Christopher Dragon starts on July 1; by that point, the No Name Pops will be called the Philly Pops. Dragon is currently resident conductor of the Colorado Symphony and music director of the Wyoming Symphony (through this summer) and the Greensboro (NC) Symphony (starting this fall). - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
In particular, tenure exists to ensure that orchestra conductors cannot “clean house” according to their personal artistic tastes. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In a vacant church, he built a concert hall and studio where he recorded the Delta blues and Louisiana roots music. His latest acquisition is a printing shop that makes farm-equipment manuals and inserts for Analogue Productions LPs. Today, LP sales are now a $1 billion-plus market in the U.S. alone. - The New York Times
“Thomas Jolly filed a complaint for death threats after receiving homophobic and antisemitic abuse on social networks. The online attacks erupted after Jolly’s acclaimed but controversial opening spectacle on the Seine in July — a queer-inclusive, high-energy fusion of tradition and modernity.” - AP
The marble bust, depicting Mantua noblewoman Cecilia Gonzaga, was identified in a storeroom at the Spiš Museum in Levoča, Slovakia. It was previously thought to be a 19th-century copy and was at one point used as a toy by the young girls at a reformatory. - Artnet
“About 200 employees are being let go at Disney’s ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks unit, people familiar with the matter said.” Among the casualties: the ABC newsmagazines 20/20 and Nightline are being consolidated into a single unit, and election-forecast website Five-Thirty-Eight is closing. - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
“President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as a 10% increase to tariffs on goods from China, went into effect on March 4 — and although the tariffs had been delayed once before, the publishing and printing industries are still left with questions.” - Publishers Weekly
“The San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Conservatory of Music have ‘paused’ the Emerging Black Composers Project, citing a memo from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights that called diversity efforts ‘repugnant’ and ‘shameful’ and directed schools to eliminate them or risk losing federal funding.“ - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
Lead producer Jeffrey Seller: “Political disagreement and debate are vital expressions of democracy. These basic concepts of freedom are at the very heart of Hamilton. However, some institutions are sacred and should be protected from politics. The Kennedy Center is one such institution.” - Variety
“D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser signaled Tuesday that the city would paint a new mural at Black Lives Matter Plaza outside the White House after a Republican lawmaker introduced a bill threatening millions of dollars in transportation funding if Bowser did not agree to erase and rename it.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
For its first decade, Reddit was widely considered just a notch above 4chan: full of rage-filled prejudice, vicious verbal abuse and creepy sex stuff. Now Reddit's full of (mostly) civil discussion, advice and support on topics from popular to extremely niche to silly. And there are good reasons for that. - The Atlantic (MSN)
Just as tentpole movies are tested and managed to death, the Oscars have bent themselves into contortions to meet what executives have determined that audiences at home want. - The New Yorker
After years of either cuts or stagnant funding, the New York City Council has allocated $4 million for arts instruction and programming in 239 schools (which is not all of them) across the city — all of $16,257 per school. - PIX11 (New York City)
As the cost of living continues to skyrocket and spaces for musicians to perform become fewer, some say municipal music strategies are becoming increasingly important. A municipal music strategy is a set of policies created by municipal governments to help bolster local musicians. - CBC
