AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Good Morning: Warner Merger Deal — It Might come down to Who You Know
In today’s highlights: The numbers are worrying for the performing arts: a new report indicates that the sector faced sharper revenue and staffing declines in 2024 than museums or community organizations (SMU Cultural Data). Physical infrastructure is also at risk, as Dallas officials consider selling—and potentially demolishing—their iconic, I.M. Pei-designed City Hall (Dezeen).
Geopolitics continues to encroach on culture, with Russia moving to designate the art collective Pussy Riot an “extremist” group, a label usually reserved for terrorists (Hyperallergic). On the business front, the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery is heating up, with Netflix facing antitrust concerns and Comcast navigating political headwinds (The Wrap) — It could come down to whether Trump likes your CEO or not. Finally, a good news story from the tech world: AI is being deployed to help save the endangered Arapaho language (The Conversation).
- Schubert Club seeks Artistic and Executive Director
Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with Schubert Club in the search for an Artistic and Executive Director.
This is an exceptional opportunity for a visionary artistic leader to shape one of the nation’s most respected recital and chamber music institutions at a moment of organizational strength and artistic vitality. The Artistic and Executive Director will lead Schubert Club’s efforts to meet three strategic goals: to reframe our understanding of classical music; to make equity and inclusion central to all we do; and to create meaningful connections for concert audiences, education program participants, and museum visitors. To achieve these goals, the Artistic and Executive Director will lead the development of new audiences, cultivate new and current artistic and community partnerships, build and diversify funding models, and establish new artistic directions while honoring the traditional canon.
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Artistic and Executive Director (AED) will set the creative direction for a wide-ranging portfolio of concert series and innovative programs, cultivating artists and projects that deepen Schubert Club’s legacy while engaging new audiences across the Twin Cities. The AED will lead a talented administrative team and champion an organizational culture defined by creativity, collaboration, accessibility, and excellence. The next leader will have significant influence on the 143-year-old organization’s long-term sustainability by guiding strategic planning, curating powerful musical experiences, stewarding financial health, and driving philanthropic growth.
The AED serves as a member of the Board of Directors of The Arts Partnership alongside executive and board leadership from the Ordway, Minnesota Opera, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. This unique strategic alliance (a separate 501c3 organization) ensures the equitable sharing and effective care of Ordway Center, the performing home of the four Arts Partnership members and a vital Twin Cities cultural asset that connects hundreds of thousands of community members and artists annually. The AED will collaborate as a member of The Arts Partnership in order to maintain a healthy and harmonious arts ecosystem in St. Paul.
Founded in 1882 and rooted deeply in the cultural fabric of St. Paul, Schubert Club is one of the oldest arts organizations in the United States and among the nation’s most respected classical music institutions. Its mission—to create inspiring musical experiences that contribute to the cultural vibrancy of the Twin Cities community—inspires a broad portfolio of programs that bring world-class artistry and meaningful musical experiences to audiences of all ages across the Twin Cities.
Schubert Club’s artistic offerings span a vibrant array of concert series that reach diverse audiences. The International Artist Series remains a flagship recital series of national standing. The beloved Music in the Park Series, an independent organization until its merger with Schubert Club in 2010, presents distinguished chamber ensembles in an intimate neighborhood setting. Launched in 2014, Schubert Club Mix reimagines the recital experience through nontraditional venues, repertoire, and artistic collaborations. Accordo, a string collective of Minnesota Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra principal players, performs throughout the year in Minneapolis, while free weekly Courtroom Concerts highlight Minnesota-based performers and composers at Landmark Center—Schubert Club’s headquarters in downtown St. Paul—from October through April.
As a founding member of The Arts Partnership, Schubert Club collaborates with leaders of the Ordway, Minnesota Opera, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra to support a vibrant performing arts ecosystem in downtown St. Paul, strengthening shared artistic goals, community engagement, and cultural vitality. Schubert Club is governed by a 33-member Board of Directors; the FY26 operating budget is $3.1M. The Artistic and Executive Director will lead a trusted and talented team of 13 full-time staff.
A bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least five years of demonstrable success in concert programming and organizational management, preferably as an Artistic and/or Executive Director is required for this position. Expertise in classical music repertoire and the classical music business is required; experience as a musician is preferred. Schubert Club will consider candidates with a broad range of backgrounds. If you are excited about this role and feel that you can contribute to Schubert Club, but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of Schubert Club and the responsibilities and qualifications specified in the position prospectus.
The salary range for this position is $200,000 to $240,000. Schubert Club offers a comprehensive package of benefits, including health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement plan with 10% employer match for eligible employees, life and long-term disability insurance, parking at Landmark Center, and generous vacation days, paid time off, and paid holidays.
