FEATURE
JSoM Alert! Aaron Dworkin interviews Saxophonist and Jacobs School of Music alumnus Steven Banks
The Violin Channel
Aaron Dworkin sits down with saxophonist and educator Steven Banks to discuss how orchestras can further diversity in their organizations. “As long as you come at it from a perspective of humility and knowing that your first steps are not going to be your last steps, then I think that just going ahead and starting with whatever is in your mind, “Okay, I can do this, I can do this,” let’s start there and see where it leads,” Steven Banks said.
RESEARCH AND OPINION
Performing arts are near the point of no return. Conservatives should rescue them.
Washington Post: Ali Wambold and Charles Segars
Arts audiences are passionate and, especially in turbulent times, hunger for the fulfillment that a transcendent performance can bring. Even skeptics of government funding for the arts should support making those experiences possible again.
‘Open that door or I’ll blow it down!’ The jazz legends who caused TV mayhem
The Guradian: Michael Stewart Foley
They sent talkshow host Dick Cavett fleeing with his fingers in his ears and blasted Ed Sullivan with Haitian Fight Song. Fifty years on, the Jazz and People’s Movement are still fighting to be heard.
JSoM Alert! Black Voices: Opera singer Angela Brown made her mark in the music world
IDS: Jaclyn Ferguson
From performing for the Metropolitan Opera in New York to winning Best Black Music Podcast of 2020 by the Black Podcasting Awards for her podcast Melanated Moments in Classical Music, Brown has spent decades in the music profession.
JSoM Alert! Memories from the CSO
Intermission @ The CSO
James Smelser, serving as second horn in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 2000, shares memories and lessons learned from his long experience, including time with JSoM faculty member Dale Clevenger.
Misty Copeland Says Coded Language Is Used to Keep Black and Brown Dancers Out of Ballet
PopSugar: Samantha Brodsky
In an interview with SiriusXM Urban View host Karen Hunter, Copeland, the first Black principal dancer for American Ballet Theatre, is opening up about this topic and how body type and body image comes into play here.
Black Excellence Series | Composer Harry Burleigh
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.
Isaac Stern’s Centennial – Michael Stern, David Finckel & Wu Han
The Violin Channel
The three musicians discuss Isaac Stern’s life and legacy.
A Choir Finds a Way to Sing. Just Ignore the Steering Wheel.
The New York Times: Bob Morris
Choruses are a pandemic no-no, but there is a solution. One music-starved writer joined a drive-in rehearsal.
The True Poet of Jazz
City-Journal: Ted Gioia
Legendary New Yorker critic Whitney Balliett captured the magic of the music.
Hear the Brilliance of Eddie Van Halen
NY Times
Eddie Van Halen, an innovator who turned himself into a new kind of guitar hero, died on Tuesday at 65.
5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Baroque Music
NY Times
The newspaper pioneers new ways of sharing and celebrating early music. Listen to spirited, sublime works by Bach, Handel, Purcell and others.
NATIONAL
Record mogul gives $25 million to L.A.’s Music Center for free concerts
LA Times: Jessica Gelt
The $25 million gift, which exceeds the entire annual programming budget of the Music Center, also will be used to create a network of community partners who codesign programs.
The Cleveland Orchestra, America’s Finest, Restarts Recording
The New York Times: David Allen
Under Franz Welser-Möst, its longtime music director, the ensemble now has a label of its own.
In 2019, Curtis Institute still showed ‘disbelief, lack of support, empathy’ to Lara St. John’s sexual-abuse claim
The Philadelphia Inquirer
With the renowned violinist’s story widely public and validated, St. John leaves behind a world-famous but hidebound institution grappling with profound change.
INTERNATIONAL
A Plan to Reform British Classical Music
Van: Benjamin Poore
Both the pandemic and the protests have revealed how deep inequalities run within the music industry, among audiences and performers. There is no going back to normal.
Edinburgh International Festival ordered to improve diversity in its programming
The Scotsman: Brian Ferguson
The Edinburgh International Festival has been ordered to ensure greater diversity in its programming by the Scottish Government in the wake of claims that women, disabled acts and artists of color were overlooked in this year’s online program.
This Nigerian Ballet Teacher’s Academy Has Leapt Into the Spotlight
Dance Magazine: Courtney Celeste Spears
Daniel Owoseni Ajala has had quite a summer. Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Ajala is the founder and creative director of the Leap of Dance Academy, which provides ballet classes for young dancers.
Paris Opera ponders blackface as it tackles ballet’s race problem
France 24
The issue of racism and diversity has been seen simmering since the choreographer Benjamin Millepied of “Black Swan” fame denounced the ballet’s “insidious racism” after taking the reins in 2015.
Canadian Opera Company Cancels All Remaining Productions
Ludwig van Toronto: Michael Vincent
Today, the Canadian Opera Company has confirmed that due to the ongoing uncertainty around indoor gatherings, they will be cancelling the rest of its originally planned 2020/2021 season.
Armenian State Symphony Orchestra conductor speaks out against conflict
The Strad
Recent fighting in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh has claimed more than 300 lives.
Film of Concerto Budapest and Kremerata Baltica wins Golden Lion at Venice TV festival
The Strad
Among other works, the film featured the Hungarian premiere of Weinberg’s ‘Kaddish’ symphony.
London Philharmonic Orchestra plays in National Gallery in COVID tribute to World War II concerts
The Strad
Four video concerts, featuring orchestral players performing chamber music selected to match the gallery’s paintings, will be shown from 10 October.
Czechs to shut down all cultural venues as COVID cases surge
The Strad
The two-week closure is one of several measures taken by the Czech government, as coronavirus cases rise to Europe’s fastest rate per capita.
Iranian musicians help out in secret on Israeli singer’s new record
The Guardian: Oliver Holmes
‘I don’t agree with anything that comes with seeing Iran as our enemy,’ says singer Liraz Charhi.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Young Composer Aidan Vass’ “Gray Tree” World Premiere
The Violin Channel
“Gray Tree” is a painting by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian that inspired this multidisciplinary, animated project, with cellist Andres Ayerbe.
Atlanta Symphony Launches “Live from the Drive-In” Concerts
The Violin Channel
The in-person concert series will provide fans with their own individual tailgating zones.
Led Zeppelin Wins ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Copyright Battle as Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case
Variety: Jem Aswad
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up the long-running copyright battle over Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” leaving in place a ruling that rejected infringement allegations over the 1971 song.
BMG Eliminates ‘Unacceptable’ Royalty Deduction, Other Labels Urged to Follow
Billboard: Ed Christman
BMG says it will eliminate the application of the controlled composition clause which reduces royalty payments for artists that write their own songs, for all releases going forward, regardless of what each artist’s contract says.
OFF THE BEATEN TRAIL
Manic Monday | Concert for Sheep
The Violin Channel
Pianist Trevor McKinley performing a concert specifically for the sheep of Central Otago, New Zealand.
Violin stolen from Japan found in Italy 15 years later
The Strad
The instrument, a 1675 Nicolò Amati, was stolen in 2005.
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