Music Teacher's Helper Blog

A Liberal’s Libretto “A Liberal’s Libretto is the place to look for news, commentary and real-life stories related to the ARTS and POP CULTURE.”  2-4 posts daily.  “American bass-baritone James Newman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Voice Performance from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington and continued his education in Opera Performance and Conducting at Arizona State University. He then moved to New York City where he began studying with internationally renowned soprano, Maria Spacagna with whom he studies today. When he’s not performing, James Newman blogs, follows politics, the arts and pop culture tirelessly and loves hanging out in Park Slope with his wife, soprano Jenn Raithel Newman and their daughter, Lyla.” Follow James on Twitter at www.twitter.com/JamesNewmanNYC

Alex Ross: The Rest is Noise “Books, articles, and a blog by the music critic of The New Yorker” Author of book The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. Posts infrequently: Newly changed over to Unquiet Thoughts under the aegis of The New Yorker magazine. He plans for several posts weekly.

Artistic Discourse… because the future of the arts depend on it “This blog is about many things: technology, sociology, economics, politics, arts policy and any other potential category of discourse that peaks my interest at the moment.  However, the underlying theme to all those sub-categories will always be, THE ARTS. Whether you agree with me or not throughout the course of this blog, I would hope that you share your thoughts.  I appreciate dissenting opinions almost equally as much as affirming ones.” Was posting weekly.  Currently I couldn’t access the Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/zhayhurst.  He’s posted that he’s moving & he hasn’t posted since 9/1/09.  Still, lots of food for thought.

Artists House Music “Helping Musicians and Music Entrepreneurs Create Sustainable Careers”  Posts approximately 6 times/month. Always has a GREAT “Music Business Weekly Wrap-up” that sums up a large amount of information about the music business – mostly focused on independent marketing of your own stuff.  Often intriguing interviews with artists on how they function in this business.  Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/artistshouse (yes, they WILL respond!)

Barry’s Blog: News, Advice and Opinion for the Arts Administrator Part of the Western States Arts Federation.  Has been reviewing/reporting on the NEA Forum Panel Discussions.  A LOT of amazing information about what’s actually going on within the NEA.  Posts twice weekly.

Beginning Singer “Beginning Singer is about the challenges of becoming a professional singer. My name is Ian Sidden, and I have been performing since I was a very little boy. I have always sung, and whether it was in musicals, rock bands, choirs or operas; I just couldn’t shut up. I just completed graduate studies in Vocal Performance, and now it is do or die time to attempt a professional career.” Posts slightly more than weekly.  Ian is very friendly and comments regularly on my blog postings.  He also does a regular “Blog Roundup” through which I’ve found several of the blogs I am currently recommending.  Follow Ian on Twitter at www.twitter.com/IanSidden

Classical Review “Classical Music Reviews – get the idea, forget the jargon: Follow the music without following the score. These reviews will introduce you to a wide variety of works – and tell you which bits to listen out for.”  Weekly postings (to resume December 1, 2009).  Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/classicalreview, you’ll likely get a response!

Clef Notes “The Baltimore Sun’s classical music critic, Tim Smith, writes about the sonic art, local and beyond.”    Often multiple posts daily.  An amazing conglomeration of what’s going on in music, classical and otherwise.  Very interesting reading and often extraordinarily educational.

The Collaborative Piano Blog “Encounters with Classical Music, Collaboration, Chamber Music, Opera, Administration, Teaching, and Technology.” Chris is a wonderful and personable pianist based out of Toronto.  He is a fellow contributor (and strong advocate for) Music Teacher’s Helper.  This blog (which I found in the process of preparing for my own NATSAA auditions) is the reason that I started getting active in social media.  His advice and humor, as well as his clear dedication to artistic integrity in incomparable.  He WILL answer you back if you follow Chris on Twitter at www.twitter.com/chrisfoley

COMMANDOpera is a brand new blog that talks about all things opera.  Singers, productions, houses are all reviewed – world-wide.  I am greatly enjoying this blog and learning a lot, especially about young opera singers who are current stand-outs in their field.

ComposeCreate.com “Tools for Composing, Creating, and Teaching Music” Wendy Stevens “enjoys composing and giving presentations on creativity, composition, and technology. Her students have won various prizes for their compositions at a local and national level. Wendy’s own compositions are published with Concordia Publishing House, Augsburg Fortress, and Hal Leonard.”  Wendy is very responsive and has lots of really good ideas.  Follow Wendy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/composecreate

Createquity. “Ian David Moss founded Createquity as a first-year student in the MBA program at the Yale School of Management. Now a Rhode Island-based arts consultant, he works with clients on projects including strategic planning, program development, program evaluation, and data analysis. Prior to business school, he was Development Manager for the American Music Center. He is a composer and choral singer and founded two first-of-their-kind performing ensembles in New York City. He was recently named one of two “younger leaders very likely to grow into major contributors to the arts in this country” in arts consultant and blogger Barry Hessenius’s annual ranking of the top 25 leaders in the nonprofit arts sector.  A unique virtual think tank exploring the intersection of the arts with a wide range of topics including politics, economics, philanthropy, leadership, research, and urban planning, Createquity is your source for next-generation ideas on the role of the arts in a creative society.”   Posts frequently, but always with thought-provoking information.  Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/createquity

I currently follow slightly less than 100 blogs – I will be spreading out this series through the next several months.  Not all the blogs I read are music-related, although most are.  I’ve separated them out & tried to comment on them to help you decide if you’d like to follow them.  Remember, these are just my first several, alphabetically, as well as my vocal bias.  What are YOUR recommendations? Am I missing any INCREDIBLE blogs (in the A-C) so far?