If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or participating in the selection process, please contact Christopher Wingert at chriswingert@aspenleadershipgroup.com.
To apply for this position, visit: https://apptrkr.com/6766524.
- The Takács Quartet To Lose Its Last Founding Member
Cellist András Fejér has been with the famed string quartet since its founding exactly 50 years ago. As of next September, Fejér will retire; replacing him will be Romanian-born cellist Mihai Marica. – Gramophone
- Minnesota Dance “Titan” Dies At 63
Toni Pierce-Sands, a featured soloist in some of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s most iconic suites and a co-founder of celebrated Twin Cities company TU Dance, died Tuesday in Minneapolis. She was 63 and had been battling cancer. – The Star-Tribune
- How Did The Ancient Assyrian Library Of King Ashurbanipal Survive For 2,600 Years?
Oddly enough, the collection —well, the cuneiform clay tablets, not the papyrus — has come down to us today precisely because the Babylonians and Medes conquered and down Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, in 612 BC. – Artnet
ISSUES
- Dallas City Council Considers Leaving Its IM Pei-Designed City Hall
- The Art Developments That Defined 2025
All in all, an exhausting year. But—if you’ll permit me—a bit of hope? For every gallery that shut down or closed a location, another seemed to open. And, as art dealers reminded me all year, when the world gets dark, artists rise to the challenge, leading the way forward. – ARTnews
- Baby Jesus Is Stolen Amid Controversy Over Creche At Brussels’ Main Christmas Market
The Nativity scene by artist Victoria-Maria Geyer (herself a practicing Catholic) is the first new one on the Grand-Place in 25 years, and she made the human figures without faces so that people of any background could identify with them. Alas, that’s not how the assemblage was received. – Euronews
- Britain’s National Gallery Is Making A Billion-Dollar Move Into Modern And Contemporary Art
In London, until now, post-1900 Western art was Tate territory, but the National has launched “Project Domani,” a £750 million ($998 million) plan to build a new wing for the gallery and set up an endowment to acquire and care for post-1900 art. – The Times (UK)
- A New Contemporary Art Prize Is The UK’s Largest — £200,000
“The Serpentine x FLAG Art Foundation Prize, as it will be called, will be awarded every other year to an international artist who will receive £200,000 ($265,000), as well as an exhibition and programming at both institutions and an accompanying catalog.” – ARTnews
MEDIA
- By The Numbers: How Arts Organizations Have Fared In The Past Six Years
Performing arts organizations experienced sharper drops in revenue and staffing in 2024 than museums or community organizations. – SMU Cultural Data
- This Major New Arts Center Is Almost Finished, On Time And On Budget. Even So, It May Not Open.
Kanal, on the edge of central Brussels, will feature a large museum, multiple performance venues, and an architecture center. It’s 95% complete and scheduled to open this time next year. Yet, thanks to widely expected budget cuts and a particularly Belgian kind of political dysfunction, Kanal’s prospects are in doubt. – The Guardian
- Russia Prepares To Declare Pussy Riot An “Extremist” Organization
“Russia’s prosecutor general opened a case against the feminist art group on Friday, November 28. The ‘extremist’ label, commonly deployed by the government as justification for stifling political opposition, would officially ban the collective’s activities in Russia.” – Hyperallergic
- Why We Need Systemic Support For Arts And Humanities
Arts and humanities scholarship is not an ornament, it is the record of what human minds have made, imagined and endured. To let those worlds fall quiet is to diminish what it means to be human. – Arts Professional
- Clueless Colleges Are Preparing To Harm Their Students In The Name Of ‘Preparing’ Them For A World Of AI
“Based on the available evidence, the skills that future graduates will most need in the AI era—creative thinking, the capacity to learn new things, flexible modes of analysis—are precisely those that are likely to be eroded by inserting AI into the educational process.” – The Atlantic
MUSIC
- How Did The Ancient Assyrian Library Of King Ashurbanipal Survive For 2,600 Years?
Oddly enough, the collection —well, the cuneiform clay tablets, not the papyrus — has come down to us today precisely because the Babylonians and Medes conquered and down Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, in 612 BC. – Artnet
- AI May Help To Preserve And Grow Endangered Arapaho Language
I first visited the Northern Arapaho people on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming in 1999. At that time, there were hundreds of speakers of the Arapaho language. Today, there are less than 100, and all are over the age of 70. – The Conversation
- Luigi Pirandello Was Once Considered One Of Europe’s Great Writers. Why Was He Forgotten?
