Organizations across disciplines operated at a small deficit for the first time in five years in 2023. Choruses, by contrast, were still operating at a surplus on average. In 2019, about two thirds of the choruses reported surpluses, while in 2023 roughly half still reported surpluses. - SMU Cultural Data
The key findings of the Annual Field Report are drawn from the fiscal year 2023 data submitted by OPERA America’s Professional Company Members (PCMs) in the annual Professional Opera Survey administered by SMU Data Arts. - Opera America
Marching band is more than a pastime. It’s an extreme sport. The real reason the students rehearse so hard isn’t to play well at football games. It’s to prepare for a series of fiercely competitive marching-band contests in the fall, culminating in the Grand National Championships, in Indianapolis. - The New Yorker
Joshua Barone makes the case for such works as Samuel Barber's Vanessa, Kurt Weill and Langston Hughes’s Street Scene, Marc Blitzstein’s Regina, Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, and Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe. - The New York Times
"The principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra was threatened with a defamation action for his comments about chorus members at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. … Gardner said: 'The chorus is made up of two rival Mafia families — who after one performance put each other in (the emergency room)." - BBC
There’s never been a better time in history to be an intermediary, a middleman, a hanger-on, an aggregator, a shyster. For a guitarist or keyboardist or singer, not so much. - The Honest Broker
I cannot recall a recording of Le Rossignol that gave more tingle to my ears. So am I allowed to recommend it here without incurring the wrath of #MeToo activists and the neighbourhood watch of public morals? - The Critic
Mariño, a sopranist, once begged his mother to take him to the doctor to fix his voice. Now, he says before a residency in Australia, "I like to describe my voice as a light lyric soprano, with a bit of coloratura.” - The Guardian (UK)
Before it burned, Charlie Springer’s house contained 18,000 vinyl LPs, 12,000 CDs, 10,000 45s, 4,000 cassettes, 600 78s, 150 8-tracks, hundreds of signed musical posters, and about 100 gold records. - The Atlantic
Recent years have seen a surge in options for physical customization of the piano and an enormous leap forward in the merging of acoustic and digital technologies, with AI applications cracking open a Pandora's box of possibilities. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"This marks the first such all-encompassing renovation since the iconic park, with its Prairie School architecture and sprawling lawn/picnic areas, opened in 1904 as a summertime 'high-end amusement park' and music-venue escape from the congestion of Chicago at the turn of the century." - WBEZ (Chicago)
You may not agree with Mood Machine that Spotify’s mixes are an existential threat to the way people discover music, but you may marvel at how much effort goes into recommending a song that sounds like a different song you liked three months ago. - The Atlantic
Roan gets respect and true appreciation for her artistry and gumption but is far too green and too uninformed to be the agent of change she aspires to be today. - The Hollywood Reporter
KUSC in Los Angeles and KDFC in California, both owned (as of 2011) by the University of Southern California, are merging their organizations into a single entity called Classical California with a single programming feed. Current on-air staff will be retained, as will the two broadcast studios. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
“It’s very strange, because one day we were honourable, respectable people of our city,” he said. “Then just one day later we became victims and as if we should be punished, because we were musicians. It was very painful and very difficult.” - Index on Censorship
