Jonathan Bloxham prägt  gemeinsam mit Operndirektorin Ursula Benzing seit Beginn der Spielzeit 2023/24  die künstlerische Entwicklung der Oper am Luzerner Theater. In der kommenden Spielzeit übernimmt er die musikalische Leitung der Neuproduktionen «My Fair Lady» und «Der fliegende Holländer». Zudem dirigiert er die Wiederaufnahmen von «L’elisir d’amore» und «I Capuleti e i Montecchi».

Bloxhams Dirigentenlaufbahn begann 2016 als Assistant Conductor beim City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra unter Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. Seit 2024 ist er Chefdirigent der Nordwestdeutschen Philharmonie und seit 2022 ausserdem Resident Conductor und künstlerischer Berater der London Mozart Players.

Leroy-Calatayud He studied conducting in Vienna and Zurich with Mark Stringer and Johannes Schlaefli and served as assistant conductor at the Opéra National de Bordeaux from 2016 to 2019. During the 2022–23 season, he served as assistant conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève. Prior to that, he served as artist-in-residence of the Orchestre National de Cannes during the 2021–22 season.

The Opéra de Tours has a symphony orchestra that has been active at the regional level since 2002 and a permanent choir of 14 singers under the direction of David Jackson. With the regular support of the orchestra, known as the Orchestre Symphonique de la Région Centre-Val de Loire/Tours (OSRC/T), the Opéra de Tours stages numerous symphonic works and operas, while pursuing a policy of inviting guest artists such as Michel Plasson, Roberto Alagna, and Patricia Petibon. Each year, the ensemble presents an opera and symphony season to audiences in Tours and throughout the Centre region, as well as opera recitals, chamber concerts, and performances for young audiences.

The umbrella organization representing professional cultural and media workers in Switzerland is calling for a director of cultural programming for culture on SRG radio, television, and digital platforms: a role with responsibility for content, culture, and the arts that is clearly established within the organization.

The association therefore considers it essential that cultural and artistic expertise be given due consideration in the pending personnel decisions—particularly regarding the vacancy on the Board of Directors. This applies equally to leadership roles in editorial departments and business units as well as to strategic leadership positions within SRG.

The whole statement:
https://www.suisseculture.ch/?article=die_srg_braucht_eine_kultur_intendanz

Sonart reports that Béatrice Zawodnik, a seasoned musician, manager, and educator, is taking over as president of the Professional Association for Music Professionals in Switzerland. A native of Vaud, she has served as director of the Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM Genève) since 2022. Prior to that, she performed as a musician in various orchestras and ensembles, was active in music education, and held various leadership positions in higher education.

In her campaign, Béatrice Zawodnik emphasized the importance of a strong commitment to professional advocacy for musicians of all genres. She is dedicated to strengthening the voice of musicians in cultural policy debates and to promoting fair working conditions and modern social security benefits. Michael Kaufmann served as president of the association from 2020 to 2026.

Sonart – Musikschaffende Schweiz is the largest professional association for music professionals in Switzerland. It advocates for the interests of music professionals across all genres nationwide and in all language regions, with a focus on freelance musical work. The association focuses primarily on cultural policy, the music market, and social security, offering a comprehensive range of services including consultations and workshops. Sonart is supported by a service mandate from the Federal Office of Culture. With nearly 3,000 members, the association operates nationwide and serves members from all language regions.

Patrick Kessler was born in 1967 and lives in Gais. He has been active in the canton for more than twenty years as a sound artist, composer, and curator. His concert installations in various formations and projects—such as the Chuchchepati Orchestra—have enriched the musical landscape and made spaces audible, according to the canton. With a keen sense of nuance and technical precision, he transforms sounds into experiences and vice versa.

Patrick Kessler founded the biennial audiovisual festival Klang Moor Schopfe. In the easternmost district outside of Gais, he transforms the Schopfe raised bog into a resonant space where nature and perception intertwine. In doing so, he consistently succeeds in connecting various cultural practitioners with local residents. He also demonstrates his commitment as a double bass teacher at various music schools in the region.

