Click here to take a look at what Senator Tom Coburn is up to. Coburn’s fifth amendment to the Stimulus Bill isn’t exactly an ad hominen objection to the arts in the bill, more precisely it reads: “5. No funds shall be used for casinos, aquariums, zoos, museums, golf courses, or swimming pools (mirror House…

This past Monday, First Lady Michelle Obama was introduced to the staff of the United States Department of Education, by Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. Click here for the transcript and video The highlights of her presentation are as follows: “So, the Department of Education is going to be at the forefront of many of…

A giant of classical music died this week: Lukas Foss. Was he as well known as Leonard Bernstein or Aaron Copland? No, I am sorry to say. There’s something about the way classical music is changing, where it seems that only the most marquee names are remembered. That’s a shame. Foss was a powerhouse of…

The Perpich Center for Arts Education’s State Arts High Schools,has, for quite some time now, been a very important model for arts centered high schools, while also serving as one of the nation’s most important centers for K-12 arts education. Governor Tim Pawlenty has submitted a budget which cuts away $2.2 million of a overall…

The Nexus between Jazz and Classical Music brings me to the great, great, great, Benny Golson!!!, who was just honored by the Kennedy Center. Benny has a new CD on the Concord label, New Time, New ‘Tet, where the “album’s song choices advance a subtle but genuinely seductive proposal: what if jazz, conventionally defined, is overdue for re-inspection and…

Today, The National Endowment for the Arts issues a statement about arts and the economic stimulus package. It’s most interesting as it positions the Arts Endowment well as a mechanism for distributing funds. As most of you know, the House version of the package, which has already been passed, includes $50 million for the NEA…

If you believe that past is present, and that severe cuts to school budgets, combined with cuts from private funders, would deal a terrible blow to arts education, well then, it’s important to take a look at the education portion of the stimulus plan, which I hear is changing by the day. At the moment,…

My friend Diane Ravitch, offers some advice for Arne Duncan in last week’s Washington Post. No beating about the bush, Diane offers some straight up advice on what works and what doesn’t, particularly in regards to NCLB and the USDOE. A refreshing opinion. Here’s a little teaser: “You have a chance to make a historic…

It’s a bit tough to profess ambivalence at best, skepticism at worst, when so many people are clamoring for the creation of a cabinet-level position for the arts. A Secretary of the Arts, or a Secretary of Arts and Culture, etc., along with a new Federal Department to match the position. Historically, the creation of…

On election day, I tapped Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring as my soundtrack for that moment. Today, without question, it’s Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land. And, as it turns out Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen felt the same way, performing it at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday. This was a song they taught us…