Like every other sector of cultural life, classical music has been roiled over the past decade by intense debates about the field’s ongoing lack of diversity, among performing artists, composers, and leaders of musical organizations. - The Atlantic
“(A) task force … will convene monthly to eventually put forth recommendations ... The news comes after the dance company reached a settlement for over $560,000 with the National Labor Relations Board in December to compensate 10 fired dancers and three whose offers of employment were rescinded.” - KERA (Dallas)
Ryan Miller of the band Guster: “We wanted to support the staff who were caught in this political crossfire; the fans who had bought tickets, flights, and hotel rooms; the musicians we would be performing with. … We had been given a microphone and we intended to use it.” - The Atlantic (MSN)
“The architect behind the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona has been declared ‘Venerable’ by Pope Francis, the second step in the path to canonisation. Gaudí was recognised by the Vatican for his ‘heroic virtues’.” - Dezeen
“My family roll their eyes every time I say it, but I mean it. I am serious about giving up acting. (There are) a lot of things I want to do with my life.” - Radio Times (UK)
While she’s best remembered for the TV series, in which she played housemaid Rose Buck, she had an extensive career in theatre, television and film in both the UK and US, from Doctor Who to the Burton-Taylor epic Cleopatra to Hitchcock’s Frenzy to Ron Howard’s Willow. - The Telegraph (UK) (Yahoo!)
“A federal jury convicted Raleigh climate activist Timothy Martin of two felonies Monday for smearing washable paint on a sculpture’s display case in the National Gallery of Art — an act of civil disobedience that could send him to prison for 10 years.” - The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC)
By definition, a book town is “a small, preferably rural, town or village in which secondhand and antiquarian bookshops are concentrated… available to everyone…” Today, there are dozens of towns with the designation. - National Geographic
The rise of more inclusive YA has felt as much like a seismic shift as “The Hunger Games” did back in the day. It’s given teen books a new relevance, and a new energy. Alas, sales of young-adult fiction have been declining since 2021, in part due to well-organized efforts to ban books. - Los Angeles Times
If so — not to put too fine a point on it — is this a sign that the content AI stole, “scraped," from literary writers might have used the em-dash more often than it’s used in everyday communication? - Rolling Stone
The trick is convincing administrators, parents, and students that the best way of getting an education in independent and creative thinking is through the study of robust subjects like literature, math, science, history, and philosophy. - 3 Quarks Daily
Is it fair to use A.I. to grade student essays, if you’ve prohibited students from using A.I. to write them? School leaders are grappling with these dilemmas as they confront a barrage of marketing claims around how A.I. could “transform,” “personalize” and “accelerate” learning. - The New York Times
The future of the nation’s universities is very much at stake. This is not a challenge that can be met with purely defensive tactics. We must do what should have been done long ago: find our way to a new social contract between universities and the American people. - The Atlantic
While music discovery used to be a social event, now most of us cower to simply accepting whatever the Spotify algorithm feeds us. While there is convenience in turning off our brains and mindlessly listening to an AI-generated lo-fi beats playlist, there are real world negative consequences for both the artists and listeners. - SoundGuys
As a classically trained flutist, I expected to feel unmoored without structure. But improvisation has made space for a freedom I didn’t know I needed: timelessness. - Washington Post