His plays were produced and his books were read all over the Western world, and he won the Nobel for literature in 1943. How is it he’s disappeared from our bookshelves and stages? (His enthusiastic fascism certainly didn’t help.) There are still worthwhile, albeit depressing, lessons in his work. – The Nation (MSN)
- Why Close Reading Is Having A Moment
I learned about close reading when I asked them to take their own thinking seriously—to take themselves seriously. Doing so, I found, forced me to take my job more seriously. – Boston Review
- How A “Broken” Reader Learned To Loving Reading Again
It took weeks for me to realize that I was a broken reader. I assumed I’d just had a streak of bad luck in the Dept. of Picking. I started taking fewer chances. I bought only books that looked like books I would buy. This backfired in a kind of horror-movie sequence. – The New York Times
PEOPLE
- Good Morning: Warner Merger Deal — It Might come down to Who You Know
In today’s highlights: The numbers are worrying for the performing arts: a new report indicates that the sector faced sharper revenue and staffing declines in 2024 than museums or community organizations (SMU Cultural Data). Physical infrastructure is also at risk, as Dallas officials consider selling—and potentially demolishing—their iconic, I.M. Pei-designed City Hall (Dezeen).
Geopolitics continues to encroach on culture, with Russia moving to designate the art collective Pussy Riot an “extremist” group, a label usually reserved for terrorists (Hyperallergic). On the business front, the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery is heating up, with Netflix facing antitrust concerns and Comcast navigating political headwinds (The Wrap) — It could come down to whether Trump likes your CEO or not. Finally, a good news story from the tech world: AI is being deployed to help save the endangered Arapaho language (The Conversation).
- Schubert Club seeks Artistic and Executive Director
Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with Schubert Club in the search for an Artistic and Executive Director.
This is an exceptional opportunity for a visionary artistic leader to shape one of the nation’s most respected recital and chamber music institutions at a moment of organizational strength and artistic vitality. The Artistic and Executive Director will lead Schubert Club’s efforts to meet three strategic goals: to reframe our understanding of classical music; to make equity and inclusion central to all we do; and to create meaningful connections for concert audiences, education program participants, and museum visitors. To achieve these goals, the Artistic and Executive Director will lead the development of new audiences, cultivate new and current artistic and community partnerships, build and diversify funding models, and establish new artistic directions while honoring the traditional canon.
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Artistic and Executive Director (AED) will set the creative direction for a wide-ranging portfolio of concert series and innovative programs, cultivating artists and projects that deepen Schubert Club’s legacy while engaging new audiences across the Twin Cities. The AED will lead a talented administrative team and champion an organizational culture defined by creativity, collaboration, accessibility, and excellence. The next leader will have significant influence on the 143-year-old organization’s long-term sustainability by guiding strategic planning, curating powerful musical experiences, stewarding financial health, and driving philanthropic growth.
The AED serves as a member of the Board of Directors of The Arts Partnership alongside executive and board leadership from the Ordway, Minnesota Opera, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. This unique strategic alliance (a separate 501c3 organization) ensures the equitable sharing and effective care of Ordway Center, the performing home of the four Arts Partnership members and a vital Twin Cities cultural asset that connects hundreds of thousands of community members and artists annually. The AED will collaborate as a member of The Arts Partnership in order to maintain a healthy and harmonious arts ecosystem in St. Paul.
Founded in 1882 and rooted deeply in the cultural fabric of St. Paul, Schubert Club is one of the oldest arts organizations in the United States and among the nation’s most respected classical music institutions. Its mission—to create inspiring musical experiences that contribute to the cultural vibrancy of the Twin Cities community—inspires a broad portfolio of programs that bring world-class artistry and meaningful musical experiences to audiences of all ages across the Twin Cities.
Schubert Club’s artistic offerings span a vibrant array of concert series that reach diverse audiences. The International Artist Series remains a flagship recital series of national standing. The beloved Music in the Park Series, an independent organization until its merger with Schubert Club in 2010, presents distinguished chamber ensembles in an intimate neighborhood setting. Launched in 2014, Schubert Club Mix reimagines the recital experience through nontraditional venues, repertoire, and artistic collaborations. Accordo, a string collective of Minnesota Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra principal players, performs throughout the year in Minneapolis, while free weekly Courtroom Concerts highlight Minnesota-based performers and composers at Landmark Center—Schubert Club’s headquarters in downtown St. Paul—from October through April.
