Lots of practice. “Speech-recognition software is designed to understand multiple pronunciations of each phoneme. Programmers ‘train’ the system by playing many hours of speech into the microphone, and then typing in what can be heard on the tapes.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Israeli Ensemble Drops Female Singer To Appease Ultra-Orthodox
“Bowing to pressure from religious subscribers, the Ashdod-based Israel Andalusian Orchestra” – which specializes in the traditional music of the Sephardic Jews – “has removed a concert from its subscription series featuring a female singer.” The vocalist in question is Françoise Atlan, possibly the genre’s most prominent living artist.
Can Documentaries Really Change The World? The Folks Behind A New Prize Think So
“The creators of the Puma Creative Impact award believe [the effect documentaries have in the wider world] can be massive.” The stated aim of the €50,000 prize? “To honour the documentary film creating the most significant impact in the world.” Are they right?
A SoCal Concert Venue With Acoustics To Rival Disney Hall?
Christopher Smith on the Soka Performing Arts Center in Orange County: “[The] acoustic design comes from [Yasuhisa] Toyota, who most famously did Walt Disney Concert Hall. If anything, the sound here in this more intimate, multi-purpose hall has an even warmer sound. … [While] the sound can be as large as a composer ordered or a conductor wants, there is an almost unprecedented level of clarity among the instruments.”
Should Funding Bodies Require Theatres To Provide More Parts For Women?
Julia Pascal, who was the first woman to direct a play at England’s National Theatre, recently suggested that the only way to get the country’s stages to offer more good roles for actresses is to convince Arts Council England to require it. Lalayn Baluch – and readers – wonder if Pascal has a point?
Audra MacDonald On Gershwin’s Bess
“[She’s] really struggling with her addictions, struggling to overcome them, really has that vision of herself in Porgy’s eyes. For her it’s staying away from her addictions long enough so she can walk toward that vision of this whole worthy woman, worthy of being loved.”
Human Brains Evolved To Hate School
“Mothers and fathers know well that their youngsters would rather pay attention to one another than to the blackboard. But parents may not realize that the reasons children struggle with education lie deep in our evolutionary past.”
Miami City Ballet Moves To Lure Non-Balletomanes
The troupe’s widely-hailed appearances in New York and Paris this summer gave MCB international cred, but principal dancer Alex Wong’s appearance on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance really got the attention of the public. The company is working to capitalize on that exposure, as well as cooperating with local officials to attract cultural tourists to Miami.
Coen Brothers Move Into Television With Comedy Pilot For Fox
“The hourlong single-camera project” – titled Harve Karbo – “will revolve around a Los Angeles private investigator whose work frequently includes a who’s who of Hollywood.”
How Arab Artists Foresaw Their Nations’ Uprisings
“Newly deposed Arab dictators might have been well advised to have paid attention to the works of their home-grown artists more closely: Many visualized the revolutions in their countries long before they happened.”