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For Immediate Release — As part of its 2026–27 Season, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has announced Jonathan Leshnoff as Composer in Residence. The Symphony will commission several new works, and the 2026–27 season will feature multiple world premieres, including Leshnoff’s Symphony No. 6, conceived as an artistic reflection on the city of Baltimore, and his Violin Concerto No. 3 written for Gil Shaham.

“I am honored to work with the magnificent Baltimore Symohony under Music Director Jonathan Heyward. They interpret my music superbly, with energy and sensitivity. I am musically inspired just at the thought and I know that this collaboration will be remarkable,”  said Jonathan Leshnoff.

Leshnoff’s works have been well received by Baltimore audiences, with the Baltimore Sun describing his music as “remarkably assured, cohesively constructed and radiantly lyrical” after the performances of his Violin Concerto. 

Throughout the residency, Leshnoff will be engaged with students from OrchKids, the Baltimore School for the Arts, and the Peabody Institute, extending the impact of his residency this season and for years to come. 

This April, conductor Jonathon Heyward will lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in Jonathan Leshnoff’s work, Starburst, in a program featuring Sheku Kanneh-Mason in Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. The concerts will take place April24–26, 2026. Starburst is Leshnoff’s most often performed work, with over 30 orchestras performing the work in the past decade. It was commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony in 2010 under the direction of Marin Alsop.

Jonathan Leshnoff

Distinguished by The New York Times as “a leader of contemporary American lyricism,” GRAMMY-nominated composer Jonathan Leshnoff is renowned for his music’s striking harmonies, structural complexity, and powerful themes. The Baltimore-based composer has been ranked among the most performed living composers in recent seasons with performances by over 100 orchestras. He has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, and Pittsburgh, among others. Leshnoff’s compositions have also been premiered by classical music’s most celebrated soloists, including Gil Shaham, Johannes Moser, Manuel Barrueco, Noah Bendix-Balgley and Joyce Yang.

In 26-27, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Leshnoff join forces as Leshnoff becomes its composer-in-residence, with the BSO commissioning several new works including his Violin Concerto No. 3 for Gil Shaham. Leshnoff’s residency includes mentorship to young composers, community engagement in addition to his work with Maestro Jonathon Heyward and the BSO. Leshnoff will also have three new symphonies premiered and recorded this season: his Symphony No. 5 for the Buffalo Philharmonic and JoAnn Falletta, his Symphony No. 6 for the Baltimore Symphony and Jonathon Heyward and his Symphony No. 7 for the Santa Rosa Symphony and Francesco Leece-Chong.

Highlights in recent seasons include the premiere and recording of Sacrifice of Isaac, an hour-long oratorio on the Biblical account of the binding of Isaac, commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony and recorded by the Nashville Symphony and Rhapsody on America, commissioned by Orchestra Lumos, the Pasadena, San Jose and Valdosta Orchestras for pianist Joyce Yang. In 2026, Demarre McGill premiered Leshnoff’s Flute Concerto No. 2 with the Fairfax Symphony, which was recorded for commercial release.

The Baltimore Symphony

For over a century, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) has been recognized as one of America’s leading orchestras and one of Maryland’s most significant cultural institutions. The orchestra is internationally renowned and locally admired for its innovation, performances, recordings, and educational outreach initiatives, including OrchKids. 

The BSO performs annually for more than 350,000 people throughout the State of Maryland. Since 1982, the BSO has performed at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, and since 2005, with the opening of The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD, the BSO became the nation’s first orchestra performing its full season of classical and pops concerts in two metropolitan areas. 

In July 2022, the BSO made history with the announcement that Jonathon Heyward would succeed Music Director Laureate and OrchKids Founder Marin Alsop as the Orchestra’s next Music Director. Maestro Heyward began his inaugural season in September 2023. 

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a proud member of the League of American Orchestras. 

More information about the BSO can be found at BSOmusic.org. 

On 28 January, France Musique announced Marilyn Nonken’s Métier recording, “Hugues Dufourt: L’Origine Du Monde”, was awarded the 2025 “Coup de cœur” from the Académie Charles Cros Contemporary Music Committee (les Coups de coeur 2025 musique contemporaine de l’Académie Charles-Cros).

Hugues Dufourt: L’Origine Du Monde marks the Métier label’s first “Coup de cœur” (Favorite) Contemporary Music Selection from the Académie Charles Cros. The distinction was awarded to eleven recordings from 2025.

Founded in the aftermath of World War II in 1947, the Charles Cros Academy defends musical diversity, ensures the preservation of sound memory, supports the creation, career development of artists, the entrepreneurial spirit and courage of graphic and phonographic publishers. It presents annual awards in the areas of French-language song, Jazz, Blues & Soul, Young audiences, Contemporary Music, Experimental Music, World Music and Recorded Speech and Sound Creations.

