While the Board of Regents (which includes the U.S. Vice President and the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice) didn’t directly address Trump’s attempt to fire National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet, the Board’s statement clearly affirmed that hiring/firing power belongs to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch. - The Washington Post (MSN)
This administration slashed the staff of 30 to about 10, an impossible number to track the government collection, which “has been placed in federal offices and private institutions in all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.” - The New York Times
At the preshow, “Buena Vista Social Club, a musical about a Cuban band, picked up awards for choreography, sound design and orchestrations, while Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the Netflix series, won for sound, lighting and scenic design.” - The New York Times
“Late Thursday, the two attorneys sent a strongly worded letter to Paramount’s chairworman and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and other board members arguing that a Trump settlement would cause ‘catastrophic’ harm to the embattled media company.” - Los Angeles Times (AOL)
“It’s never been about me. It should never have been about me. It should have been about a broader understanding that people from Black and brown communities are interested and want to be in these spaces. They just need to see themselves.” - The New York Times
"The pressures that deformed the news in Murrow’s day have only grown more intense, and its defenses weaker. The last line of protection is those people sitting in the dark, watching George Clooney remind them what they have to do.” - Slate
These are very substantial benefits, and it is true they are lost when we write using a keyboard or keypad. But on balance, far more is gained, which is why the past half century has seen nearly a complete transformation from pen strokes to keystrokes. - Brookings
“Kim Sajet’s refusal to abide by Trump’s decision (will test) the bounds of presidential authority over the Smithsonian. ... It is not a traditional government agency nor part of the executive branch; hiring and firing decisions have historically been handled by the Smithsonian’s secretary (and not) its Board of Regents.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
More than half of the bachelor's degrees offered at Indiana's public colleges and universities could be eliminated under an eleventh-hour provision slipped into the state budget requiring strict quotas on program size. - Indianapolis Star
The novelist, five-time memoirist, and co-author of the pioneering 1977 book The Joy of Gay Sex “was a major influence on modern gay literature, with LGBTQ+ writing prizes named after him and authors including Garth Greenwell, Édouard Louis, Ocean Vuong, Brandon Taylor and Alexander Chee all noting his importance.” - The Guardian
“Sales of subscriptions for the coming season … are down by about $1.6 million, or roughly 36%, compared with last year.” A current staff member told the Post, “We feel (it) necessary to show that mismanagement by the new leadership is becoming a real problem for the health of the organization.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
"When Domingo Hindoyan, the Venezuelan chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, made his debut with L.A. Opera last November with Roméo et Juliette, Times classical music critic Mark Swed called it 'a coup for the company.’” Now comes an even bigger coup for the opera. - Los Angeles Times
“The Equitable Payroll Fund is designed to support arts programs in dozens of small nonprofit organizations, from live theatre to orchestras, operas, chorus, and dance.” But Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget wipes all of it, 100 percent of it, away. - American Theatre
“Operators aimed the dish at Voyager 1, the world’s most distant spacecraft more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away. Traveling at the speed of light, the music was expected to overtake Voyager 1 within 23 hours.” - Seattle Times (AP)
“PBS filed a federal lawsuit Friday asking a court to block the May 1 executive order by the Trump White House to cut off funding to public media, calling the move a violation of the 1st Amendment.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
The Sacred Harp, the collection from which the traditional American practice of communal shape-note hymn-singing takes its name, was first published in 1844 and has been in continuous use ever since. The compendium is currently undergoing its first update in decades; publishers stress that it is a renewal, not just a reprint. - AP
John McWhorter: “Sitting through a three-or-more-hour performance in a language we don’t understand is a peculiar cultural phenomenon, ... and it’s a big part of what keeps opera from reaching more people. ... The composers of yore had their works translated ... because they wanted audiences to understand what they were hearing." - The New York Times
