Can the Mann be something more? A summer venue can dream, and the Mann is having some ambitious visions. Several trends are converging. Commercial music presenters have come into the Philadelphia market in a big way, giving the Mann some competition. At the same time, arts education has become a bigger priority for arts groups and funders, and the Mann, sitting in the middle of a neighborhood, is beginning to imagine becoming a bigger player in education, perhaps even morphing into an urban Tanglewood, with a resident professional orchestra atop a pyramid of training ensembles and master classes.
Tag: 08.24.17
So Trump Is Skipping The Kennedy Center Honors. Does This Make A Difference?
Phil Kennicott: “The big question looming over the awards now is whether future presidents will attend. Can a tradition be reassembled after it has been broken? The arts occupy an already marginal position in American society, and the custom of presidential participation in the Honors has always been an anomaly, given the priorities of American cultural life and a decades-long rhetorical assault against the arts by conservative politicians. If a future president needs an excuse to forego the evening, he or she now has one ready. If Trump lasts in office, and skips the Honors the next four years, the tradition may be effectively scuttled.”
Look Inside: Scientists, Museums Work To Scan Every Vertebrate Species
Twenty Years ago Adam Summers, a biologist at the University of Washington, “began his quest to scan every fish in the sea. What may have been considered eccentric then can only be called essential now: new ways of digitizing and sharing scientific data are sprouting up everywhere, and Summers’ prescient work has spurred other experts to attempt the same.”
Florida Court Rules That Facebook Friends Aren’t Real Friends
The appellate court said that a “Facebook friendship does not necessarily signify the existence of a close relationship,” noting that some people have “friend” counts in the thousands. Facebook members often cannot recall every person they have accepted as ‘friends’ or who have accepted them as ‘friends.’”
Amazon Using Artificial Intelligence Algorithms To Read, React And Create Fashion
“Researchers at the e-commerce juggernaut are currently working on several machine-learning systems that could help provide an edge when it comes to spotting, reacting to, and perhaps even shaping the latest fashion trends. The effort points to ways in which Amazon and other companies could try to improve the tracking of trends in other areas of retail—making recommendations based on products popping up in social-media posts, for instance. And it could help the company expand its clothing business or even dominate the area.”
Family Damages An 800-Year-Old Coffin After – Get This! – They Put Child In It For A Picture
“Closed-circuit television cameras were recording in the museum, but did not clearly capture what happened, the statement said. The family left without reporting the damage, according to news reports, but it was discovered later.”
Next-Gen Post-New-Age Synth Music And The Tech/Instruments (And Composer) Who Make It
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith’s “technique of blending synthesizers, acoustic instruments, and electronic-sounding human voices has made the 30-year-old musician a star among the next generation of post–New Age synthesists.”
A Turning Point For The New York Philharmonic?
This season, the orchestra has a new music director and a new chief executive. But some very big challenges – including raising vast amounts of money for hall renovations and financial stabilization. Also – where is the orchestra artistically? Very big questions hang in the air. Brian Wise explores the issues.
Bern Museum Starts Removing The Cobwebs Off The Gurlitt Art Horde
“The Kunstmuseum Bern has so far received 220 works from the hoard of more than 1,500 pieces that Gurlitt inherited from his father, Hildebrand, an art dealer who worked for the Nazis. Cornelius died in May 2014, unexpectedly bequeathing his collection to the Bern museum. The Swiss institution has said it will only accept works it knows are free from suspicion of Nazi looting, while the rest will remain in Germany until provenance research is complete.”
Big Band Contractor Sends Out Fat-Shaming Memo, Gets Pushback – And Promptly Shuts Down
On Tuesday, two singers released a memo from Sheraton Cadwell Group, a Toronto firm that contracts and manages big bands, that read in part, “As per our highly selective casting requirements … only singers who are physically fit and slim (or at the very least, those who know how to dress strategically/suitably in order to not bring attention to their temporary physical/dietary indulgences) would be showcased with our boutique orchestras.” On Wednesday, word of the memo hit the media. By Thursday, Sheraton Cadwell was out of business.