The arts season isn’t just about growth. It’s when we show off our very best, when organizations are looking ahead and culminating at the same time. The surge of activity, before the summer doldrums, can leave performers and audiences on a high, and we ride that momentum through the hotter months. And all of that … Read more
We’re starting the thick of graduation and finale season: the next few weeks will hold arts orgs’ biggest events to wrap up seasons, as well as all kinds of activities that bridge the transition between spring and summer… and for many, new lives. This means plenty of choral music, especially programs with a mix of … Read more
This issue doesn’t quite reach to St. Patrick’s Day, but somehow it feels bigger this year. Perhaps we all need some extra luck. Maybe it’s how the rain is turning Southern California lush and snowy and green all over. It could be the persistence of green treats all around us. But whatever your Leprechaun-like totem … Read more
It’s not every seven days that we see a world premiere after more than a century and a half; a dance-opera themed around a spiritual equine; separate performances of ancient masterworks by des Prez and Monteverdi; fascinating learning opportunities; AND a half-century birthday concert for Thomas Adès, one of the most gifted creators of his … Read more
“When King said, ‘We must live together as brothers,’ people didn’t hear it. Now they damn well hear it.” — Dave Brubeck A concert at UCLA’s Royce Hall (2/26) will be reprised at Holman United Methodist Church (a historically Black church in LA) on 2/28 with a daylong conference at UCLA in between (2/27). Over these three days, … Read more
Sorry, Josquin — we just had to, as it’s Presidents’ Day weekend! While this holiday isn’t loaded with laughs so much as patriotism, playing hooky and some really terrific music, I hope you all enjoy it and offer a toast to at least two of our former leaders. (I’ve often wondered how they’d feel about … Read more
“Everybody is always in the middle of their own opera.” — Greta Gerwig This week, the calendar is all about opera: LA Opera is busy launching their run of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, and the buzz is tremendous. Rumors abound of fantastic singing, and those are our favorite kind of rumors… You can learn more about that … Read more
While some indicators in the arts are looking promising and we’re generally feeling vibes of a more hopeful arts community, not everything is moving forward, and the latest casualty is a “set it and forget” charity program that has, in theory, supported quite a few arts orgs in the Southland, across the US, and beyond. … Read more
The days immediately after a holiday can be a letdown: have you already broken a resolution or two? Have the decorations come down? Has the bubbly lost its fizz? It doesn’t have to signify an immediate loss of the meaning that was worth celebrating in the first place. Several years ago, I bought a metal … Read more
Don’t underestimate Twitter’s networking power… even amidst the chaos. I wrote recently about arts journalists and what Twitter has made possible for them. That post also addressed quite a few other issues around the Land of the Blue Bird, and enough intriguing discussion h, redas come out of that post that I’d like to address … Read more
