Covid: Can the arts lead the green recovery from the pandemic?
BBC: James FitzGerald
As the arts and culture sector attempts to recover from the devastating impact of the pandemic, some creatives are making eye-catching attempts to prevent another crisis – this one environmental. The likes of artists and musicians certainly have the power to influence others’ behavior. And some of them are finding that climate action is actually making their work more marketable too.
RESEARCH AN OPINION
JSoM Alert! Alumnus Tehvon Fowler-Chapman talks about leadership principles with Aaron Dworkin
Arts Engines
Tehvon Fowler-Chapman, Executive Director of the Washington Concert Opera, shares leadership principles informed by pandemic. Tehvon received degrees from the Jacobs School of Music (percussion) and the IU Arts Administration Program.
Re-Revising ‘The History Of Jazz’
NPR: Natalie Weiner
Insisting on jazz’s current vibrancy was one of the primary reasons Ted Gioia wanted to revisit the book “The History of Jazz,” originally published in 1997 and last revised in 2011.
Arts venues set the stage for wonder, the critical sense we need for post-pandemic innovation
The Conversation: David Weitzner
Any society hoping to build back better must start by supporting their arts venues, the training ground for wonder and innovation.
Meet Zeng, the inspiring doctor building mental health awareness through music
Augusta Free Press: JP Blignaut
A doctor currently working in neurology and psychiatry from New York uses music as a key driving force to better understand the treatment of patients with mental health conditions.
A Queen of 19th-Century Opera Gets New Attention
NY Times: Hilary Poriss
Pauline Viardot, born 200 years ago this weekend, was a famous singer, as well as a composer whose music is being salvaged from obscurity.
Independent Black Artists Are Changing the Landscape of Country Music
BandCamp: Marcus K. Dowling
The past two years have seen a Black artistic revolution emerge in country music, even as America faces a resurgence in strife directly linked to anti-Black racism and bigotry.
NATIONAL
JSoM Alert! Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Returns to the Stage
Violin Channel
Led by the BSO’s associate conductor, (JSoM alumnus!) Nicholas Hersh, the performance was part of the orchestra’s free summer concert series. Tickets to the event were sold out within five days of the announcement, indicating the city’s excitement to be back in concert halls.
As New York Reopens, It Looks for Culture to Lead the Way
NY Times: Michael Paulson, Ben Sisario and Robin Pogrebin
The arts — Broadway, nightclubs, museums, concert halls — are coming back to life after the shutdown. Getting it right will be vital to the city’s comeback.
Mark C. Hanson to exit San Francisco Symphony after four years as top executive
Datebook: Joshua Kosman
Hanson’s decision has come on “recently”.
Houston Symphony names Juraj Valčuha as new music director
PreView: Andrew Dansby
John Mangum, executive director and CEO of the Houston Symphony, sees in Valčuha, 45, an opportunity to continue the international and cross-generational reach of outgoing music director Andrés Orozco-Estrada.
The Fate of the Met Opera’s Fall Season Lies in Its Orchestra Pit
NY Times: Julia Jacobs
The company has reached deals with the unions representing its chorus and stagehands. Now, to reopen in September, it needs to make a deal with its musicians.
Baroque Violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch Wins 2021 Telemann Prize
Violin Channel
The 69-year-old Australian-born violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch will receive the award at a ceremony on September 17. The ceremony will be held in the German town of Magdeburg, where Telemann was born.
INTERNATIONAL
The Hip-Hop Song That’s Driving Cuba’s Unprecedented Protests
NPR: Bill Chappell
In strong terms, the song accuses the government of destroying the quality of life in Cuba, a message that quickly found traction with protesters who are demanding change.
For U.K. Bands, Touring Europe Is Now a Highway to Brexit Hell
NY Times: Alex Marshall
It’s not just that musicians need visas. Band merchandise is now a complicated export, and most tour vans are only allowed to make three stops.
At a Cultural Hub in Bethlehem, Art Thrives in the Fray
NY Times: Aruna D’Souza
At Dar Jacir, an art center in a “difficult location,” people are searching for ways to make art under siege.
How a cold-war tour inspired Pakistan’s progressive jazz scene
The Guardian: Haseeb Iqbal
A US state department initiative was the unlikely catalyst for a creative explosion of Pakistani rhythm and western improv.
Jazz celebration marks beginning of return to live music in Toronto
Toronto Star: Brian Bradley
With Phase 3 of Ontario’s reopening in full effect, restaurants and bars have opened their spaces and very soon some local favourites will be filled with the smooth sounds of jazz.
BAM’s Fall Season Kicks Off With a Beach Opera
NY Times: Sarah Bahr
“Sun & Sea,” which won top honors at the Venice Biennale in 2019, will make its U.S. premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music this fall.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Over 66% of all music listening in the US is now of catalog records, rather than new releases
Music Business Worldwide
Conversely, the percentage of total album consumption claimed by ‘current’ music – that’s music released within the prior 18 months of a consumer making a purchase and/or pressing play – keeps on falling.
UK MPs call for complete reset of music streaming to ensure fair pay for artists
BBC: Mark Savage
The music industry is weighted against artists, with even successful pop stars seeing “pitiful returns” from streaming, a committee of MPs has said. They’re suggesting that royalties should be split 50/50, instead of the current rate, where artists receive about 16%.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Why vinyl makes a perfectly imperfect format for discovering classical music
The Washington Post: Michael Andor Brodeur
In 2020, nearly 28 million vinyl records were sold, according to MRC Data’s most recent report — that’s 30 times more than in 2006.
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