array of free and ticketed events that includes members of the prestigious Jacobs School faculty, as well as high-profile visiting artists.   Full Story

The Virtuosi, a collection of nine violinists, violists and cellists in the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music's Pre-College String Academy, will leave May 25 to perform a series of concerts across France, returning June 8. Members of this year's group, who perform both as soloists and as an ensemble, include violinists Brian Allen, 15; Alex Ayers, 18; Zoe Martin-Doike, 19; and Stephanie Zyzak, 15; violinists/violists Sangwoo Kim, 18; Ren Martin-Doike, 17; and Daniel Wunderle, 18; cellists Nathan Vickery, 17, and Jacobsen Woollen, 16; and pianist Jayoung Kim, a doctoral student of Distinguished Professor Menahem Pressler.   Full Story

Indiana University Jacobs School of Music flutist Daniel Stein and viola performance major Dash Nesbitt were recently part of history in the making: both took the Carnegie Hall stage April 15 as part of the first-ever "YouTube Symphony Orchestra." The concert, which included a mix of popular pieces from both the classical repertoire and recently composed and improvised works, can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/symphony. The final ensemble was composed of 96 musicians from 30 countries, all of whom auditioned for their spots through the popular video-sharing Web site YouTube. The contest was open to anyone, of any age, from anywhere in the world.   Full Story

Indiana University's Menahem Pressler will accept a 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from The Edison Foundation on behalf of the Beaux Art Trio at the annual "Edison Klassiek Gala" June 11 in The Hague. A Distinguished Professor in IU's Jacobs School of Music, Pressler is a renowned pianist and a founding member of the trio.   Full Story