“Métier is excited to celebrate this award with pianist Marilyn Nonken. L’Origine Du Monde marked her third album exploring the spectral music movement, of which she is a leading interpreter. An award from this distinguished French Academy is all the more appropriate for this album of music by Hugues Dufourt, a foundational figure of the French spectral school. Métier and First Inversion thank the Académie for this recognition.” —David Weuste, First Inversion Executive Director

More Critical Acclaim for Hughes Dufourt: L’Origine Du Monde

“An excellent introduction to Dufourt’s piano works.” —Díapason

“highly controlled playing and ideal control of dynamics” —Laurent Bergnach, Anaclase

“Nonken plays virtuosically and makes the piano resonate…the challenge is worth it.” —Christoph Wellner, Klassik

“an exceptionally assured and spellbinding demonstration of Dufourt’s uncompromising creative ambtions” —Arnold Whittall, Gramophone

“L’Origine Du Monde…is a superb release. Like the best music…based on theory, his [Dufourt] compositions work. Most listeners will enjoy them… ” —Andy Hamilton, The Wire

Marilyn Nonken

Upon her recital debut, pianist Marilyn Nonken was heralded as “a determined protector of important music” (New York Times). Since then, she has been recognized as “one of the greatest interpreters of new music” (American Record Guide). Writes Fanfare: “Her voicings are exquisite, her pedaling throughout is a model to be studied, and, when necessary, her virtuosity is equaled only by the insight and passion with which every piece is imbued.” A Steinway Artist, she has been presented at major concert venues and festivals around the world and has made more than 30 recordings for New World, Mode, Lovely Music, Albany, Metier, Hanging Bell, Harrison House, CRI, BMOP Sound, New Focus, Kairos, Tzadik, and Bridge. Her discography includes composers associated with spectral music, ultramodernism, the New Complexity, ragtime, and the New York School. With this recording, she completes her spectral trilogy for Divine Art/Metier, which includes Tristan Murail: The Complete Piano Music (MSVCD 92097, 2005) and 7 7Voix Voilées: Spectral Piano Music MSV 28524, 2012). Professor of Music and Music Education at New York University, Marilyn Nonken is also a musicologist who has written extensively on contemporary music and performance practices. Her writings include numerous articles as well as The Spectral Piano: From Liszt, Scriabin, and Debussy to the Digital Age (Cambridge 2014), Identity and Diversity in New Music: The New Complexities (2019), and “Hugues Dufourt and the Origins of His World,” which appears in The Oxford Handbook of Spectral Music (2022).

Jonathan Haas

Jonathan Haas is a conductor, orchestral timpanist, solo percussionist, teacher, and clinician acclaimed for his performances of Philip Glass’s Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, which he commissioned and has performed seventy times worldwide. He is principal percussionist of the American Symphony Orchestra, principal timpanist of the New York Pops Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, principal timpanist of the Aspen Chamber Symphony, and percussionist of the American Composers Orchestra. Music Professor and Director of Percussion Studies at New York University, Jonathan Haas conducts the NYU Contemporary Music Ensemble, Aspen Percussion Ensemble, and JPC Percussion Ensemble, and teaches in the pre-college division at The Juilliard School. Having performed and recorded with Emerson Lake and Palmer, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, The Who, and Zappa’s Universe, he is also known for his Hot Jazz Timpani performances, in combination with his nine-piece Latin/jazz ensemble Johnny H. and The Prisoners of Swing. With Ian Finkel, Haas is the author of Jazz Virtuostics for Timpani (Bachovich), a method book.

Hugues Dufourt

Hugues Dufourt (b. 1943) has always conceived of himself as a com­ poser-philosopher. He earned his first academic degree in philosophy prior to his studies at the Conservatoire in Geneva, where he worked with pianist Louis Hiltbrand, assistant to Dinu Lipatti (1961–68), and Jacques Guyonnet, as student of Pierre Boulez (1965–70). While organiz­ ing concerts of contemporary music in his native Lyon, Dufourt simultaneously pursued certificates in morality and sociology, psychology, history and philosophy, and philosophy and logic. In the 1970s, while producing concerts with the pioneering ensemble L’Itinéraire, Dufourt maintained strong ties with the people and ideas with which he engaged at the University of Lyon II. Collaborating with a host of ensembles and composing emblematic works that distilled the spectral attitude for first-generation audiences (Erewhon, Antiph­ ysis, Saturne, Surgir), Dufourt continued to pursue academic projects at the Centre d’Information et de Documentation “Recherche Musicale,” the École Normale Supérieure, the École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, the Sorbonne, the Min­ istries of Culture and Education, and IRCAM, as well as the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. For his compositions ranging from solo works to full orchestra, Dufourt has received numerous awards, including the Prix du Président de la République in 2000 for his body of work, awarded by the Académie Charles Cros.