The Culture Prize recognizes the work of an artist who has been working professionally, in a multidisciplinary and experimental manner for many years, garnering a strong response from both the general public and the music scene. The Government Council of Appenzell Ausserrhoden honors Patrick Kessler for his consistent, diverse, and outstanding body of work and awards him the Culture Prize, which comes with a prize of 25,000 Swiss francs.

Funding for cultural promotion is to be increased by 3.6 percent compared to the previous period in order to help compensate for inflation in the institutions receiving funding. According to the city's press release, the cultural message will focus on the areas of sustainability and digitalization. In the area of project and program funding, the municipal council intends to focus on consolidating and further developing current measures. The cultural offerings in the school, socio-cultural and youth cultural context are now to be included in the cultural message. The consultation period will last until August 30, 2026.

The package includes 34 multi-year performance contracts with cultural institutions totaling CHF 35.4 million. This also includes orchestra funding, which is to be put out to tender for the second time and is budgeted at CHF 310,500. The remaining funds are spread across 13 promotional loans with a total endowment of CHF 4.8 million. The globally active music network Norient is to receive municipal performance contracts.

More info:
https://www.bern.ch/mediencenter/medienmitteilungen/aktuell_ptk/kulturbotschaft-2028-2031-start-der-oeffentlichen-vernehmlassung

Eva Gevorgyan is a student of Natalia Trull at the Central Music School of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and a graduate of the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. She is a Yamaha Young Artist and has won prizes at more than forty piano competitions. Among others, she won first prizes at the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists 2018 and at the Van Cliburn Young Artist Competition 2019.

In 2020, she was awarded the Klavier-Festival Ruhr scholarship by Evgeny Kissin. In 2021, as a 17-year-old, she was the youngest finalist and winner of a special prize at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw. In 2022, her first album with music by Frédéric Chopin and Alexander Scriabin was released by Melodiya.

The Prix Serdang was launched in 2022. The candidates are selected by the pianist Rudolf Buchbinder as curator. The selection is made jointly by Rudolf Buchbinder, Adrian Flury (initiator) and Thomas Pfiffner (project developer).

The MPIEA team analyzed data from around 10,500 people from 2012 and a further 9500 people from 2022. All the data came from the Swedish Twin Register. The study focused on listening habits, in particular how much music was listened to and used to regulate mood.

It was found that people with depression, anxiety, feelings of loneliness or a stronger tendency towards neuroticism in particular were more likely to listen to music to regulate their mood. However, the team found no evidence that listening to more music in everyday life improves or worsens mental health.

In order to better understand the causal relationships, the research team used genetically based twin analyses and so-called polygenic indices, which map the genetic susceptibility to mental illness.

More info:
https://www.aesthetics.mpg.de/newsroom/news/news-artikel/article/steht-musikhoeren-in-zusammenhang-mit-psychischer-gesundheit.html

According to the orchestra's announcement, the appointment is the continuation of an artistic collaboration that began in 2024 and was characterized by an interpretation of Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5 in October 2025.

Sokhiev, a student of the pedagogue Ilya Musin at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, founded the International Conducting Academy in Toulouse in 2016 and continues his commitment to young artists today through various projects, including the Angelika Prokopp Summer Academy of the Vienna Philharmonic, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra Academy and the BEPHIL program of the Berliner Philharmoniker at the Salzburg Festival. He is also patron of the Philharmonic Brass Education Program.

Tugan Sokhiev has a special relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic in particular. In April 2026, he conducted several concerts with the latter as part of the Salzburg Easter Festival. His most recent collaborations with the Vienna Philharmonic include the Summer Night Concert at Schönbrunn Palace in June 2025, gala concerts to mark the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II and several highlights of the 2026-2027 season: the Salzburg Festival, a European tour and the prestigious New Year's Concert at the Musikverein in Vienna.

Founded in 1918 by conductor Ernest Ansermet, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande consists of 112 permanent musicians from 22 different countries. It performs subscription concerts in Geneva and Lausanne, symphony concerts in the city of Geneva, the annual concert to mark United Nations Day and opera performances at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Ophélie Gaillard has been professor of cello at the HEM in Geneva since 2014 and is now moving to Sion. Daniel Haefliger will retire at the end of the academic year.

