2 January – The Paxton Festival announces that Helen Jamieson is to stand down as its artistic director in September 2018.[1]
8 January –Arts Council England announces the appointment of Claire Mera-Nelson as Director of Music and as director in its London office.[2]
10 January – TheRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra announces the resignation ofCharles Dutoit as its principal conductor and artistic adviser, with immediate effect, following allegations against Dutoit of inappropriate sexual behaviour. Dutoit had previously been scheduled to vacate the posts in 2019.[3]
11 January –Sinfonia Viva announces the appointment of Frank Zielhorst as its new principal conductor, with immediate effect.[4]
15 January – The Cumnock Tryst announces the appointment of Jean Nicholson as its new festival director.[5]
18 January – The Southbank Centre announces that Jude Kelly is to stand down as its artistic director, effective May 2018.[6]
25 January –Creative Scotland announces the newest round of Regular Funding recipients for its next three-year programme, which includes the losses of £300,000 for theDunedin Consort and of £550,000 for the Hebrides Ensemble.[7]
2 February – Following the release of his debut albumInspiration,Sheku Kanneh-Mason becomes the first-ever BBC Young Musician winner to enter the Official UK Albums Chart with a debut recording.[11]
6 February – Creative Scotland announces restoration of £300,000 funding for 3 years to the Dunedin Consort.[12]
11 February – 50 years after its composition, Richard Reason'sDylan Thomas Song Cycle receives its first performance at Conway Hall.[13]
20 February –Longborough Festival Opera announces the appointment of Polly Graham, daughter of festival founders Martin and Lizzie Graham, as its new artistic director, with immediate effect.[14]
22 February – A news report states thatRafael Payare is to stand down as music director of theUlster Orchestra as of the end of his current contract, at the close of the 2018–2019 season.[15]
7 March –NME announces that it is to discontinue its print edition, and to shift its publication emphasis to its online edition.[16]
English National Opera announces the appointment of Stuart Murphy as its next chief executive, effective 3 April 2018.[17]
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance announces its 'Venus Blazing' programme for the 2018–2019 academic year, with the commitment that music by female composers is to comprise at least 50% of the selections for its public performances.[18]
5 April – The Buxton International Festival announces that its artistic director, Stephen Barlow, is to stand down from the post in late July 2018.[23]
TheRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (RLPO) announces thatVasily Petrenko is to conclude his tenure as its chief conductor as of the end of the 2020–2021 season, and subsequently to take the title of conductor laureate of the RLPO.[35]
4 July – TheSusan Chilcott Scholarship announces soprano Gemma Summerfield as the final recipient of the Chilcott Award.[36]
9 July – ORA Singers announces the appointment ofStephen Fry as its new president.[37]
August – In 2019, streaming platformSpotify reveals that Welsh duoAlffa is the "most streamed Welsh language act ever" with three million streams for their two singles.[41]
4 October – TheBBC Philharmonic announces the appointment ofOmer Meir Wellber as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2019-2020 season, with an initial contract of 4 years.[46]
27 October – TheMass Via Victrix of SirCharles Villiers Stanford receives its first-ever complete performance, 99 years after its composition, in Cardiff by theBBC National Orchestra of Wales, the BBC National Chorus of Wales, and vocal soloists Kiandra Howarth, Jess Dancy, Ruairi Bowen, and Gareth Brynmor John.[47]
6 November –Glyndebourne Festival Opera announces the appointment of Ben Glassberg as the new principal conductor of the Glyndebourne Tour, with an initial contract of 3 years.[49]
23 November – The Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition 2018 announces Felix Mildenberger as its winner, which includes the appointment of Mildenberger as the new assistant conductor of theLondon Symphony Orchestra for a 2-year period.[50]
26 November – TheRoyal Northern College of Music announces the appointment of Sara Ascenso as its first-ever lecturer in Musicians' Health and Wellbeing, the first UK music institution ever to institute such a post.[51]
Undated – London drill rapperDigga D and group1011 are issued with aCriminal Behaviour Order (CBO) that places restrictions on their music, including requiring them to have theMetropolitan Police's permission before releasing any new music.[56]
^"New Year's Honours list 2019"(PDF) (Press release). Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 28 December 2018. Retrieved30 December 2018.
