Podcast appearances and mentions of anastasia tsioulcas

A Yoga school in Buenos Aires full of classical musicians has operated for over 30 years as a hidden international sex cult.We're talking about the recent raid by the Argentine Federal Police's Human Trafficking unit of a sex cult that has operated internationally from Buenos Aires for the past 3 decades... at least. If you like our content please become a patron to get our episodes ad-free. In late August the Argentine Federal Police raided a yoga school filled with cash, gold, property titles, cars, and oddly... sex toys. It turns out that this was the second time the school had been accused of running a human trafficking organization. In the 1990s the school was charged with similar crimes but the case never went to trial, presumably because of the wealthy participants involved. The organization's director Juan Percowicz is arrested and awaiting trial, along with pianist Susana Mendelievich, and renowned oboe performer Mariano Kraus. Opera soprano Verónica Iacono is currently an international fugitive, also facing charges related to the cult. The late violinist Rubén González was the director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra when he opened the Buenos Aires Yoga School's Chicago location back in the 1990s, as well. 1 This time, there are wiretaps detailing the cult's activities and those wiretaps contain multiple mentions of the world's most famous living opera singer: Placido Domingo. This isn't the first time Domingo has been involved in sex scandals. While paying for sex in Argentina is legal and he faces no criminal charges related to the sex cult in Buenos Aires, he was fired from his management roles in the Kennedy Center Opera Company and the LA Opera Company over complaints that he had sexually harassed female performers. 2 As it turns out Placido was a customer of the young girls which the cult provided to wealthy clients, but prostitution wasn't their main business. The larger share of their profits came from a scientology-type cult which promised people spiritual healing for everything from drug addiction to chronic pain. The young sex workers were just a way to lure in cult members who were then coerced into changing their wills to gift their property to the cult upon their deaths. 3 A man named Pablo Salum has extensive information on the cult going back to the time when his parents joined it in the 1990s when he was a teenage boy. Pablo has started an advocacy organization called "Libre Mentes" or, "Free Minds" in English, which advocates for laws to combat coercive religious cults in Latin America. 4 Episode #Dubimeter: 9.5 1. Phil Greenfield. ASO Concert Strikes Strange Chord. Baltimore Sun. November 1995. ⇤2. Anastasia Tsioulcas. LA Opera Finds 'Inappropriate Conduct' Claims Against Plácido Domingo Credible. NPR. March 2020. ⇤3. Frederico Molina. Sex, drugs and promises of happiness: The Buenos Aires Yoga School's money-making machine. El Pais. August 2022. ⇤4. Pablo Salum. Here I begin the THREAD where it will be clear to you with documentation, how the human rights organizations were complicit, helped and protected the #Secta who has my family!. Ley Antisectas Twitter account. March 2018. ⇤

On this episode of “Yep, That Happened,” Shirley gives her thoughts on the movie, In The Heights, and discusses the colorism in the casting as well as the lack of Afro-Latinx representation in the media.   Yep, That Happened is a weekly podcast where writer and host, Shirley, talks about what everyone else is talking about, what needs to be discussed more, and what no longer deserves our time. Check out her website at shirleyldeleon.com. Send any questions and comments to yepthathappenedpodcast@gmail.com or fill out the form on her homepage. Follow her on Instagram at @shiloudeleon. Like, share and subscribe to the podcast. If you love the show, please give it a 5-star review. Thank you for listening!   Links mentioned: “Macaulay In The Heights” by students of Macaulay, CUNY: https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/theheights/the-people-of-washington-heights/history-demographics/   Afro-Latinx: WTH Is It | Episode 3 | Yep, That Happened: https://www.shirleyldeleon.com/podcast/yepthathappened/episode3   Colorism In The Latinx Community | Episode 18 | Yep, That Happened: https://www.shirleyldeleon.com/podcast/yepthathappened/episode18   “THE 110 ESSENTIAL SPANISH-LANGUAGE MOVIES” by Monica Castillo and Rotten Tomatoes, Rotten Tomatoes: https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/essential-spanish-language-movies-the-best-spanish-movies/   “Let's Talk About In the Heights and the Erasure of Dark-Skinned Afro-Latinx Folks” by Felice Leon, The Root: https://www.theroot.com/lets-talk-about-in-the-heights-and-the-erasure-of-dark-1847064126   “Rita Moreno Admits She Was Dismissive Of Black Lives As She Defended Lin-Manuel Miranda And ‘In The Heights'” by Matt Grobar, The Deadline: https://deadline.com/2021/06/in-the-heights-rita-moreno-defends-lin-manuel-miranda-controversy-1234776073/   “Lin-Manuel Miranda Apologizes For Lack Of Afro-Latinx Actors In 'In The Heights'” by Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR: https://www.npr.org/2021/06/15/1006606967/lin-manuel-miranda-apologizes-for-lack-of-afro-latinx-actors-in-in-the-heights   “What Quitters Understand About the Job Market” By Derek Thompson, The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/06/quitting-your-job-economic-optimism/619242/   “Juneteenth, explained” by Fabiola Cineas, Vox: https://www.vox.com/2020/6/18/21294825/history-of-juneteenth   “Pride merch won't save trans youth” by Katelyn Burns, Vox: https://www.vox.com/22543423/pride-merch-trans-youth   “$3,000 Beauty Maintenance Week! Facials, Laser, Treatments and MORE” video by Jackie Aina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgoaN9CX1Ik   “Nick Cannon's Super Sp*rm” video by Kimberly Nicole Foster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDv0a7ZaeGw   “let's talk about the nonsense black tiktokkers have to deal with...” video by Amandabb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFfmK0cARc4   MUSIC CREDIT: Mango by Smith The Mister https://smiththemister.bandcamp.com Smith The Mister https://bit.ly/Smith-The-Mister-YT Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/mango-smith-the-mister Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/Zn4SeyT3oME   Track Info: Title: Mango by Smith The Mister Genre and Mood: Alternative & Punk + Bright   Available on: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2FIeX4V iTunes: https://apple.co/305EA9t Deezer: https://deezer.com/us/album/64408662 Bandcamp: https://smiththemister.bandcamp.com/t... Google Play: http://bit.ly/2GgLjEq   Contact the Artist: smiththemister@gmail.com https://smiththemister.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/smiththemister https://open.spotify.com/artist/3lklK... https://music.apple.com/us/artist/smi... https://youtube.com/channel/UCQ5zugE_... https://deezer.com/us/artist/14163883 https://instagram.com/smiththemister

