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 »
FEATURE The Met is betting on a blockbuster lineup to make up for this canceled year. The future of opera may depend on it. The Washington Post: Michael Andor Brodeur “If we are going to survive, we have to take action,” says the opera’s general manager, Peter Gelb, on the phone from New York…. Read more »
FEATURE Ballet’s New Mandate: Change or Die San Francisco Classical Voice: Lou Fancher What are dance artists and organizations willing to change, and will it be enough to sustain the art form? Read an interview with Trey McIntyre, Amy Seiwert, and Gregory Dawson, three choreographers/artistic directors whose work has risen to prominence and receives considerable… Read more »
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… Read more »
SHAPING THE FUTURE Singing ‘No Riskier Than Talking’ for Virus Spread BBC News: Lauren Moss Singing does not produce substantially more respiratory particles than speaking at a similar volume, a study suggests. But it all depends on how loud a person is, according to the initial findings which are yet to be peer reviewed. RESEARCH… Read more »
FEATURE Black Artists on How to Change Classical Music The New York Times: Zachary Woolfe and Joshua Barone Nine performers describe the steps they recommend to transform a white-dominated field. Included in the group are Thomas Wilkins (Henry A. Upper Chair of Orchestral Conducting at the Jacobs School) and alumnus Lawrence Brownlee. Are We Hearing… Read more »
FEATURE: IMPORTANT WORKS REVEALED Our Congratulations to Jacobs School of Music Professor of Conducting Arthur Fagen, whose recent release of works by William Dawson and Ulysses Kay with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra has received extensive attention in the media! NPR: Someone Finally Remembered William Dawson’s ‘Negro Folk Symphony’ NYT: 8 Things to… Read more »
FEATURE: BLACK COMPOSERS SPRING FORWARD Lifting the Cone of Silence From Black Composers George E. Lewis A cone of silence hangs over the work of Black composers from Africa and its diaspora. It is not that Black men and women have not written music, but too often it has been ignored — and thus assumed… Read more »