FEATURE Al Singer Xania Monet Just Charted On Billboard, Signed $3M Deal. Is This The Future Of Music? Forbes: Doug Melvills Seventeen million streams in two months. A multimillion-dollar record deal. A Billboard-charting single. These are the kinds of stats that typically belong to breakout human stars. But today they belong to Xania Monet —… Read more »
Entries by abarker
WEEKLY DIGEST: Mason Bates bring Symphonic Electronica to Kavalier & Clay, Jazz Education and AI, trends in programming in an increasingly politicized world, orchestra updates, and more.
FEATURE JSoM Alert! The Composer Bringing ‘Symphonic Electronica’ to the Met NY Times: Adam Nagourney With “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” Mason Bates, a.k.a. DJ Masonic, expands the sound world of the Metropolitan Opera. The work was premiered by IU Opera Theater during the 2024-25 season and had its Met premiere this past… Read more »
WEEKLY DIGEST: The Rise of AI and Opera, The Machine and Created American Pop, Teddy Abrams appointed to Ojai Music Festival, and more.
FEATURE The Royal Ballet and Opera Confronts the Rise of A.I. With a New Festival NY Times: Farah Nayeri As an art form, opera has not typically been associated with cutting-edge technology. Born four centuries ago, it traditionally involves singers swaddled in corsets, tailcoats or togas acting out stories of courtly intrigue and mythological doom…. Read more »
WEEKLY DIGEST: Shaping the 20th Century through Jazz, Deborah Rutter interview, Esa-Pekka Salonen goes to LA while SF musicians strike, the Met turns to Saudi Arabia, new AI music label turns things upside down, and more.
FEATURE Jazz Corner: How 20th-Century Jazz Shaped Popular Music Rolling Stone India: Sunil Sampat From ragtime and the Jazz Age to Bollywood and hip-hop, jazz has been a constant force in influencing music across cultures and generations. As the great and wise Duke Ellington always maintained, “If you want to know where you are going,… Read more »
WEEKLY DIGEST: 300 years of Classical Music in a TED talk, what’s happening in progressive jazz, Tanglewood’s focus on children, Beethoven.ai launch and why it’s groundbreaking, and more
FEATURE JSoM Alert! Joshua Bell: 300 Years of Classical Music in 18 Minutes TED: Classical music innovation at work! Does the world still need classical music? What about orchestras? In this gorgeous talk and performance, violinist Joshua Bell (JSoM alumnus, born in Bloomington!) and the Chamber Orchestra of America play selections of classical music masterpieces… Read more »
WEEKLY DIGEST: New Music Genres in AI, Kennedy Center renaming?, Steinway’s wood challenge, Lady Gaga’s stardom reborn, and more.
FEATURE AI Creating ‘Potentially New’ Music Genres as Artists Take Control Music Business Worldwide: Daniel Tencer AI is already reshaping music culture, and creating “potential” new music genres as artists adapt the technology, according to a new research paper. Artists like Holly Herndon, Grimes, and Sevdaliza have released AI models of their voices, allowing others… Read more »
WEEKLY DIGEST: Bach on the Brain, Arvo Pärt at 90, Music in the Rubble of Gaza, the Live Music Business is Booming, and more
FEATURE Bach On The Brain Classical Music: Claire Jackson A pioneering performance that combines piano music with corresponding neural imagery has premiered at Verbier Festival. Nicolas Namoradze’s Neurorecital saw pieces from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier accompanied by images of the performer’s brain activity, allowing an unprecedented peek into the mind of the pianist. JSoM Alert! IU… Read more »
WEEKLY DIGEST: AI and Music Creativity, podcasts replace FM/AM radio for some, Brooklyn Ryder continues to flourish, UK Opera cancels performances in Tel Aviv, and more.
FEATURE Is AI Ruining Music? TED: Dustin Ballard What makes music “real” — is it the instruments, the voice, the creator’s intention or something else entirely? Dustin Ballard, the creative force behind the viral channel “There I Ruined It,” explores the weird, wonderful and sometimes unsettling ways AI is reshaping music. With fiddle solos and… Read more »
Weekly Digest: Classical music can boost sports performance, AI & Music updates, JSoM student in finals of Barbash Competition, and more.
FEATURE How Classical Music Can Boost Sports Performance Classic FM: Lucy Hicks Beach A growing body of research suggests classical music can offer measurable benefits to athletes: helping regulate nerves, boost balance, reduce perceived effort, and even foster team cohesion. RESEARCH AND OPINION How GenAI music is hacking the system – and getting paid Music… Read more »
Weekly Digest: Classical Music at the mountaintop, study finds meaning in AI music, how to replace federal arts funding, the keys of Taylor Swift’s success, the behavior of super listeners, and more
FEATURE This Classical Pianist Has Reached the Mountaintop The New York Times: Sopan Deb and Alex Hecht The classical pianist Hunter Noack has embowered on an unusual journey, to take his music to natural landscape well beyond the concert halls. Inspired by the preservationist John Muir, Noack started the project as a way of getting… Read more »