As a founding member of The Arts Partnership, Schubert Club collaborates with leaders of the Ordway, Minnesota Opera, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra to support a vibrant performing arts ecosystem in downtown St. Paul, strengthening shared artistic goals, community engagement, and cultural vitality. Schubert Club is governed by a 33-member Board of Directors; the FY26 operating budget is $3.1M. The Artistic and Executive Director will lead a trusted and talented team of 13 full-time staff.
A bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least five years of demonstrable success in concert programming and organizational management, preferably as an Artistic and/or Executive Director is required for this position. Expertise in classical music repertoire and the classical music business is required; experience as a musician is preferred. Schubert Club will consider candidates with a broad range of backgrounds. If you are excited about this role and feel that you can contribute to Schubert Club, but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of Schubert Club and the responsibilities and qualifications specified in the position prospectus.
The salary range for this position is $200,000 to $240,000. Schubert Club offers a comprehensive package of benefits, including health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement plan with 10% employer match for eligible employees, life and long-term disability insurance, parking at Landmark Center, and generous vacation days, paid time off, and paid holidays.
If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or participating in the selection process, please contact Christopher Wingert at chriswingert@aspenleadershipgroup.com.
To apply for this position, visit: https://apptrkr.com/6766524.
- The Takács Quartet To Lose Its Last Founding Member
Cellist András Fejér has been with the famed string quartet since its founding exactly 50 years ago. As of next September, Fejér will retire; replacing him will be Romanian-born cellist Mihai Marica. – Gramophone
- Minnesota Dance “Titan” Dies At 63
Toni Pierce-Sands, a featured soloist in some of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s most iconic suites and a co-founder of celebrated Twin Cities company TU Dance, died Tuesday in Minneapolis. She was 63 and had been battling cancer. – The Star-Tribune
- How Did The Ancient Assyrian Library Of King Ashurbanipal Survive For 2,600 Years?
Oddly enough, the collection —well, the cuneiform clay tablets, not the papyrus — has come down to us today precisely because the Babylonians and Medes conquered and down Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, in 612 BC. – Artnet
PEOPLE
- Good Morning: Warner Merger Deal — It Might come down to Who You Know
In today’s highlights: The numbers are worrying for the performing arts: a new report indicates that the sector faced sharper revenue and staffing declines in 2024 than museums or community organizations (SMU Cultural Data). Physical infrastructure is also at risk, as Dallas officials consider selling—and potentially demolishing—their iconic, I.M. Pei-designed City Hall (Dezeen).
Geopolitics continues to encroach on culture, with Russia moving to designate the art collective Pussy Riot an “extremist” group, a label usually reserved for terrorists (Hyperallergic). On the business front, the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery is heating up, with Netflix facing antitrust concerns and Comcast navigating political headwinds (The Wrap) — It could come down to whether Trump likes your CEO or not. Finally, a good news story from the tech world: AI is being deployed to help save the endangered Arapaho language (The Conversation).
- Schubert Club seeks Artistic and Executive Director
Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with Schubert Club in the search for an Artistic and Executive Director.
This is an exceptional opportunity for a visionary artistic leader to shape one of the nation’s most respected recital and chamber music institutions at a moment of organizational strength and artistic vitality. The Artistic and Executive Director will lead Schubert Club’s efforts to meet three strategic goals: to reframe our understanding of classical music; to make equity and inclusion central to all we do; and to create meaningful connections for concert audiences, education program participants, and museum visitors. To achieve these goals, the Artistic and Executive Director will lead the development of new audiences, cultivate new and current artistic and community partnerships, build and diversify funding models, and establish new artistic directions while honoring the traditional canon.
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Artistic and Executive Director (AED) will set the creative direction for a wide-ranging portfolio of concert series and innovative programs, cultivating artists and projects that deepen Schubert Club’s legacy while engaging new audiences across the Twin Cities. The AED will lead a talented administrative team and champion an organizational culture defined by creativity, collaboration, accessibility, and excellence. The next leader will have significant influence on the 143-year-old organization’s long-term sustainability by guiding strategic planning, curating powerful musical experiences, stewarding financial health, and driving philanthropic growth.
The AED serves as a member of the Board of Directors of The Arts Partnership alongside executive and board leadership from the Ordway, Minnesota Opera, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. This unique strategic alliance (a separate 501c3 organization) ensures the equitable sharing and effective care of Ordway Center, the performing home of the four Arts Partnership members and a vital Twin Cities cultural asset that connects hundreds of thousands of community members and artists annually. The AED will collaborate as a member of The Arts Partnership in order to maintain a healthy and harmonious arts ecosystem in St. Paul.