First Inversion is proud to announce the 2026 JUNO Awards nomination on its Athene label for the album, Zaytoun, in the Classical Album of the Year (Solo Artist) category. Zaytoun (meaning ‘Olive’ in Arabic) is Haitham Haidar‘s captivating debut solo album, featuring a collection of beautiful Baroque and Arabic songs, interlaced with poetry and musical improvisations exploring the intersection between Baroque and Arabic music.

Zaytoun marks the first JUNO Awards nomination for the Athene record label, and the first for Haitham Haidar. On Zaytoun, Haidar is supported by an incredible cast of musicians: Sylvain Bergeron, Abdul-Wahab Kayyali, Amanda Keesmaat, Tany LaPerrière, and Abraham Ross.

“Athene is thrilled to celebrate this nomination with Haitham Haidar. From the moment we first began discussions with Haitham, we knew this was a special project. It is wonderful to see that we were not alone in feeling that way. Zaytoun is an album of our time, and one sorely needed as a reminder of shared humanity, but it is also timeless in its beauty. We thank the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for recognizing that as well.” —David Weuste, First Inversion Executive Director

“Zaytoun was born at a time of heavy strife and internal conflict. The constant duality of identity, the continuous search for belonging fueled this exploration of self through music: music that I’ve grown up with playing every morning on the radio while my parents prepared their coffee, and music that I ended up studying and practicing for years at some of the best institutions.

Suddenly in my journey, I felt lost. My voice felt lost. It didn’t know where it belonged. Though I may have trained my voice in one genre, my heart felt like it belonged to another. Though I was carving out a life on a different continent, my heart belonged somewhere else.

Zaytoun is all of these things combined. It joins the heart and soul of my Arabic roots with my love and dedication to Baroque music. Zaytoun explores the interlaced nature of Arabic and Baroque music in a way that feels new yet natural and allows us to shorten the distance between these two worlds.

Perhaps Zaytoun can remind us that in our differences we are very much alike.” —Haitham Haidar

Critical Acclaim

“Listening to these 14 tracks, I feel he’s onto something important. His voice has an unmannered directness which goes straight to the heart, whether it’s in Monteverdi’s ‘Nigra sum’ or in the sweet simplicity of a paean to Jesus commonly sung in Arab churches on Good Friday. And with four top-flight instrumentalists led by Abdul-Wahab Kayyali, two very different musical worlds become a serene, seamless single one.” –Michael Church, BBC Music Magazine (5 Stars and Vocal Choice for October 2025) 

“Haitham Haidar is a Lebanese-Palestinian-Canadian tenor with a memorably warm tone…a gripping communicator and charismatic musician. This touching and sensitive debut album presents a beautifully conceived programme. The resulting sound world is beautiful. This performance will stay with me for a long time… ” —Edward Breen, Gramophone

“The traditions of Western and Arabic music have profitably encountered each other at several points in history…none has explored the mixture in as much depth as Haitham Haidar. its ambition and passion are to be welcomed. It is an album unlike any other… ” —James Manheim, AllMusic

“Haitham Haidar’s Zaytoun is one of the most striking solo debuts I’ve experienced for some time. ” —Dominic Hartley, MusicWeb International

First Inversion is proud to announce the 2026 GRAMMY® Award nomination on its Divine Art Records label for the album, advena: liturgies for a broken world, in the Best Choral Performance Category. advena features world premieres of choral music from composer Mark Buller performed by GRAMMY® Award-winning choir Conspirare and Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson. The GRAMMY® awards ceremony will take place on February 1, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

The album marks the first GRAMMY® Award nomination for the Divine Art Records label, and the 12th nomination for Conspirare. Conspirare is at their finest in this music and singers Simon Barrad, Emily Yocum Black, and Michael Hawes can be heard in solo roles. Conspirare is joined by dynamic instrumental collaborators Patrice Calixte, Mariama Alcântara, Bruce Williams, Douglas Harvey, Jessica Valls, Marc Garvin, and Thomas Burritt.

