The Brooklyn Philharmonic is set to receive a $330,000 grant from the federal Department of Education to study whether children in inner-city schools benefit from music classes. Trouble is, everyone already knows that children benefit from music classes, don’t they? Anti-tax organizations and government watchdog groups are up in arms over the grants, which opponents say could have been spent on “about 400 drum sets, 800 saxophones or 900 trumpets – or to pay the salaries of several music teachers.”
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Does Hogwarts Cause Headaches?
A Washington doctor is claiming that the latest installment in the Harry Potter series can cause migraine headaches and undue stress in young children attempting to plow through the book’s 870 pages. Dr. Howard Bennett says that he has treated at least three cases of severe headache brought on when kids refuse to put the book down for any reason, until they’ve completed it. “The obvious cure for this malady – that is, taking a break from reading – was rejected by two of the patients.”
Franco Corelli, 82
“Franco Corelli, the Italian tenor whose powerhouse voice, charismatic presence and movie-star good looks earned him the adoration of opera fans from the 1950’s until his retirement in 1976, died yesterday in Milan. He was 82 and lived in Milan.”
O’Neill Director Resigns
“James Houghton has resigned in a pique as the artistic director of the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, the country’s leading workshop for new plays, saying he was excluded from the board’s reorganization plans.”
Met Objects To Lincoln Center Plan
The refurbishment of Lincoln Center has hit another snag, as the Metropolitan Opera raises objections. “The dispute ostensibly revolves around parking and the convenience of the paying public. But it also resonates with the longstanding objections of the Met’s general manager, Joseph Volpe, to the overall redevelopment project. From the start, Mr. Volpe has been opposed to making major structural changes to the campus. Even if the differences are ultimately resolved, Mr. Volpe’s objections threaten to delay the process.”
Actors Protest Non-Union Performers
Actors protest the use of non-union performers in traveling shows. “Hundreds of members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union for actors and stage managers, fired an opening salvo in a rally in Duffy Square yesterday, protesting the use of non-Equity touring companies. This is shaping up as the most contentious issue in coming negotiations between the union and producers. Their contract expires in June.”
Austin Cuts Back Performing Arts Center
Plans for a major performing arts center in Austin Texas are scaled back – for now, at least. “The price tag for the project, stalled by escalating expectations and then an economic downturn, drops from $125.1 million to about $72 million. The group still must raise nearly $25 million – that includes $10 million for an operating endowment – before it can open the center a year later than planned: 2007.”
B of A: A Bank Where A Could Stand For Arts?
Charlotte-based Bank of America is taking over FleetBoston to create the second largest bank in America. That may be good news for the arts. “Bank of America has been ‘a real driving force behind the arts really coming front and center in the state, and particularly in Charlotte. It’s just offered the most incredible leadership – not just funding and resources, a lot of human resources, but just really understanding the importance of the arts. It’s in large part because of the bank’s leadership,’ that Charlotte regularly leads the nation in per capita arts spending.”
Norwegian Bestseller – Got It Wrong In Kabul?
A Norwegian journalist observes an Afghan family, then writes a best-selling book about them. The subject of the book is outraged, and flies to Europe to protest. “Since then, the public confrontation over “The Bookseller of Kabul” has become the talk of Norway, with televised debates galore, some newspapers jumping at the chance to run photographs of the striking blond author and more serious newspapers arguing the political correctness of first world journalists judging third world cultural traditions.”
Book-Of-The-Month Club (With A Twist)
Write a book in a month? That’s the premise of a competition in which you have to write 50,000 words (175 pages) in 30 days. “Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create.” The number of winners – writers who cross the 50,000-word finish line – has grown from six out of 20 in 1999 to more than 2,000 out of 14,000 in 2002, with 4,000 expected to qualify this year.