Tag: 05.18.20

It Could Be Two Years Until Choirs Can Safely Sing Together Again, And Choral Singers Are Devastated

The moisture that comes out of singers’ mouths and into the air that their fellow singers are breathing seems to be a very efficient way of transmitting coronavirus, as several cases of multiple contagion traced to choirs have shown. And from community-based groups to church and gospel choirs to top professional ensembles like The Crossing, as one director put it, “We grieve.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer

Michel Piccoli, Revered Star Of French Screen For Five Decades, Dead At 94

“Even when he was a big name, Piccoli was never too proud to play small supporting roles or even bit parts if he liked the screenplay. But whatever the size of the role, whether playing a goody or a baddie, Piccoli would bring to the character a gravitas (with a tinge of humour) and an ironic detachment, simultaneously revealing a real, recognisable human being beneath the surface.” – The Guardian

How And When Will Texas Arts Organizations Reopen? They Have No Idea, Thanks To The Governor

“North Texas arts organizations tuned in eagerly at 2 p.m. Monday to hear Gov. Greg Abbott’s address regarding ‘Phase Two’ of the effort to reopen the state’s economy, which, they thought, would include them. But the governor pulled off a bit of a stunner in not addressing performing arts organizations at all. He gave guidance to youth sports camps, summer camps, Little League baseball and professional sports” — even indoor rodeo. But not the arts. – The Dallas Morning News

Shakespeare’s Globe Warns It Could Go Bankrupt Without Government Help

“Despite being well-managed, well governed, and – crucially – able to operate without public subsidy,” says the statement, “we will not be able to survive this crisis,” the coronavirus epidemic, without rescue funding from the British government. In fact, it’s the lack of public subsidy that’s the problem: it means the Globe is not eligible for Arts Council England’s emergency support. – The Guardian

What Comes Next? III

If we as a nation come out of the pandemic with a heightened awareness of and reaction to profound economic inequality and the systemic injustice in which it is rooted, it could be that the arts are in for a difficult time. If that is the case, I think of the Pete Seeger song, “Which Side Are You On?” – Doug Borwick

A Boom In Pandemic Books

Publishing books about an unfolding calamity, when the duration and outcome remain uncertain, carries obvious risks for authors and publishers. With so many unanswered questions about the virus, how it spreads and when a vaccine might arrive, works that are reported and written over the next few months risk being out of date, or dangerously incorrect, by the time they are published. The severity of the economic and political fallout is also still a big unknown. – The New York Times

Beans in My Closet

Beans and poverty. Beans and diversity. “Here’s a recipe” leads to a doubtful bean cul-de-sac, no matter how much chopped and shredded you throw on top and shove in the oven till the eternal cheese bubbles and browns. Beans, as it happens, are dangerous. Beans will save the planet. – Jeff Weinstein