FEATURE What Makes Music Universal Nautilus: Kevin Berger Music brings us together to show us how different we are. In the past two years, the debate over whether music is universal, or even whether that debate has merit, has raged like a battle of the bands among scientists. The stage has expanded from musicology… Read more »
FEATURE Bloomington-Based Secretly Canadian Co-Founder Chris Swanson Looks Back on the Label’s First 25 Years Variety: Jonathan Cohen The company, which was founded by brothers Chris and Ben Swanson in 1996 and is still based in Bloomington, will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year via an extended campaign of reissues and new releases, all… Read more »
FEATURE The Kennedy Center is Turning 50 with a Year-Long Celebration of New Works and Special Performances The Washington Post: Peggy McGlone The Kennedy Center is planning an extended celebration of its 50th anniversary in its 2021-2022 season, featuring new commissions by Philip Glass and Esperanza Spalding, year-long artist residencies by the Roots and… Read more »
FEATURE The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Donates $3 Million to Silkroad Ensemble The Violin Channel The generous donation will be used to expand arts and education programs and further develop social impact initiatives. RESEARCH AND OPINION The Future Becoming Howlround: Deborah Cullinan When we finally arrive in this future, we, the people, will be… Read more »
FEATURE How Independent Companies are Saving Opera in Canada CBC Music: Michael Zarathus-Cook Across Canada, indie opera companies are making the art form cool again; daring and provocative. RESEARCH AND OPINION Let’s Make the Future That the ‘New World’ Symphony Predicted NY Times: Doublas W. Shadle To grasp in full this classic work’s complex… Read more »
FEATURE Reckoning with a Reckoning: How Cultural Institutions Can Advance Equity Nonprofit Quarterly: Kim Zeuli, Maria Rosario Jackson, and Seth Beattie The questions are wide-ranging, including what art is presented, by whom, and for what audience. RESEARCH AND OPINION What Orchestras Must Do, After Covid NY Times: Letters – Simon Woods Read Simon Woods response to Anthony Tommasini’s article “Reinventing the American… Read more »
FEATURE Five Ways Classical Music Is Pivoting Ludwig van TORONTO: Michael Vincent According to Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, there are ten different kinds of pivots. At least six out of them are relevant to classical music. RESEARCH AND OPINION How Bang on a Can helped remake the world of new music Datebook:… Read more »
FEATURE Reinventing the American Orchestra NY Times: Anthony Tommasini Flexible programming, broader racial representation and welcoming spaces would go a long way in recovering from pandemic closures. Major institutions have been grappling not just with survival, but also with questions of mission, relevance and inclusion, issues that became even more acute when nationwide demonstrations for… Read more »
FEATURE Music Gives the Brain a Crucial Connective Advantage Inverse: Ali Pattillo Even if children abandon their music lessons when they hit their angsty teen years, cognitive neuroscientists say cultivating musical ability early on has lifelong benefits. Playing music can help children read better, store memories, and pronounce different languages. RESEARCH AND OPINION For These… Read more »
FEATURE Prompted by the Pandemic, Opera Philadelphia Innovates Online NY Times: Seth Colter Walls Opera Philadelphia pluckily spent 2020 commissioning new work and launching its own streaming service. OperaPhila.tv, which debuted in October and is available as an app for major streaming devices, so far features just one vintage broadcast: an engaging 2015 production of… Read more »