John Michael CooperFeb 167 min readSEQUINA DUBOSE: FROM “BLURRED LINES,” A MESSAGE CRYSTAL CLEAR (pt. 1 of 2)In some ways, the year 2023 was a year of revanchism and regression in classical music. Just a few years earlier, many voices –...
John Michael CooperJun 26, 20235 min readRACISM IN ROMANTIC MUSIC (4): CANONICAL SILENCING, AND SOME CONCLUSIONSAs a prefatory exercise for this post, consider the “rule of 4%”: less than four percent of the players in professional orchestras with...
John Michael CooperJun 23, 20237 min readRRM – RACISM IN ROMANTIC MUSIC (Part 1 of 4)Dear Constant Reader, I’ve been absent from this blog for a while, partly because I needed to recharge, partly because I’m currently...
John Michael CooperMay 24, 20204 min readSILENCE AND SOUNDMargaret Bonds's little-known settings of Robert Frost's well-known "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" teach important lessons.
John Michael CooperApr 16, 20205 min readTAKE THE CHALLENGE: GIVE THE CHALLENGEThe COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented disruption in our daily lives. Musicians can turn that into a creative opportunity in their art.