“In an unprecedented development, jazz — specifically Chicago jazz — is about to get a large infusion of funding and opportunity. Three Chicago-area corporations and one local foundation have joined forces to pour an estimated $1.5 million into the city’s jazz scene in the next three years, with possibly more money to come during that time. Boeing Co., Bank One and Kraft Food have teamed with the non-profit Chicago Community Trust to create the Chicago Jazz Partnership, which will begin funneling approximately $500,000 into the city’s jazz scene this year, with hopes of expanding that support in years to come.”
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Official Artist To The ’05 Election
If you can have a Poet Laureate write verse for official events, why not commission an artist to record an election? That’s exactly what the British Parliament has done. “The artist, who was commissioned by an all-party parliamentary committee to present a unique portrait of Britain en route to the polls, will spend the next three weeks on the stump with politicians and plans to travel on both opposition battle buses. He is struggling to get access to Tony Blair’s strictly-controlled entourage, however.”
Opera Looks To Film, Now Film Looks To Opera
Opera once coveted the realism of film. Nowadays, film is looking to opera for its ability to create fantasy. “Opera once recruited film directors because it envied the truth vouchsafed by the frank eye of the camera. Nowadays, opera delights in illusion, which is why it can offer characters in film an escape from their grim, grounded lives: hence Cher’s trip to the Met’s Bohème in Moonstruck, or Tom Hanks’s duets with Callas in Philadelphia.”
Podcasting – Coming To A Radio Station Near You
“Executives at some of the largest radio companies are suggesting that radio stations develop their own podcasts and make them available at no charge to listeners seeking a more varied or obscure selection of tunes. The idea is to ease the pressure that broadcasters now feel to broaden the array of music on over-the-air radio. Give choosier listeners what they want, without making them wait for the 11 p.m. Sunday show, when radio has traditionally offered less popular forms of music. Once listeners get into the habit of downloading inventive podcasts from their local radio station, they’re more likely to tune in to that station’s broadcasts when they’re in the car or at work.”
US Scientists Fight Legislation That Would Restrict Kennewick Man Study
Scientists are opposing a bill in the US Congress that would “allow federally recognized tribes to claim ancient remains even if they cannot prove a link to a current tribe.” That could block study of the ancient Kennewick man. “Scientists fear that the bill, if enacted, could end up overturning a federal appeals court ruling that allows them to study the 9,300-year-old skeleton, one of the oldest ever found in North America. The skeleton was discovered in 1996 along the Columbia River near Kennewick, Wash., and has been the focus of a bitter nine-year fight.”
NY Public Library To Sell Off Art
The New York Public Library has decided to sell some of its art work so it can compete better in buying books, manuscripts and other works on paper and bolster its endowment. “Sotheby’s, which has been retained by the library, estimates that the works will sell for $50 million to $75 million. The transactions will be handled either privately or by public auction.”
Reinventing The Walker
The bigger Walker Arts Center is attempting to reinvent itself while it expands. “The Walker seems to be one of the few places in the world that tries tackling the progressive element of each art form. The MOMA doesn’t do that, the Guggenheim doesn’t do that, the Whitney doesn’t do that.”
A Museum To Atomic Testing
The Atomic Test Site Museum has opened just off the Las Vegas Strip. “The 8,000-square-foot museum, which opened in March, is the fruit of a decade of work by the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation. The ticket booth resembles the site’s guard station; the movie theater looks like a bunker. “Countdown to next show,” flashes an ominous red clock. A roar and a blast of air greet visitors in the concrete theater.”
Berlin Symphonic Orchestra Disbands
Members of the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra bid farewell to their fans with a last concert on Sunday after orchestra officials failed to secure 80,000 euros ($103,000) in emergency funding for the bankrupt organization.
A Fight Over Which UK Orchestra Is Best
Does England have only one “world-class” orchestra? So says the departing chief executive of the London Symphony, and guess what – he believes the LSO is the only orchestra that counts. And guess what – managers of two of London’s other orchestras take issue with the claim. And critics are now pouncing on the LSO for some of its decisions in recent years.