Thomas describes the impact that a conductor at a childhood music camp had in showing her the transformative potential of music. His passion and intensity led to a strong performative connection between members of the camp’s orchestra. Curator’s note: Laura Thomas is a violinist from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She has played with symphony orchestras … Continued
Musician Dave Wilson describes being struck by the legacy of The Night of the Hunter, a film essentially ignored directly after its release in 1955 but celebrated by critics decades later. (In fact, in 1998 the magazine Cahiers du Cinema listed it as the second most beautiful film of all time.)
Butthole Surfers was the band. Locust Abortion Technician was the album. Bob Schneider’s life would never be the same.
At the age of 74, I could describe many humanities moments but this one stands out. Sometime in 1961, my brother was driving me home when I first heard Symphony Sid play John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things” over the radio. I was a veteran jazz listener at that time but the sound of this recording … Continued
In June 2017, I found myself in a cramped, sweltering apartment in New York’s East Village. I was there with three high-school students to interview William Millan, founder of the seminal 1970s Latin band, Saoco. The students were working on a documentary film about the history of musical communities in New York City. After playing … Continued