Gaillard began her career in 2003 as «Discovery of the Year» in the instrumental soloist category at the Victoires de la musique classique and has since performed in recitals and as a soloist with renowned orchestras in Europe, Asia and America, while at the same time being strongly committed to contemporary music. In 2005 she founded the Pulcinella Orchestra, an ensemble dedicated to the repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries on period instruments, of which she is the artistic director. Her discography includes numerous recordings dedicated in particular to Bach, Britten, Schumann, Fauré, Brahms and Boccherini.

The HEMU - Valais-Wallis is one of the teaching locations of the HEMU (Haute École de Musique). Its teaching staff offer Bachelor's and Master's degree courses in classical music, including violin, viola, cello and double bass as well as guitar, which are taught exclusively at this HEMU site. In October 2024, the HEMU - Valais-Wallis site moved into the new Pôle Musique Sion.

Nadja Räss is a singer, singing teacher and networker. Born in 1979 and raised in Einsiedeln, the musician is considered by the Federal Office to be one of the most influential voices in Swiss yodeling culture. From 2012 to 2018, she was the director of Klangwelt Toggenburg. Since 2018, she has been Professor of Yodelling and Head of Folk Music at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

According to the jury's statement, her ability to build bridges between regional traditions, current forms of artistic expression and international perspectives makes her an important figure in Swiss music. As the first Grand Prix Music winner from the field of Swiss folk music, her many years of commitment are particularly visible.

The Swiss Music Awards 2026, each endowed with CHF 40,000, go to Domi Chansorn (Huttwil, Zurich), Ensemble ö! (Chur), violinist Esther Hoppe (Zug, Zollikerberg), the experimental laboratory Flèche Love (Troinex , Geneva), Louis Schild (Lausanne), accordionist Patricia Draeger (Zug, Meierskappel ) and Ruedi Häusermann (Lenzburg).

The Café Bar Mokka (Thun), Intakt Records (Zurich) and La Via Lattea (Vacallo) each received special music prizes worth 25,000 francs.

The Federal Office of Culture (FOC) commissions ten independent experts each year. They nominate up to 100 individuals, collectives or institutions from the Swiss music scene. The seven-member Federal Music Jury then recommends the winners of the Grand Prix Music, the seven Swiss Music Prizes and the three Special Music Prizes. The Federal Office of Culture FOC presents the final awards on behalf of the Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHA.

The majority of companies, including most SMEs, now pay an affordable flat rate of less than CHF 250 per year for background music. In return, they can use music in their business premises without restriction: to promote sales, offer customers and guests a pleasant experience or motivate employees. According to Suissculture, this costs less than one franc per day.

Composers, lyricists, performers, producers and publishers of music invest a lot of time, work and money in every musical work. They are only compensated when the music is heard and used. To ensure that SMEs also pay fairly for this use, there are collecting societies such as Suisa and Swissperform. They charge companies for the use of music and distribute the revenue. Especially at a time when creative artists are coming under increasing financial pressure, these royalties are an essential part of their income. A reduction is not acceptable to Suisseculture.

The whole statement:
https://www.suisseculture.ch/?article=die_rechte_der_musikschaffenden_nicht_aushoehlen_motion_24_3944_ablehnen

Christian Höppner is President of the German Cultural Council and the German Association of Musicians. He has taught cello at the Berlin University of the Arts since 1986. Concerts and recordings as conductor and cellist in Germany, Austria, Italy and Brazil.

He is involved in music and cultural policy as Chairman of the Program Committee and Budget Rapporteur of the Broadcasting Council of Deutsche Welle, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Carl Bechstein Foundation and the Federal Academy for Musical Youth Education in Trossingen, Festival Ambassador of the Oberlausitz Chamber Music Festival, member of the RTL Media Council and the Culture Committee of the German UNESCO Commission.

The Hindemith Foundation based in Blonay (canton of Vaud) is dedicated to preserving and disseminating the cultural legacy of Paul Hindemith. It is committed to the preservation and dissemination of his works and aims to raise awareness of his art. It ensures the material preservation of all documents that can preserve the composer's memory and makes them accessible to the public in a suitable and appropriate form.