#music-initiative

#music-initiative

Chris Thomas, a notable composer, has created music that resonates with the styles of John Williams and Danny Elfman, particularly in his theme park compositions.

The Fertile Ground Festival of New Works is just around the corner, while several other anticipated shows are also about to open, including the first co-production between Portland Center Stage and Portland Playhouse, which begins previews April 19.

There's something powerful that happens when students step onto a stage and the entire community shows up for them. Events like this bring families, staff, and students together in a way that builds pride, connection, and a real sense of belonging.

I see you, and it makes me so happy to see you. There is such a disconnect between what we say America is about and what it is right now. True freedom is the freedom to be who we are, and it hurts my heart so much that in some parts of this country, it is unsafe for trans people to do that right now.

The first RBS show, back in 2021, was like nothing most of music fans had ever seen, attracting over 2000 people from all over the country.

On May 2, 2025, arts and cultural organizations across the country received notifications that grants and funding promised by the National Endowment for the Arts were being rescinded. This was part of a larger initiative by the Trump Administration to dismantle not just the NEA, but also other arts advocacy programs including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

April's lineup at the Brooklyn Museum includes programs around 'Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens,' designed for accessibility and interactivity, featuring stroller tours for caregivers and infants.

The first event is a roundtable on "Zhuangzi: Fate, Desires, Transformation" on April 6th at 9:00am Beijing time.

Michelladonna goes around the world to celebrate the cats who live and work in bodegas, corner stores, and repair shops on her show, Shop Cats. The bilingual series launched in 2024 on creator-led production platform Mad Realities, and quickly found an audience drawn to its feline stars and Michelladonna's energy and humor.

The project emphasizes the reactivation of spatial value within existing community structures, transforming building stock into community assets of public significance.

Rowe and Garen Scribner's libretto takes its liberties, setting the action in a world where everything is green and an evil princess has ruled that nothing be eaten but peas.

I'm excited to announce something that's never been done before. Better Than Ezra is teaming up with Soundbreak AI to do a songwriting contest. Go on soundbreak.ai, write with me, or write with [bass guitarist] Tom Drummond. Come up with your best idea, your best song.

Aliza Nisenbaum's vibrant portraiture portrays her subjects in bold chromatics, echoing her larger project, a celebratory mural for the Obama Presidential Center.

Through Disney Musicals in Schools' Stage Connect, educators are given free resources like show scripts, music tracks and training that give them the confidence they need to produce a school musical. The program makes musicals and bringing the magic of Disney into public schools more accessible for all.

In frightening times, it makes a huge difference not to feel alone. Creating art with others in community enhances agency and strengthens self. Creativity requires an open heart; love enhances hope and diminishes fear.

"I didn't know that I would have this kind of life when I graduated from conservatory. You take auditions and don't know where you are going to land."

R&B in the 21st century has been in a constant state of flux, tugged between safe traditionalism and blurry attempts at progression. For the last decade-plus that "progression" has seen R&B music become more indebted to trap records and the moody atmospherics of alternative bands like Radiohead, Coldplay, or My Bloody Valentine.

Mason Currey dives into the underexplored topic of how artists fund their practices and lives, revealing the financial strategies that have supported creatives through the ages.

As if demolishing the East Wing, gutting arts agencies, and slapping his name and face on several federal buildings weren't enough, the US president now wants to do away with a DC building known as the "Sistine Chapel of New Deal art." This week, we reported on a burgeoning campaign to save the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, which houses murals by Ben Shahn, Philip Guston, Seymour Fogel, and other major American artists. We will continue to follow this story.