Author: Matthew Westphal

Why More Than A Third Of The Board At Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre Quit

A letter from eight of the 13 departing board members noted that two leading candidates for CEO of the theater withdrew after meeting with the president of Roosevelt University (which owns the theatre) and said that, “As a result, we lack confidence about the future outlook for the Theatre, are unable to advance the Theatre’s mission, and have been stymied in our attempts to work with the University’s leadership to find a solution.” – Crain’s Chicago Business

The Ongoing Destruction Of The Bamiyan Buddhas (As If What The Taliban Did Weren’t Bad Enough)

“Most of the time, the remains of the monument are so poorly guarded that anyone can buy a ticket ($4 for foreigners, 60 cents for Afghans), walk in and do pretty much whatever he wants. And many do. Souvenir-hunters pluck pieces of painted stucco decorations from the network of chambers or take away chunks of fallen sandstone. Graffiti signatures, slogans, even solicitations for sex abound.” – The New York Times

How The National Orchestral Institute Is Preparing Diverse Young Musicians For The Orchestra World (And Vice Versa)

Anne Midgette: “Preparing young musicians for a career in music looks different now than it did in 1988, when NOI began. A big part of instrumentalists’ training has always been learning to play orchestral excerpts as best they can, to land a job in an orchestra. But in today’s world, orchestra jobs are ever harder to come by, and orchestras are struggling with their identities, trying to figure out ways to become more diverse in their personnel and their programming. Institutions like NOI can play an active role in that kind of shift.” – The Washington Post

Susannah Hunnewell, Publisher Of The Paris Review, Dead At 52

“Ms. Hunnewell joined the magazine as an editorial intern in the late-1980s, when it was run out of an 8-by-14-foot office in the Upper East Side brownstone of its co-founder and editor George Plimpton. She remained associated with the magazine for the next 30 years … She was named publisher in 2015, taking over from [Antonio F.] Weiss,” her husband. – The New York Times

Warner Is Paying Nearly Half A Billion Dollars To Keep J.J. Abrams

“Following a months-long courting process that included multiple suitors, WarnerMedia is in final negotiations for a new partnership with [Abrams’s company,] Bad Robot, sources say. … Abrams, who is currently editing Star Wars: Episode IX for Disney, was among the top producers in Warners’ TV fold at a time when brand-name showrunners are in increasingly high demand.” – The Hollywood Reporter

Baltimore Symphony Musicians Are Officially Locked Out

“Sunday’s decision by the orchestra’s board of trustees locking out the players was not unexpected. Despite the picketers carrying signs reading ‘I Make Less Than I Did a Decade Ago,’ the letters to the editor from concerned music lovers and the angry words exchanged by both sides, the nonprofit is all but out of money and has proposed shortening the concert season from 52 weeks a year to 40 and reducing players’ pay by about 20 percent.” – The Baltimore Sun

No More All-Male Comedy-Writing Teams, Declares UK TV Network

“ITV will no longer commission comedy shows with all-male writers’ rooms, the broadcaster’s head of comedy has said. Saskia Schuster said she realised last year that ‘an awful lot of my comedy entertainment shows are made up of all-male writing teams. … Too often the writing room is not sensitively run. It can be aggressive and slightly bullying.'” – BBC

Once Again, An Errant Tweet Is The Last Straw: Director Of Berlin Jewish Museum Resigns

“Pressure had been mounting against the director, Peter Schäfer, over what critics said was an inappropriately political stance for the head of a cultural institution tasked with explaining Jewish traditions, history and art. … But it was a post by the museum’s Twitter account last week that sparked the backlash that Mr. Schäfer could no longer withstand.” – The New York Times