“Fountain was enrolled at the age of eight into the Alabama Institute for the Negro Deaf and Blind. While singing in the school’s choir, Fountain and five friends formed the Happy Land Jubilee Singers … [and changed] their name to the Blind Boys of Alabama at the turn of the decade. … Despite being one of the more famed black gospel groups during the Fifties, the Blind Boys of Alabama’s popularity waned in the late Sixties and Seventies as secular soul music emerged.” They returned to wide popularity in 1983 with their participation in Lee Breuer’s famous Off-Broadway production of The Gospel at Colonus.
Tag: 06.05.18
Philadelphia Orchestra’s Concerts In Israel Are A Big Hit, But Controversy Is Still Causing Problems
The Philadelphians’ performances in Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem have gotten unusually warm receptions (standing ovations and rhythmic clapping) from Israeli audiences. And yet, reports David Patrick Stearns, several musician visits to community organizations, including to a center for disadvantaged children and to the leading music center serving Israeli Palestinians, have been cancelled because those organizations didn’t want to get caught up in the controversy and media attention surrounding the tour.
A First Glimpse Of The Kennedy Center’s (Much-Delayed And Over-Budget) Expansion Building
“The Kennedy Center’s expansion project, now with a $250 million fundraising campaign, will open Sept. 7, 2019 — more than two years late and $100 million over its original cost. Arts center officials offered the first glimpse of the building Tuesday at a hard-hat tour for community members. Under construction on 4.6 acres south of the original facility, the building will encourage interaction between artists and audiences with glass-walled classrooms and studios, Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter said.”
Two Rediscovered Rembrandts Unveiled In Amsterdam
“The Leiden Collection, owned by the US billionaire Thomas Kaplan and his wife Daphne Recanati Kaplan, has unveiled two paintings newly attributed to Rembrandt at the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam. The Special Guests display, which opened last month, marks the return of the Portrait of Petronella Buys (1635) and Man with a Sword (around 1640-44) to the Netherlands for the first time in a century.”
Chicago ‘Rock-A-Blues’ Star Eddy Clearwater Dead At 83
“Often performing with a large American Indian headdress or a wide, flat-brimmed Stetson hat, Mr. Clearwater commanded the crowd’s attention. He duckwalked across the stage and liked to wade into the audience with his guitar. Though classified as a Chicago bluesman, his mostly original repertoire combined elements of gospel, soul and rock-and-roll — particularly the music of Chuck Berry and Louis Jordan — into a boisterous musical stew that he termed ‘rock-a-blues.’ The Blues Foundation inducted him into its hall of fame in 2016.”
Chinese Censors Cancel Australian Play Over – Salty Language? Or Subject Matter?
David Williamson’s The Removalists, written in 1971 and now a standard part of school curricula, was to receive its Chinese premiere as part of an arts festival in Beijing. The playwright says that the official reason for the ban – which comes as relations between China and Australia are at a low point – was “that the language was too salty and that the play was too violent … [But] there’s some speculation that that mightn’t have been the real reason. Because the play does depict police authority well and truly overstepping its mark, which is a sensitive issue here in China at the moment.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 06.05.18
Changes
This month I reach what the Social Security system thinks is my “full retirement” age. Knowing this was coming, I have been reflecting on the future of both Engaging Matters and of my business, ArtsEngaged. … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2018-06-05
Brubeck And Desmond Through Fresh Ears
A new Rifftides reader, Orsolya S., joined us recently. Now and then she sends comments, an activity we encourage among all readers. Her latest communique concerns a recording that has been exciting … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2018-06-05
The Moody Splendor of the Moors
I was corresponding by email recently with Jay Jeff Jones, an American expat playwright, journalist, and poet, who is working on a new edition of Jeff Nuttall’s Bomb Culture, a long-out-of-print classic about British counterculture … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2018-06-05
More delight
In my last post, I called out with great delight a performance of Scheherazade, conducted by Leif Segerstam, in which Segerstam and the orchestra shouted at the climax. Exhilarating! I blogged about it, not to … read more
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2018-06-05
The Fashion Industry Is In Big Trouble
Robin Givhan: “Fashion is no longer defining itself. Increasingly consumers are telling the industry what constitutes fashion. This is a problem. Not because the industry shouldn’t listen to its customers; it should. But then it should merge those demands with its own expertise, vision and standards to create something that is better and more relevant than the consumer ever imagined.”
Ticketfly Ticketing Platform Goes Down In Hacking
The site powers sales for many independent venues across the country. Still, much of the website remains down. Eventbrite, the San Francisco-based company that owns Ticketfly, told The Washington Post in a statement that an investigation into the breach is ongoing, but it confirmed that “some customer information has been compromised as part of the incident, including names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers of Ticketfly fans.”
Our Universities Are In Crisis… With Decline On The Way
Higher ed is often described as a bubble—and much like the housing market in 2008, the thought goes, it will ultimately burst. But what if it’s less of a sudden pop and more of a long, slow slide, and we are already on the way down? We are living through the greatest time in history to be a learner, with the availability of so many high-quality free materials online. But at the same time, the institutions most affiliated with knowledge and learning are facing crisis.