Gab & Jam 69 Should artists own their own masters? This episode explores a topic that has been brewing in importance over the last couple of decades. Many a musical artist has wrestled with this concept—most notably, Prince (in former years) and Taylor Swift (in recent years). In fact, we are responding to an article in Variety Magazine, entitled “Taylor Swift Couldn’t Buy Masters Without Signing a New Big Machine Deal,” written by Jem Aswad and we reference an NPR.org article (entitled “Taylor Swift's Former Label Big Machine Is Sold, Rankling The Star” by Andrew Flanagan and Anastasia Tsioulcas) for the details of Swift’s new arrangement. Finally, we wanted to know more about owning masters, so we consulted an article entitled, “This Is Exactly Why Owning Your Masters Is a Really Big Deal in the Music Industry” by Amanda Prahl on PopSugar.com. No matter how you feel about Taylor Swift and her situation, this is a topic is of importance to those of you D.I.Y. Rock Stars who are planning to lay your artistic foundation at the feet of a company to carry your vision even further than you feel you can. These are the three questions that lead us into our discussion: • What are masters? • Why would an artist WANT their masters? • What is the likely scenario for an artist when signing a deal? (If you would prefer to listen to the video, click here: http://bit.ly/gjep69vidmasters) What do you think? Please share your thoughts us in the comments below. And if you’d like to partner up with us folks who make music that falls in a wide variety of genres, please join our Facebook Group, Be the Next D.I.Y. Rock Star, where we share strategies, resources, mindset shifts, and growth hacks to help those who are trying to build a creatively prosperous life for themselves. http://bit.ly/diyrockstarjoin If you’d like show notes and to find out about other former and upcoming topics, be sure to go to http://www.bloomingprejippie.com/subscribe , so that you won’t miss anything. UPCOMING: • New Newsletter (for PMG Records and PMG Cool+Quirky Custom Music) coming soon! • Blog-vember is fast approaching • London-related posts coming Mentioned/seen in video: • Stars in Your Eyes Eyewear (Austin, TX) • Apple Watch • Necklace (Bruce): http://www.Nashvillepicks.com • Hartke Amp (see unboxing at https://youtu.be/QZaDmme2FMQ ) • 80s Playlist (created for our daughter): https://apple.co/2WS2P8E Recorded with: ♣ iPhone 6s: ♣ MacBook Pro ♣ Final Cut Pro X ♣ Canon T6i ♣ Fender Bass: ♣ Alesis Speakers: ♣ Logic Pro X: ♣ Canon Powershot G7x Markii Camera: https://youtu.be/hzeY_EjXp54 ♣ Zoom H1n audio recorder: https://youtu.be/Fs_kamEueLs MUSIC: “Dragon Stomp,” courtesy of PMG Cool & Quirky Custom Music (available through Songtradr at http://bit.ly/2QGRatf ) *There are affiliate links in this listing. If you order through this link, we may receive a percentage of the sale at no cost to you. *This is an unsponsored post. #makersgonnamake #makegreatshit More Ways to experience B L O O M I N G P R E J I P P I E : • Blog: http://bit.ly/bloomingprejippie • Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bloomingprejippie • Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bloomingprejipp • Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/bloomingprejippie • Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/bloomingprejippie • YouTube: http://bit.ly/youtubesubprejippie • SoundCloud (Gab & Jam podcast): http://bit.ly/gabandjam • SoundCloud (music): https://soundcloud.com/prejippie • Funky Happy People (Who Listen to a Variety of Genres of Music) Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/funkyhappyjoin • Be the Next D.I.Y. Rock Star Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/diyrockstarjoin Please subscribe. Thanks. http://bit.ly/youtubesubprejippie Until next Monday, here’s wishing love, peace, and chicken grease!

