Something strange comes together this week, as the rain, snow, and hail bring much-needed precipitation (and flood alerts) to SoCal, often with surprises in tow — including the shocking realizations that not only are we already two months into 2023, Morten Lauridsen is celebrating his 80th birthday this year, with hopefully many to come. With … 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
We’ve handled our news round-ups in a variety of ways over the years, and readily admit that their release has been inconsistent at best. After careful consideration, we’re moving Arts in the Media to the blog, where it really belongs, and where it will be readily accessible b all who wish to keep up. Frequency … Read more
For some, it’s that week. Let’s face it, Valentine’s Day isn’t for everyone. But there are lots of reasons to love it, and these musical events are a very, very good start. There’s also chocolate, and teddy bears, and wine, and ridiculous movies, and just reveling in someone or something you love. Find that focus … Read more
Gustavo Dudamel has announced that he will leave Los Angeles and the LA Phil to take over the New York Philharmonic in 2026, starting a five-year contract there. This is no huge surprise, considering that NY Phil’s head honcha, Deborah Borda, used to helm our own “big orch”, and was part of the team that … 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
