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Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism Will Hold Fourth NEA Arts Journalism Institute on Classical Music and OperaNational Endowment for the Arts Joins Columbia in Sponsoring World-Class Institute June 6, 2007
New York City -- The Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) today announced the fourth NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera. The Institute, which will take place October 14 to 24 at Columbia University, is part of a series of linked programs across the country that focus on improving arts criticism in classical music, opera, theater and dance. The application deadline for this October's Institute is July 31, 2007. The attendees will work with senior arts journalists and Institute faculty members to broaden their understanding of classical music and to improve their listening, viewing, analytical and writing skills with the goal of becoming excellent journalists in this field. Because Columbia is located in the cultural capital of the world, participants will have the unique opportunity to attend performances that cover a wide variety of genres, as well as rehearsals and behind-the-scenes meetings with artists and administrators of New York's leading classical music presenters. The journalists also will develop a firsthand understanding of artistic creation through a physical learning component, such as a basic lesson on a musical instrument. "We are grateful to the NEA for giving Columbia University's Journalism School the opportunity to deepen its service to the profession," said Nicholas Lemann, dean of the school. "The NEA's grant makes it possible to provide journalists from all over the country with a wonderful means of learning more about classical music and opera. Over time these institutes should have a demonstrable, positive effect on American journalism in each of these areas." Andras Szanto, former head of the National Arts Journalism Program, will direct the institute at Columbia with Institute co-director Anya Grundmann, currently Executive Producer for NPR Music, and artistic director Joseph Horowitz, the nationally recognized classical music historian and critic. "This autumn's Institute, our fourth, will bring the total number of journalists who have gone through the program to almost one hundred," said Szanto. "The Institute has broadened their knowledge base and improved their writing skills. Above all, it has given them a sense of energy and enthusiasm about classical music writing. Anya, Joe and I are thrilled to see the work of the Institute continue. We are gratified by the support of the National Endowment of the Arts, Columbia University's Journalism School, and the continuing participation of our distinguished faculty and partner institutions." Invited faculty and speakers include classical music critics Justin Davidson, Anne Midgette, James Oestreich, John Rockwell, and Alex Ross; National Council on the Arts member, arts critic and blogger Terry Teachout; and music professors Michael Beckerman, Karen Henson and Elaine Sisman. Institute participants will meet members of the senior staff of Carnegie Hall, the American Symphony Orchestra League, Lincoln Center, the New York Philharmonic, and other leading music institutions. This year's group also will attend at least eight concerts, including an 80th birthday celebration for conductor Sir Colin Davis at Lincoln Center, Mary Zimmerman's new production of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera, and Andras Schiff's performance of Beethoven sonatas, among other events. "Outside our major cities, journalists who cover the arts often do so because of a personal commitment to arts coverage. Yet they are so over-extended with multiple beats and assignments that there is little or no time to concentrate on various artistic disciplines, let alone opportunities for professional development. The NEA Arts Journalism Institutes give these journalists this necessary time and opportunity, allowing them to return to their communities better equipped to offer cogent arts coverage. Each year Columbia unfailingly presents an exemplary program of professional development for arts journalists," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. The NEA Arts Journalism Institutes are helping to establish the importance of professional training in the coverage of the arts through lectures and seminars with leaders in higher education, the arts and journalism. The programs are designed for print, broadcast, and on-line journalists located outside the country's largest media markets where professional development opportunities are limited. Institutes for dance critics are also being hosted by the American Dance Festival at Duke University and for theater critics at the University of Southern California. The programs cover most of the participants' expenses. For more information, visit www.jrn.columbia.edu/events/nea/. About the National Endowment for the Arts About the Graduate School of Journalism About Columbia University National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal
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