“Divine Art Records is thrilled to celebrate this nomination with Conspirare, their Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson, composer Mark Buller, and all of the talented soloists, instrumentalists, and librettist who contributed to this album. These are works of of great meaning that speak powerfully to our times, and we feel this nomination is a more than deserved recognition for the exceptional artistry Conspirare brings to everything they perform.” —David Weuste, First Inversion Executive Director

Critical Acclaim: 

“Conspirare carries this appealing interpretation above all with their exquisitely balanced sound, which brings the necessary emotionality and intimacy to the works. ” —Guy Engels, Pizzicato

“Mark Buller ponders a host of moral issues in these works performed by the sterling choral ensemble Conspirare… Buller is a composer who knows how to imbue feelings with ample warmth, colour and tension that keep the ear immersed in his sonic worlds… Conspirare, led by founding Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson, respond to all of Buller’s emotional gestures with utmost cohesion and flexibility, and the soloists – basses Michael Hawes and Simon Barrad and soprano Emily Yocum Black – are first-rate.” —Donald Rosenberg, Gramophone

First Inversion is proud to announce the acquisition of the United Kingdom’s enterprising recording and publishing group, Divine Art Ltd. Known as the Divine Art Recordings Group, Divine Art consists of the prestigious Divine Art, Métier, Athene, Diversions, Historic Sound, Heritage Media, Pilgrim’s Star, and Ekkozone recording labels, and the music publishing imprint, Divine Art Edition.

The integration into the First Inversion family will enable the continuation of the Divine Art Recording Group’s storied 32-year history of high-quality and fascinating recordings and music as founder Stephen Sutton embarks on a well-earned retirement. On 1 January 2025, First Inversion CEO David Weuste will take on the additional role of CEO of Divine Art. Mr. Weuste, through his company Rosebrook Media, has worked alongside Mr. Sutton since 2014. Divine Art’s production partnership with Mill Media Co. will also continue under First Inversion ownership. 

David Weuste, Founder and CEO of First Inversion says, “Stephen Sutton was first introduced to me in 2014 as ‘one of the nicest people in the music industry.’ While that is certainly true, what sets Stephen and the Divine Art Recordings Group apart is his commitment to empowering the artists and composers on his labels. This passion for artists and composers is evident throughout the catalogue and company. It also shines through in the rewarding and eclectic nature of the music. ‘Fascinating’, ‘challenging’, and ‘quality’ are the most-used words in critical reviews of Stephen’s recordings. First Inversion considers those words to be foundational elements of the catalogue, which deserves to be the first choice for anyone interested in exploring the true depth that classical music has to offer.”

Stephen Sutton, Founder and CEO of Divine Art says, “The decision to hand over the Divine Art business was made with very divided emotions, as I still have as much ambition and enthusiasm as I did in my 30s and can see a successful future ahead, thanks to the wonderful talent and inspired work of our composers and performing artists. I started the venture to make a cassette (remember them?) as a fund-raiser for our local church organ restoration [the result being the album later released on CD as “Organ in the Hills”] and it remained an expensive hobby alongside my day job until I made it my full time occupation in 2005 from when the growth of the catalogue has been far more than I ever expected. However, I feel that the time is right to take a belated retirement and entrust the company to David who has managed our international marketing for many years and who I believe will drive our labels onwards and upwards with a better rapport with the ever changing digital distribution and social media world. I am hopeful that I can contribute in the future in some form or other.” 

The catalogue of over 750 recordings is available for discovery at divineartrecords.com

About the Divine Art Recordings Group: 

In 1992, Stephen Sutton founded the Divine Art label in Northumberland. His commitment to quality and for introducing new music and fascinating rarities saw Divine Art grow into a globally recognized award-winning label both on the flagship imprint and it’s midprice sister, Diversions. Between 2003 and 2009, Divine Art acquired the highly-regarded early music label, Athene, launched the new Historic Sound series specializing in sound restoration, acquired Métier Records, one of the most important labels for contemporary music, and added the Dunelm Records and Pilgrim’s Star catalogues. Divine Art also sub-distributes the RP Music and DanSing labels. In 2023, it brought the Danish label Ekkozone, founded by Métier artist Mathias Reumert, into the catalogue, and launched the Divine Art Edition music publishing initiative. The over 30 years of growth have seen the group’s catalogue grow to over 750 titles with global digital distribution through Naxos of America and physical distribution across the world through the Naxos Global Distribution network. 

About First Inversion:

Founded in 2024, First Inversion is a holding company based in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. First Inversion’s companies include Rosebrook Classical and Rosebrook Media, founded by CEO David Weuste in 2009, which offer marketing services for performing arts organizations across the US and a suite of recording label and artist services to clients and companies around the world. In 2025, it welcomes the addition of eight recording labels and a music publishing imprint from the United Kingdom through the acquisition of Divine Art Ltd. Learn more at recordings.first-inversion.com/