Those who have played ABZÛ know that it is a simply stunning experience, exceptionally beautiful and entrancing. This is in no small part thanks to the Austin Wintory’s music for the game, equal in its energy and lushness, transporting the player/listener to a world they’ll never want to leave. (I constantly find my breath taken… Read more »
Entries by abarker
Weekly Digest: Artists’ plea to the NEA, the Met’s new season, California’s support of the Arts, and more
FEATURE Hundreds of Artists Call on N.E.A. to Roll Back Trump’s Restrictions New York Times: Michael Paulson A letter signed by 463 playwrights, poets, dancers, visual artists and others pushes back against new grant requirements that bar the promotion of diversity or “gender ideology.” RESEARCH AND OPINION Why Is an Entire Age of American Opera… Read more »
AlgoRhythms: The World of Music and AI
What does it mean to be a music artist or composer in the age of AI? Will AI enrich or impoverish our musical imaginations? Who will own AI generated music? For the second consecutive year, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, in collaboration with the Maurer School of Law and partners on the IUB campus and… Read more »
Weekly Digest: Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show was Radically Political, Carnegie Hall’s new season, NEA Changes, Sony music rights business surpasses $10bn, and more
FEATURE Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show Was Radically Political, if You Knew Where to Look New York Times: Tiana Clark More viewers tuned into watch Kendrick Lamar — 133.5 million people — than any other Super Bowl halftime show. And they witnessed a rousing concert by a 22-time Grammy-winning (as well as one Pulitzer-winning) artist. But… Read more »
Weekly Digest: President Trump’s impact on the Arts, Kendrick Larmar’s impact on the Super Bowl, AI’s impact on Music, and more
FEATURE A Running List of How the Trump Administration Is Impacting the Arts ArtNet: Adam Schrader The National Endowment of the Arts has just updated its grant guidelines in response to the president’s executive orders. NEA nixes grant program for ‘underserved communities,’ shifting priorities Washington Post: Anne Branigin The moves come as the Trump administration’s… Read more »
2025 Innovation Competition Winners
We’re pleased to announce that the winners of the 2025 Jacobs School of Music Innovation Competition! The First Prize was awarded to The Balourdet Quartet with their project, Expedition Strings. Second Prize went to Connie Cai with Project Improv! “We are beyond thrilled to continue developing our newest initiative, Expedition Strings, with the support of… Read more »
Weekly Digest: Artists can Copyright their AI-Assisted Work, America’s First Black Opera Composer, Women are Transforming Pop and Taking on the Grammys, and more
FEATURE Artists can copyright works made with AI assistance: Agency The Hill: Sarah Fortinsky Artists can copyright work they create using tools powered by artificial intelligence, as long as sufficient human creativity is involved, according to a new report from the U.S. Copyright Office. RESEARCH AND OPINION Edmond Dédé, America’s First Black Opera Composer Early… Read more »
SOUNDTRACK OF THE WEEK #16 – Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Music by Yasunori Mitsuda, ACE, Kenji Hiramatsu, & Manami Kiyota)
The “Voices & Video Games” premiered last Friday and was an incredible success! Eight unique arrangements of video game music were performed by the NOTUS Contemporary Vocal Ensemble to a roaring audience; it was truly a night to remember. Two of the arrangements performed were of tracks from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, a soundtrack much too… Read more »
OECD Digest: A new generation listens to more classical, Alex Tedrow writes a fanfare for the inauguration, and more news and opinion!
FEATURE Young People Listen to More Orchestral Music than their Parents Limelight: Maddy Briggs Millennials and Zoomers more likely to listen to classical music than those over 35, a Royal Philharmonic Orchestra report shows. Surveying 2,000 people, the 2022 report shows that 65 percent of people aged 18–34 listen to orchestral music regularly, compared to… Read more »
Weekly Digest: MLK songs and tributes, the loss of 100k Schoenberg scores, the musical universe of David Lynch, performances at the Trump inauguration, and more
FEATURE Best Martin Luther King Songs: 10 Moving Tributes U Discover Music: Martin Chilton From sorrowful mourning to polemical rage, these songs deal with the death of the civil-rights icon in moving, revelatory ways. RESEARCH AND OPINION Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra at 50: is it time for brickbats or bouquets? The Guardian: Marshall Marcus… Read more »