Lizzo has donated $50,000 to boost representation of Black and Latinx artists in classical music. The pop star and flautist said she wants to help “transform young black musicians’ lives through the arts”. She made the donation to the Sphinx Organization as part of her fourth annual Juneteenth giveback, where Lizzo 'gives back' to black organisations formed at the grassroots. The Sphinx Organization is devoted to increasing the representation of Black and Latinx artists in classical music. Read more via the link in our bio.

Star soprano @DanielleDeNiese has recorded a special version of ‘Love Changes Everything’ alongside her Aspects of Love co-star Michael Ball, and a young Ukrainian violinist. The violinist is 16-year-old Solomiia, a gifted musician who left Ukraine to seek safety. She is now living in Poland, where she attends a musical school and is supported by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), with whom De Niese is an ambassador. When Solomiia fled Ukraine, she brought only a few things with her: “My violin, clothes, and harmony notebook.” “I did not take with me any other notebook, only a harmony notebook, because I had in there a lot of notes. I decided it was important and I took the notebook. Music is life for me,” she told Classic FM. The special recording took place to mark Refugee Week. Watch via the link in our bio.

Rambunctious choir meets blacksmith tools in this epic Verdi ‘Anvil Chorus’ Watch more via the link in our bio and the full Classic FM Live concert with @englishnationalopera at the @royalalberthall, on 27 June on Sky Arts.

From a river cruise exploring Europe’s most beautiful landscapes, to a far-flung long-haul adventure, this is your chance to explore one of over 70 incredible destinations thanks to @tuiuk. Who would you like to go on holiday with? Tag them in the comments and you’ll be in with a chance to win a £1,000 holiday voucher, and start your adventure together! Full T&Cs at classicfm.com. Competition closes at 23:59 on Monday 26 July 2023.

Proof you don’t need to be able to read music in order to be a great musician... From Hendrix to Zimmer, via some of pop music’s great voices – here are those who learnt their musical craft in other ways. You can read more via the link in our bio.

75 years ago today, the Empire Windrush arrived in Essex’s Tilbury docks carrying hundreds of Caribbean people eager to embark on new lives in Britain. One of them was 20-year-old Mona Baptiste, pictured, a talented young musician who was destined for stardom and fame. They’d been invited to help rebuild the ‘mother country’, which was suffering labour shortages after the Second World War, but on arrival many found that the dream they had been sold didn’t match up to their new realities. The Windrush generation brought with them the music of reggae, ska, and calypso among many others, with a lasting musical legacy that can still be seen, heard, and felt, in British music today. Read more about the brilliant musicians of the Windrush generation via the link in our bio.

Prisoners learn violin in Quatre Camins prison in Barcelona, Spain. For over 10 years, violinist Canolich Prats has been teaching violin and sharing music-making with prisoners in Catalan prisons. The project is supported by the Department of Justice as a program of engagement and rehabilitation. (📷 Getty)

Ahead of the release of the anticipated sixteenth instalment of the Final Fantasy franchise, we take a look at the game-changing soundtracks and the composers behind them... 🎮 Read more via the link in our bio.

15-year-old Seokyoung Hong from South Korea has taken top honours at @thecliburn International Junior Piano Competition 2023 after this blistering performance of Rachmaninov's 'Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini' with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Read more via the link in our bio.

Weighing over 130kg, this ginormous instrument is the largest playable violin in the whole world. Measuring 4.27 metres tall, and 1.4 metres wide, this gigantic string instrument holds the @guinnessworldrecords for the world’s largest violin. The monster instrument took over 2,000 hours to make. Listen to its thunderous sound via the link in bio...

Singaporean conductor Kahchun Wong has been announced as the new principal conductor and artistic advisor of Manchester’s @the_halle. Sir Mark Elder, who has been at the helm of the orchestra since 1999, will become conductor emeritus of the legendary orchestra. Kahchun Wong was awarded first prize at the prestigious Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in 2016 and has since gone on to conduct many of the world’s leading orchestras. He said: “I am deeply honoured to be the new Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Hallé – it is an orchestra I have always admired for its beautiful sound and tradition.”

French virtuoso Colette Maze, the world’s oldest recording pianist born in June 1914, has turned 109 years old. Her ‘108 Years of Piano’, released this year and featuring works by Gershwin, Schumann and Debussy, has made her the oldest pianist to ever record an album. Maze has said she still practises her instrument for four hours a day and retains incredible health, movement and dexterity. “The hard part,” she told Le Figaro, “Is keeping up regular practice. You have to practise a lot… at school you have to train your mind every day, but that goes so quickly, if you don’t practise regularly.” Asked why she keeps playing the instrument and making music, the pianist simply said: “Because it’s my life... the piano is a friend.” Many happy returns to a remarkable musician – here’s to a lifetime of music-making!