Tag: 12.17.20

When Boys Were Kidnapped And Forced To Sing

The Master of the Choristers at England’s Chapel Royal had the legal right to travel the land in search of the most talented young men and take them away to London to sing at the monarch’s religious services. This was, of course, a situation ripe for abuse, and in the days of Elizabeth I, Master Nathaniel Giles would conscript boys for his pal Henry Evans’s acting company at the Blackfriars Theatre — or they’d split the bribes from parents desperate to keep their families together. Then, one day in 1600, they chose the wrong target. – JSTOR Daily

Music As Advocacy Storytelling

“The way Ian Urbina tells it, musicians and journalists are both storytellers — one using sound, the other leveraging words. That kindred connection is part of what led the 48-year-old to launch, about a year ago, his venture The Outlaw Ocean Music Project. As of early November 2020, over 400 musicians from more than 60 countries have translated his stories into music that is heard by millions globally on more than 200 music streaming platforms, including Spotify and Pandora, according to Urbina.” – San Francisco Classical Voice

This New Company Of Men Dancing On Pointe Is Not Like The Trocks

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, as skillful as its members are, basically performs affectionate parodies of classical ballet, and the dancers all have drag names (including the ones taking male roles). The men in the new San Francisco troupe Ballet22 may sometimes wear tutus, but they dance as themselves and the choreography is serious. – San Francisco Chronicle

Why Was Longtime Oregon Children’s Theatre Director Suddenly Fired?

“The departure of McKeen, one of the city’s most prominent arts leaders, comes as something of a shock. He’d been OCT’s managing director since 2008. Before that he spent several years as a grant writer and fundraising consultant for several Portland arts organizations, served a year as the first manager of the Oregon Cultural Trust, and spent three years as general manager of Portland Center Stage.” – Oregon Arts Watch

French Police Seize Hoard Of 27,000 Ancient And Medieval Artifacts, Probably Looted

Authorities seized the trove, which includes coins and jewelry from ancient Rome, bracelets and similar items from the Bronze and Iron Ages, and metal objects from the European Middle Ages, from a Frenchman in Belgium who claims he had found the objects in his apple orchard. Customs officials in both countries say they were probably smuggled from France. – Artnet

Time To Drop “Concertmistress” From The Lexicon

“I remember being the “concertmistress” of my youth orchestra and the vague embarrassment over the name. It was an honor that put me in front of everyone, but I couldn’t quite figure out why the “mistress” thing felt weird. I mean isn’t “concertmistress” simply the female version of “concertmaster”? Honestly, it really doesn’t convey the same sense of authority.” – Violinist.com

The Virus Isn’t Changing Us, It’s Speeding Up What Was Already Happening

“There are decades when nothing happens; and there are weeks when decades happen,” Vladimir Lenin supposedly observed. It can sound profound and ominous when you read it the first time, but when three books on the coronavirus crisis all quote the same line, it reflects something between an intellectual consensus and a lack of imagination. Still, in the authors’ telling, the crisis didn’t just compress decades of history into 2020; it was also decades in the making.” – Washington Post