Dawn Upshaw has renewed her artistic partnership with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for the next three seasons. She began her partnership with the orchestra in the 2007-08 season and will now continue through the 2012-13 season. In the 2010-11 season, Upshaw joins the SPCO for a world premiere by Gabriela Frank plus works by Berio and Mahler. Also next season, Brad Mehldau will join the SPCO for the world premiere of his Highway Rider.

Kronos Quartet begins its four-night residency at San Francisco's Z Space @ Artaud tonight. Each of the four performances offers a different program, featuring Jon Rose's Music from 4 Fences plus works by Terry Riley, a piece by composers from the Kronos: Under 30 Project, and other commissioned works. Plus: Kronos buttons aplenty (pictured). SF Weekly recommends tonight's show as "a rare treat indeed."

The Carolina Chocolate Drops begin their US tour in Danville, Indiana, this Thursday, playing music from their Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, and have now added a number of new dates, including a return to the Black Banjo Gathering, where they first met in 2005. The AP says, "The Carolina Chocolate Drops rise above easy classification ... using the blues as filtered through the unique Piedmont string band movement as a stepping stone to something more," calling Rhiannon Giddens' voice "a revelation, both modern and timeless."

The Metropolitan Opera has announced its 2010-11 season, which features the Met premiere of John Adams's Nixon in China. The composer makes his Met debut on the podium conducting the Met premiere of the opera. It also marks the Met directorial of Peter Sellars, who led the 1987 world premiere of Nixon in China at the Houston Grand Opera. James Maddalena returns as Nixon, the role he originated and sang on the Nonesuch recording.

Here Lies Love, the David Byrne / Fatboy Slim song cycle about Imelda Marcos, is the subject of a feature in the Sunday Times Magazine (UK). The article examines why its creators and score of vocalists would take on a project about so notorious a figure, finding echoes of "Nixon in China, a work that presented another controversial political figure in an unusually favourable light." BoingBoing recently spoke with Bryne at the TED conference.

The Low Anthem will release a special limited-edition vinyl 7-inch of its single "Charlie Darwin" on March 2 [now March 23], featuring "Charlie Darwin," off the band's Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, and two staples from the band's live show, the previously unreleased "Sally Where'd You Get Your Liquor From" and "Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around." The band is preparing for its first headlining tour and will hit this year's SXSW and Sasquatch festivals. Before that, the band will support The Avett Brothers for ten dates.

Ricky Ian Gordon unveils the two-act concert version of his opera The Grapes of Wrath at Carnegie Hall on March 22, starring Jane Fonda, Nathan Gunn, Victoria Clark, and Christine Ebersole. "With a slyness worthy of Weill," said The New Yorker of the original 2007 opera, "Gordon wields his hummable tunes to critical effect." This spring, Gordon premieres his Sycamore Trees at the Signature Theatre. In a preview, the Washington Post says "Gordon has shown over the course of his career that he's anything but cut from a mold."

Laurie Anderson's Delusion received its world premiere in Vancouver last night as part of the Cultural Olympiad. In an interview with the CBC, she jokingly refers to the piece as "a poor man's Avatar." She tells the Globe and Mail it's "a collection of stories about identity ... and ancestors and relatives and where you come from, where you’re going. Those small questions." The Vancouver Sun calls her "one of those rare artists who have moved from the avant-garde into the world of pop culture and celebrity while still retaining her creative and experimental edge."

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced its 2010-2011 concert season. John Adams, the orchestra's creative chair, will oversee its famed Green Umbrella new-music series, with music by Michael Gordon, George Crumb, and others, concluding with a concert led by Adams. His Slonimsky's Earbox will be featured on the LA Phil's European tour. Brad Mehldau will perform Highway Rider at Disney Hall with musicians from the album, including Joshua Redman.

Kronos Quartet has added four dates to its tour schedule next week at San Francisco's Z Space @ Artaud, with a different program each night, each featuring Jon Rose's Music from 4 Fences, along with a work by Terry Riley, pieces by composers from the Kronos: Under 30 Project, and works by Damon Albarn, John Zorn, Bryce Dessner, and Clint Mansell.

Punch Brothers bring their US tour to Charlottesville, Virginia, tonight for the start of a ten-day stretch through the South. And to kick things off right, opening tonight's show is Christina Courtin, who begins her own tour with Mike Doughty. The Columbus Dispatch says Punch Brothers' set last Saturday "offered plenty of moments of pure aural pleasure."

Last night, k.d. lang made Olympic magic when she performed the classic Leonard Cohen tune "Hallelujah" at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. The Vancouver Sun said k.d. "reminded the world that she is one of the best in the business, with a stirring, spiritual rendition of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' that literally hushed the crowd." You can re-live the moment by picking up your own copy of the "Hallelujah" EP at the iTunes Store.