This week, Symphony Center saw a one-two punch of good news and bad news.

On Tuesday, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra announced that Donald Palumbo, the former chorus master of the Metropolitan Opera, would lead its award-winning chorus on an initial three-year contract — a cheering development for an ensemble that has been without a director since 2022.

That was followed on Thursday by word that MusicNOW, the CSO’s contemporary music series, would be “paused” next season. A statement from Cristina Rocca, the orchestra’s vice president for artistic planning, said the organization intended to “imagine new possibilities for connecting Chicago audiences with new music.”

Once the domain of the CSO’s composer-in-residence, MusicNOW programming is typically unveiled after the bulk of season pr

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