An Armenian born in Iran and raised in Iraq, Martin came to New York to study and met Scorsese in the early 1960s. He worked on the director’s first feature (Who’s That Knocking at My Door?) and documentary (Italianamerican) and co-wrote Mean Streets; New York, New York; The Last Waltz; and Raging Bull. – Variety
Month: September 2019
Behind The Feud Between DC’s Mayor And The City’s Arts Commission
“The latest episode is tied to the fight for control of the commission, which will shift from the mayor’s office to an independent agency Oct. 1,” pursuant to legislation by the city council. The council did this because, “last year, [Mayor Muriel Bowser] proposed creating a broader office for the arts, which would include culinary and other creative endeavors, and making the commission an advisory council.” – The Washington Post
Facing “Severe Cash Flow Issues”, Nevada Public Radio Lays Off All Staffers In Reno
The Las Vegas-based network, which operates a classical station in the city and a news station which is re-transmitted throughout the state, expanded into Reno (a market that already had two NPR affiliates) when it bought an available frequency in 2017 and operated it as a “music discovery” station. (That station, NV89, will now air a direct feed from the Las Vegas news station.) Nevada PR CEO Flo Rogers, an 18-year veteran, has resigned. – Reno Gazette Journal
Turkey Moves Ahead With Dam That Will Flood 10,000-Year-Old City
“The ancient city of Hasankeyf, which sits on the banks of the Tigris River in southeastern Turkey, is believed to be one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited settlements.” Yet it could be flooded within weeks as work continues on the long-controversial Ilisu dam project. – Smithsonian Magazine
New Jersey Becomes First US State To Offer Arts Education To All Students
“The state has reached the benchmark for ‘universal arts education access’, meaning each one of its public schools provides some type of school-based arts instruction during the school day for all students.” However, as one official said, “Our work remains undone”: as of 2018, only 81% of students were actually enrolled in arts instruction of any kind. – Hyperallergic
Lyric Opera Of Chicago Names Music Director To Succeed Retiring Andrew Davis
Davis, now 77, will have been music director and principal conductor at Lyric for 21 years when he retires at the end of next season (2020-21) Succeeding him will be Italian conductor Enrique Mazzola, 51. – Chicago Tribune
EU Bans Resale Of Ebooks
“In a move that will be welcome news to publishers and other rights holders, advocate general Maciej Szpunar has ruled sites such as Tom Kabinet that sell second-hand ebooks ‘unlawful under EU law.'” – Publishers Weekly
How Can The Arts Be More Diverse When The Structure Isn’t Set Up For It?
This leads us to the most critical question: if most arts leaders are white, and diversity is the business of leaders, what is required of our leaders to effect change? – ArtsHub
Lyric Opera Of Chicago Picks A New Music Director
Enrique Mazzola, who is currently the principal guest conductor at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin and was until recently artistic and music director of the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France in Paris, declined to give his age, describing himself as “old enough to take the position of music director, and young enough to take it with energy and enthusiasm.” – The New York Times
People Are Moving Out Of America’s Largest Cities
There’s little mystery about where people are heading, or why: They are mostly moving toward sun and some semblance of affordability. The major Texas metros—Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin—have collectively grown by more than 3 million since 2010. The most popular destinations for movers are now Phoenix, Dallas, and Las Vegas, which welcome more than 100,000 new people each year. – The Atlantic