Founded in 1882 and rooted deeply in the cultural fabric of St. Paul, Schubert Club is one of the oldest arts organizations in the United States and among the nation’s most respected classical music institutions. Its mission—to create inspiring musical experiences that contribute to the cultural vibrancy of the Twin Cities community—inspires a broad portfolio of programs that bring world-class artistry and meaningful musical experiences to audiences of all ages across the Twin Cities.
Schubert Club’s artistic offerings span a vibrant array of concert series that reach diverse audiences. The International Artist Series remains a flagship recital series of national standing. The beloved Music in the Park Series, an independent organization until its merger with Schubert Club in 2010, presents distinguished chamber ensembles in an intimate neighborhood setting. Launched in 2014, Schubert Club Mix reimagines the recital experience through nontraditional venues, repertoire, and artistic collaborations. Accordo, a string collective of Minnesota Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra principal players, performs throughout the year in Minneapolis, while free weekly Courtroom Concerts highlight Minnesota-based performers and composers at Landmark Center—Schubert Club’s headquarters in downtown St. Paul—from October through April.
As a founding member of The Arts Partnership, Schubert Club collaborates with leaders of the Ordway, Minnesota Opera, and The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra to support a vibrant performing arts ecosystem in downtown St. Paul, strengthening shared artistic goals, community engagement, and cultural vitality. Schubert Club is governed by a 33-member Board of Directors; the FY26 operating budget is $3.1M. The Artistic and Executive Director will lead a trusted and talented team of 13 full-time staff.
A bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least five years of demonstrable success in concert programming and organizational management, preferably as an Artistic and/or Executive Director is required for this position. Expertise in classical music repertoire and the classical music business is required; experience as a musician is preferred. Schubert Club will consider candidates with a broad range of backgrounds. If you are excited about this role and feel that you can contribute to Schubert Club, but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of Schubert Club and the responsibilities and qualifications specified in the position prospectus.
The salary range for this position is $200,000 to $240,000. Schubert Club offers a comprehensive package of benefits, including health, dental, and vision insurance, retirement plan with 10% employer match for eligible employees, life and long-term disability insurance, parking at Landmark Center, and generous vacation days, paid time off, and paid holidays.
If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or participating in the selection process, please contact Christopher Wingert at chriswingert@aspenleadershipgroup.com.
To apply for this position, visit: https://apptrkr.com/6766524.
- The Takács Quartet To Lose Its Last Founding Member
Cellist András Fejér has been with the famed string quartet since its founding exactly 50 years ago. As of next September, Fejér will retire; replacing him will be Romanian-born cellist Mihai Marica. – Gramophone
- Minnesota Dance “Titan” Dies At 63
Toni Pierce-Sands, a featured soloist in some of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s most iconic suites and a co-founder of celebrated Twin Cities company TU Dance, died Tuesday in Minneapolis. She was 63 and had been battling cancer. – The Star-Tribune
- How Did The Ancient Assyrian Library Of King Ashurbanipal Survive For 2,600 Years?
Oddly enough, the collection —well, the cuneiform clay tablets, not the papyrus — has come down to us today precisely because the Babylonians and Medes conquered and down Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, in 612 BC. – Artnet
THEATRE
VISUAL
- When Our Machines Become Sentient, Will We Notice?
If an AI system were sentient, then the alignment paradigm, whereby AI activities are circumscribed entirely by human goals, becomes untenable. It would be ethically impermissible to subject the interests of a sentient AI system to human-defined goals. – 3 Quarks Daily
- How Civilizations Collapse
Today the conditions for apocalypticism—gaping inequality, pandemics, rapid technological development—are amply present. So perhaps it isn’t surprising that, over the past several years, a number of scholars and political figures have warned of a coming collapse, by which they tend to mean the destruction of the basic elements of society. – The Atlantic (MSN)
- Cliches Have Gotten A Bad Rap
While I agree that leaning on a cliché might be a prosaic get-out-of-jail-free card, I do think they get a bad rap. The general criticism is that clichés are lazy, which I can understand. Yet sometimes I feel like this feedback itself is lazy or one-dimensional. – Sydney Review of Books
- Have We Given Liberal Arts Institutions Too Much Credit?
While liberal arts institutions do have intrinsic value, that doesn’t mean they are entitled to be socially favoured or economically exceptional for ever. A particularly stubborn myth is that liberal arts education has a monopoly on cultivating critical thinking. – The Guardian
- Why Perfectionism Is Killing Our Culture
This fetishization of perfection might not be surprising, but that doesn’t make it any less damaging. You cannot learn or grow while trying to appear as if you have everything figured out. You cannot talk to God by trying to avoid doing something wrong. Perfection is stagnation. – The New York Times
