Stories

Joshua Bell Will Be New Jersey Symphony’s Principal Guest Conductor

The 56-year-old is best known for his decades-long career as a solo violinist, but he has been conducting for years and has been music director of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields since 2011. He will be the New Jersey Symphony's first-ever Principal Guest Conductor. - The Strad

How The Tampa Museum Prepared For A Hurricane

“Our facility has been designed to withstand a direct hit from a category three on the second floor, we just completed a 25,000 square-foot renovation, which brought up to code the first floor for a direct hit at a Category Four,” Tomor told ARTnews. “So we’re ready.” - ARTnews

The Majorette Dancing Of HBCUs Is Going Mainstream

"At historically Black colleges and universities in the American South, the real stars of any football game are the majorettes. Their signature dance style … (combines) the precision of a kick line with the winking sensuality of burlesque. … More recently, majorette dance has entered the mainstream, taking center stage on reality television series, movies, and social media apps."...

The Internet Archive Has Been Hacked, Taken Down

An illicit JavaScript pop-up on the Internet Archive proclaimed on Wednesday afternoon that the site had suffered a major data breach. Hours later, the organization confirmed the incident. - Wired

Who Invented The Marvel Multiverse? Look Back To Balzac

I believe the first person to master the fictional multiverse was the 19th-century French novelist, Honoré de Balzac, in his monumental work La Comédie Humaine (The Human Comedy, 1829-1847). - The Conversation

Cleanup On Aisle 3! DVD-Rental Company Goes Bankrupt, Strands Its Retail Boxes Across America

Redbox’s parent filed for bankruptcy in the summer, saying it lacked the cash to buy the rights to many new releases, and the kiosk operator subsequently went out of business. It left 24,000 movie vending machines still in the field. - The Wall Street Journal

Jamaican Diaspora Is Reclaiming Patwa (Patois)

The immigrants to Britain and North America who speak the island's creolized language have usually discouraged their children and grandchildren from using it, believing that complete command of proper English was necessary for the young people to get ahead. Now many of those grown-up children and grandchildren are reconnecting with Patwa. - BBC

Monet Pastel Stolen By Nazis Returned To Family Generations Later

Adalbert Parlagi and his son Franz kept meticulous ownership and search records. After Franz’s death in 2012, Françoise Parlagi stumbled upon her father’s cache of documents, including the original receipt from her grandfather’s purchase of the Monet pastel. - AP

The One Media Figure Everyone Trusts Is The Weatherman

Especially Denis Phillips in Tampa, where — in a state where climate denialism is spreading, encouraged by the Governor and his party — for 30 years viewers have respected and paid attention to him, regardless of their own leanings. Especially during hurricane season. - Slate (MSN)

Manhattan’s Trinity Church Bells Host Musicians In Ringing Contest

Bands had traveled as far as hundreds of miles to climb into the landmark Trinity Church tower and strike eight bells in a complex, intricate order for the national Trinity Striking Competition, a demonstration of skill in the 17th-century art of change ringing. - Gothamist

New Toronto Opera Festival

Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival is Toronto’s first-ever festival to combine opera and musical theatre in a celebration of Canadian creators and performers. - Ludwig Van

Using Mali’s Traditional Theater As Psychiatric Treatment

Koteba, a traditional form of theater by Mali’s largest ethnic group, the Bambara, mixes acting, singing and dancing to work through villagers' problems and offer satire. At one of Bamako's largest hospitals, koteba is being used to help psychiatric patients in a country desperately short of mental health professionals. - AP

Pittsburgh Ballet Advertises On Streaming Services And Sees Returns

Beginning last season the ballet company also began advertising its more family-friendly shows on big-name streaming services like Hulu and Disney+ and even in local movie theaters to maximize their advertising dollars. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Leif Segerstam, Admired Conductor And Astoundingly Prolific Composer, Is Dead At 80

The Finnish eccentric, known for his long white hair and beard, rotund figure and quirky personality, composed 371 symphonies, most single-movement works with colorful titles. While he guest-conducted widely when younger, in later years he kept most of his work on the podium within Finland but attracted devoted followers via recordings. - Gramophone

Two Presidents Of Project 1619 Die Within One Month, Organization To Regroup

"Only a few weeks after the death of Project 1619 founder and President Calvin Pearson, his successor — William Wiggins — has also died. … He had assumed the title of the organization’s president after Pearson’s death in early September." The board says the organization's future existence is secure. - The Virginian-Pilot

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