J.H. Kwabena Nketia, Father Of African Musicology, Dead At 97

“In a career stretching back to the 1950s and continuing into his 90s, Dr. Nketia wrote hundreds of articles and books in English and Twi, a Ghanaian language, on topics ranging from music theory to folklore, as well as scores of compositions. … His 1974 book, The Music of Africa, is widely considered a definitive historical study, and Ethnomusicology and African Music, a collection of his writings published in 2005, is used in classrooms throughout Africa and across the world. – The New York Times

Why Trying To Protect The Natural World By Assigning It Human Rights Is A Bad Idea

“How can the law account for the value of complex, nonhuman entities such as rivers, lakes, forests and ecosystems? … Perhaps we should take the idea of ‘the human’ as a rights-bearer and extend it to the complex, nonhuman systems that we wish to protect, that we know are deserving of care and concern. Tempting as it is, this move must be resisted.” Human rights attorney Anna Grear explains why. – Aeon

Oregon Shakespeare Festival Names Bill Rauch’s Successor As Artistic Director

“Nataki Garrett, currently serving as acting artistic director for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, will take the reins in August … The announcement ends a nearly yearlong search following Rauch’s February 2018 announcement that he would step down from the post — also this August — for his new artistic directing job at the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Performing Arts at the World Trade Center in New York City.” – The Mail Tribune (Medford, OR)

Leadership At Top US Nonprofit Theatres Is Finally Becoming More Diverse

“Across the country, scores of artistic directors, most of them white men who have served as community tastemakers for years, are leaving their jobs via retirements, ousters, and an industrywide round of musical chairs. As their successors are appointed, a shift is underway: according to a national survey conducted by two Bay Area directors, women have been named to 41 percent of the 85 jobs filled since 2015, and people of color have been named to 26 percent.” – The New York Times