FEATURE: FOCUS ON THE FUTURE
How the US can rebuild its creative industry post-Covid
The Art Newspaper: Margaret Carrigan
A proposal issued to both presidential campaigns by Americans for the Arts outlines a national strategy to put creative workers back to work
RESEARCH AND OPINION
Where Do Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Stand on the Arts?
Hyperallergic: Valentina Di Liscia
Hyperallergic looked at the Democratic candidates’ track record in the cultural sector, from legislative achievements to museum affiliations and personal support of the arts.
Musicians on How to Bring Racial Equity to Auditions
The New York Times: Zachary Woolfe and Joshua Barone
Conductors, players and administrators don’t necessarily want to abandon blind auditions. But they say the lack of diversity in American orchestras is more complicated than that.
ARTS ENGINES | Aaron Dworkin – With Conductor Eugene Rogers
The Violin Channel
Aaron Dworkin sits down with Washington Chorus Artistic Director and Associate Professor of Conducting at the University of Michigan, Eugene Rogers to explore his passion for the vocal arts.
One to One with Chad Smith (LA Phil)
Musical America: Susan Elliott
Chad Smith, CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which operates the Bowl, describes the logistics behind the Phil’s upcoming “Sound/Stage” series.
An interview with Suzanne Davidson, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Executive Director
The Violin Channel
This week, VC is hosting a 2-day online festival “Celebrating 50 Years of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center”.
Free streaming: lifeline or noose?
Bachtrack: Mark Pullinger
Streaming is clearly going to be part of our cultural lives for some time to come. Even as small audiences return to venues, streaming will be vital, not just for supplementing limited ticket sales but for those audience members who will be understandably nervous about returning to the concert hall or opera house.
Black Excellence Series | Composer Undine Smith Moore
The Violin Channel
JDW Sheet Music released a new episode of their ‘Black Excellence Series’ – focusing on introducing international audiences to black composers and musicians.
Darwin’s Endless Forms Most Beautiful: What’s Musical about Biology and Why Does That Matter?
Resilience: Bob Labaree
A conversation with Richard Heinberg – He’s worrying the point of tension between what many scholars in his day called individual creation and communal creation. He is bothered by the facile assumptions behind the very term “communal creation.” “Corporate action has originated nothing and can originate nothing,” Sharp says. “Communal composition is unthinkable.” And yet…
NATIONAL
MPR’s only Black classical host Garrett McQueen fired after being taken off air
NPR: Marianne Combs
Minnesota Public Radio has fired its only Black classical music host Garrett McQueen. McQueen announced his firing on his social media accounts Thursday morning.
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra agrees pandemic pay deal
The Strad
Players will receive a third of their 2019–20 base salary from January 2021.
Frank Gehry unveils designs for two L.A. concert halls. But will they get built?
Los Angeles Times: Mark Swed
Two new concert halls on the way in LA!
A New Bill Loosens Strictures for Some Musicians and Other Freelancers
The San Francisco Classical Voice: Paul Kotapish
Legislators … included umbrella language in AB 5 that suddenly placed all manner of career-long freelancers in risk of losing their independent status and, indeed, their livelihood because so many businesses depending on contract workers would not be able to meet the new requirements.
A 639-Year Concert, With No Intermission for Coronavirus
The New York Times: Catherine Hickley
The long, slow performance of a piece by the American composer John Cage is scheduled to run until 2640. On Saturday, an audience in Germany heard a sound change — the first since 2013.
Philadelphia’s Jasper String Quartet Announces New Member
The Violin Channel
This week, the Philadelphia-based Jasper String Quartet announced the appointment of American violist Andrew Gonzalez to the ensemble.
Michigan Opera Theatre lands ‘genius’ Yuval Sharon as artistic director
Detroit Free Press: Mark Stryker
One of the world’s most acclaimed and visionary opera directors is taking the creative reins of Michigan Opera Theatre.
INTERNATIONAL
Live music and audiences return to Barbican Centre in recast autumn season
The Guardian: Imogen Tilden
London venue announces concerts for both live and digital viewers, while the LSO will close the year’s Beethoven celebrations with an ambitious piano concerto cycle.
As COVID wreaks havoc in the performing arts, does Australia still need a national opera company?
The Conversation: Peter Tregear
Only last year it was boasting an operating surplus. Last month, however, Chief Executive Rory Jeffes announced an organizational restructure, which the industry union claims could result in up to 25% of permanent staff losing their jobs.
Ex-Shanghai Quartet violinist sues former colleagues for unfair dismissal
The Strad
Yi-Wen Jiang is suing the Shanghai Quartet and Montclair State University, where the quartet is resident, following a comment on social media earlier this year.
City of London Sinfonia returns to Southwark Cathedral for two performances
The Strad
The concerts will be open to socially distanced audience members in groups of up to six.
London Mozart Players launch ‘Classical Club’
The Strad
This ticketed series of concerts filmed in unusual or iconic venues will take place between 24 September and 15 November.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Rise of digital: how streaming filled the live performance gap
The Stage: Tom Wicker
While widespread live performance without social distancing remains unlikely until 2021, streaming platforms have found their moment in the spotlight, offering audiences access to a library of theatre. Key figures in the digital theatre movement tell Tom Wicker about what the future holds for streaming services.
‘Now Hear This’ modeled itself after cooking shows. It found millions of viewers with an appetite for classical music.
The Washington Post: Michael Andor Brodeur
Each episode of Now Hear This “manages to turn its exploration of a single subject into a hybrid of travelogue, mystery, history, cultural study, documentary and performance — all with … intricate webs of narrative that connect composers across episodes and eras.” Showrunner Harry Lynch and host Scott Yoo freely acknowledge that they were inspired by the approach of food-TV stars such as Anthony Bourdain.
Despite Pandemic, Recorded-Music Revenues Grew 5.6% in First Half of 2020: RIAA Study
Variety: Jem Aswad
A 24% growth in streaming subscriptions and a 14% boost in streaming revenue offset revenue declines in other areas of the market.
OFF THE BEATEN TRAIL
WACKY WEDNESDAY | South American Uirapuru Bird Sonata
The Violin Channel
Composer Alexander Liebermann’s latest work, based on the South American Uirapuru bird …
Phoebe Bridgers: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
NPR News: Bob Boilen
For her Tiny Desk (home) concert, Phoebe Bridgers chose the White House.
“Ask Me Anything” – With Violinists Paul Huang & Danbi Um
The Violin Channel
Go ahead, ask Paul and Danbi anything… (just please keep things PG-13).
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