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 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, Jorja Fleezanis served as concertmaster for the opening concert on July 2. >>Click here for more.

This summer marks the 25th anniversary of IU'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. The academy’s free gala concert is July 17 at 7 p.m. in Recital Hall. >>Click here for more.

Follow the construction of the new Maidee H. and Jackson A. Seward Organ—C. B. Fisk, Op. 135—in Auer Hall from the load-in of “Double Charlie” to the newborn’s first public breath on April 30, 2010. Enjoy all the latest articles, photos, videos, and more as this nearly 4,000-pipe, state-of-the-art instrument prepares to come to life. It’s quite an operation! .>>Click here for more.

Start your holiday weekend in style with the first Festival Orchestra concert tonight at 8 p.m. in the MAC, featuring conductor David Robertson and concertmaster Jorja Fleezanis in works by Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Nielsen. Then, enjoy pianist Jonathan Biss in a special Piano Academy Scholarship Benefit concert July 3 at 8 p.m. in Recital Hall. The celebration continues on Sunday in Recital Hall, with the Festival Chamber Players at 4 p.m. and pianist Read Gainsford at 8 p.m. Happy Fourth! >>Click here for more.

This edition of Fanfare sends special kudos to David Baker, Everett Burns, Robert Bennett, Leighann Daihl, Meghan Dewald, Laury Gutierrez, and more! >>Click here for more.

Read The New York Times’ review of Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Princeton Festival in New Jersey, featuring several Jacobs School students and alumni. Of course, there is much more music school coverage in the Herald-Times and beyond!.>>Click here for more.