FEATURE Biden to celebrate diversity at inauguration Aldianews: Natalia Puretas Cavero With the participation of famous artists such as Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Eva Longoria, Foo Fighters and Demi Lovato, the organization seeks to have a line-up that represents the cultural plurality that is part of the country and contributes to its… Read more »
FEATURE – 2020 In Review The New Yorker takes a look at the most extraordinary year Click on this link to see the full list! Notable Performances and Recordings of 2020 Alex Ross Although I saw only three in-person events after mid-March, this COVID-19 year still brought music that was beautiful and melancholy, scrappily joyous, and everything in… Read more »
FEATURE By Every Measure, COVID-19 Continues Its Devastation of the Arts ArtsBlog: Randy Cohen A recent Brookings Institution report shows America’s arts and creative industries lost $150 billion in sales and 2.7 million jobs through July. The “fine and performing arts” alone (commercial and nonprofit) incurred losses of $42.5 billion and a whopping 50%… Read more »
FEATURE Rhiannon Giddens Aims at 1800s America in Her Silkroad Plans NY Times: Brian Seibert Under its new artistic director, the cross-cultural music organization pioneered by Yo-Yo Ma will start a multiyear project called “The American Silkroad” that focuses on the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 19th century. RESEARCH AND OPINION Why Opera Will Never Die LitHub: Paul Morley… Read more »
FEATURE After Election 2020: How can Artists Help Mend our Cultural Divide? LA Times: Charles McNulty After Nov. 3 election, difficult repair work lies ahead. The work of mending the torn fabric of American society. The work of restoring the values that form the foundation of our institutions. Can we bridge our cultural divide? Times critics weigh in on how artists… Read more »
FEATURE 27 Artists and Executives on the Importance of Voting in the 2020 Election Billboard Billboard asked artists and executives about the importance of voting this year. From Halsey to DJ Khaled, Nelly, Phillipa Soo, Mary Chapin Carpenter and more, here’s what everyone had to say. Rock the Vote: How the Music Industry Built a Youth Voting… Read more »
FEATURE Think Outside the Opera House, and Inside the Parking Garage NY Times: Joshua Barone In Detroit, “Twilight: Gods” joins other recent performances that offer a path forward for the arts amid the pandemic. The performance radiated an inventiveness that, even in a normal year, would have made it one of the most inspired American opera productions… Read more »
FEATURE According The Accordion Its Historical Due Early Music America: Laura Stanfield Prichard The accordion and concertina have an incredibly rich history. The earliest forms of the accordion were inspired by the 1777 introduction of the Chinese free-reed sheng (bowl mouth organ) into Europe by Père Amiot, a Jesuit missionary in Qing China. Laura… Read more »
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… Read more »
FEATURE (Ethno)Music(ology): 12 Scholars Respond to a Field Undergoing a Key Change WQXR: Heather O’Donovan Music scholarship — like the art form itself — is a field that’s been taking a hard, introspective look at how it can do better. RESEARCH AND OPINION Orchestras Are Rushing to Add Black Composers. Will It Last? NY… Read more »