Category: music

Along with new data at the time on the virus’s potential for asymptomatic spread—cases when infected people are less likely to spew heavy droplets through coughing—the report out of Skagit Valley further intensified the transmission discourse: If COVID-19 could spread so thoroughly and quickly through a choir, did that mean the coronavirus was airborne? And if the primary route for the disease’s spread was through the air, had our initial response been woefully misguided? – Slate

“What we know is that the donation only model works well for the first two events that you do, and then it tails off dramatically, so our view is that the more sustainable model is pay-per-view.” – Bachtrack

Garrett McQueen said he was taken off the air after his shift on Aug. 25. He was then given two warnings — one of which was about his need to improve communication and the other warning was for switching out scheduled music to play pieces he felt were more appropriate to the moment and more diverse, McQueen told MPR News. – MPR

“Opera is an urban art form par excellence. … Now, however, under the shadow of COVID-19, the future of the city itself is under question; the rise of video platforms like Zoom seems to make the necessity of ‘being there’ no longer a necessity.” Opera Australia gets more government funding than any other performing arts institution in the country, but for the company to travel even from Sydney to Melbourne twice a year is very expensive, let alone touring anywhere else. Peter Tregear argues that it’s time to consider a more grassroots, locally-based approach to the art form. – The Conversation

As we reported earlier this year, the collateral damage caused by AB 5 was nearly instantaneous, as numerous smaller arts organizations that didn’t have the wherewithal to meet the new requirements felt it was safer to cancel seasons and shutter venues than it was to risk potential penalties. – San Francisco Classical Voice

“[The] reaction to the essay was spirited — and mixed, a sign of how unsettled the debate remains. A sampling of artists and administrators spoke with The New York Times, sharing their thoughts on blind auditions and offering ideas to make orchestral hiring more equitable. Here are edited excerpts from the conversations.” – The New York Times

The argument that there is both an aliveness and a wholeness to organic life which is potentially recognizable to musicians in musical terms has in the past been easier to make for those immersed in the invisible, mycorrhyzal webs of oral traditions than in the architectural solidity of art music, with its notations, institutions, theories and formal pedagogies. But let’s not get stuck in these academic distinctions. – Resilience

Sharon’s presence elevates MOT immediately to international relevance in the opera world and brings to Detroit the kind of innovative artistic leader unique among the city’s cultural institutions. His hiring is a bold but risky choice for a company with a largely conservative artistic profile that has historically lived on razor-thin financial margins and struggled to forge a post-DiChiera identity. – Detroit Free Press