259 stories by "CHLOE VELTMAN"
Bay Area-based chanteuse/guest blogger Pamela Rose is relieved to hear that Reese Witherspoon, star of the forthcoming Peggy Lee biopic, considers the jazz icon to be first and foremost a so…
My friend Phil Weglarz, a Bay Area-based arts therapist and allover creative genius, created a fascinating centerpiece for his Thanksgiving dinner table this year. I wasn't present at the ev…
Stephen Hinton, a music professor here at Stanford, sent me a link to a rather wonderful essay that Brian Eno wrote (and then read out aloud for the "This I Believe" segment on NPR's Weekend…
Bay Area culture is a many-splendored thing. You don't have to go to a theatre, concert hall or art gallery to have a cultural experience.The only "traditional" arts event I attended all wee…
I'm not entirely sure why the main character, Joseph, in Aurora Theatre's new theatrical adaptation of Stravinsky's 1918 chamber music work The Soldier's Tale needs to be played by a pupp…
The theatre salons that I've been running every few months for the past seven years or so with a cohort of friends from the performing arts world in San Francisco often surprise me -- in a g…
I like it when performance artists succeed in integrating most or all of the senses into their productions. This is a hard thing to do. Smells and tastes in particular can be so overpowering…
Should media organizations be producers of live events in addition to (or instead of being) producers of traditional 'mediated' content?Having experienced Pop-Up Magazine's live journalism e…
It's weird to be an arts person on a campus that's much more focused on business, science and sport.Only yesterday, during a workshop I was leading with the few students who serve as writers…
A few thoughts carried over from a weekend of getting up to various things:1. Carrying the Keys: A few months ago, I spent a tense hour or two watching three burly guys transport a piano bel…
The Merce Cunningham Dance Company visited Stanford last night on its farewell tour under the auspices of the university's wonderful arts presenter, Stanford Lively Arts. Memorial Auditorium…
I won first prize at a Zombie Freestyle Dance Competition last night.My routine, made up on the spot, involved lots of flailing about on the ground.It was quite postmodern.
I spent Saturday doing something I've never done before: performing a section from an opera accompanied by an instrumental ensemble. We're not talking Wagner at The Met, mind you: I was sing…
Peter Sellars is an extremely articulate person. When the theatre director opens his mouth to speak -- and it doesn't matter whether he's discussing the inner workings of the US State Depart…
On Tuesday morning at around 10.30am in Oakland, I became a citizen of the United States of America along with 1202 people hailing from 93 countries.I was surprisingly moved by the experienc…
I attended two concerts at opposite ends of the scale spectrum this weekend. Both were delightful experiences. Herewith, a few words about each.1. Verdi Requiem with the San Francisco Sympho…
Some notes on an an cappella workshop at Stanford and a performance in San Jose:1. Spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon in the company of the members of Vocaldente, a men's a cappella…
Today I have a vapid question and a comment that will probably get me into trouble with my more politically-correct readers. I'll air my thoughts anyway because, heck, why not. It's a blog, …
The Occupy Wall Street protests are in full swing and I'm at the end of a long weekend in New York, where I've encountered a couple of cultural events -- one that shed some light on the curr…
I am encouraged to see the way in which organizations that care about the media are throwing themselves at trying to find new, sustainable ways of creating and disseminating journalism. What…
Sometimes works of art that don't go over very well on paper are fantastic in actuality. In the absence of being able to make something sound appealing in the marketing materials, the tricky…
Last night, I found myself sitting in someone's living room with around 40 other strangers, listening to Brendan Begley & CaoimhÃn Ó Raghallaigh, two amazing Irish folk musicians,…
Silicon Valley is in mourning today for one of its biggest heros -- Steve Jobs. Unless you've been hiding in the basement of an art museum or stuck in rehearsals for a play over the last 18 …
The teacher of the French viticulture class I attended yesterday on campus said the following about wine:Know what you like.Know why you like it.Never be afraid to try something new.It strik…
I heard two contrasting Thomas Ades pieces over the weekend, demonstrating the composer's amazing emotional and sonic range.As part of a program that included, incongruously to my mind, Moza…