The conductor an orchestra chooses says a lot about how it sees its mission in the 21st century. Factors to consider include taste in repertoire, age, nationality, race, gender, fundraising skills -- and of course, musicianship. The New York Philharmonic and the National Symphony Orchestras in Washington, DC are about to grapple with all of this as they look for successors to Alan Gilbert and Christoph Eschenbach, who are both leaving their music director jobs in 2017. This week, we ask three industry watchers what are – or what should be – chief considerations for these orchestras as they begin their searches. Joining us are Zachary Woolfe, a freelance classical music critic for the New York Times; Anastasia Tsioulcas, who covers classical music for NPR Music; and Nick Matthias, a senior vice president at IMG Artists, who manages a number of top conductors. Segment Highlights Christoph Eschenbach leads the National Symphony Orchestra (Scott Suchman/NSO)  For Matthias, "chemistry must be evident right from the word go, right from the point the conductor meets the orchestra in a rehearsal. Of course, no one has any control over the chemistry aspect at all. This is something very special. Once the conductor walks out on that podium, it's out of all of our hands." Woolfe emphasizes the importance of fundraising and outreach skills. "Especially with the New York Philharmonic," he said, "you're looking at the prospect of somebody who's going to have to be a key person in the raising of a substantial nine figures for the renovation of Avery Fisher Hall." That person must excite both the musicians and the board. Some observers have suggested that New York or Washington would benefit from a woman or minority conductor in order to better reflect their diverse communities. Tsioulcas notes that while women conductors have made particular strides among regional orchestras, "I'm not sure that anyone – aside from a couple very established [women] conductors – is established enough to pivot into such a prominent role as the New York Philharmonic. We may still be a decade or more away from that, I'm sorry to say." Listen to the full segment at the top of this page, take our poll, and tell us in the comments below: What qualities do you think are most important in selecting a new music director? .chart_div { width: 600px; height: 300px; } loadSurvey( "most-needed-next-ny-philharmonic-c", "survey_most-needed-next-ny-philharmonic-c");  

The Berlin Philharmonic announced last week that it is launching an in-house record label, starting on May 23 with concert recordings of the complete Schumann symphonies conducted by Simon Rattle. Days later, Daniel Barenboim said that he's getting his own record label – a digital-only venture called Peral Music – which starts with the conductor's third Bruckner symphony set, recorded by the Staatskapelle Berlin. That same week, the Seattle Symphony released the first CDs in its new in-house label, consisting of music by Ravel, Saint-Saëns, Gershwin, Ives and Dutilleux, recorded in concert at its home, Benaroya Hall. The artist-led recording phenomenon has had mixed results since it took hold in the orchestra world more than a decade ago, and some observers have suggested that both Berlin and Barenboim aren't exactly showcasing neglected repertoire. But these and other ventures arrive in a shifting landscape. As major labels have retrenched or disappeared, orchestras seek new revenue streams and record sales have moved almost exclusively online. Anastasia Tsioulcas, who covers classical music for NPR Music, says in this podcast that in-house labels potentially lack the checks and balances of a traditional record company and "lead to a more myopic view of the universe." "One thing that's come up since the Berlin announcement," she added, "is 'do we need another Schumann set – or in the case of Daniel Barenboim, a third Bruckner cycle?' Is the market, is the audience really crying out a need for those things?" At the same time, Tsioulcas noted, the Internet has helped level the playing field and allowed budget-conscious orchestras to cut out the middle man in getting recordings of their performances to the public. Marc Geelhoed, who manages the Chicago Symphony house label CSO Resound, said that it's extremely difficult to avoid replicating repertoire. But a goal of any recording is to document how an orchestra sounds at a given point in time: "What we try to do is say, 'what do we do as an orchestra that's distinctive?'" CSO Resound has released 15 albums since its launch in 2007, among the most successful being a rendition of Verdi's Requiem conducted by Riccardo Muti. It won two Grammy Awards in 2011, for Best Classical Album and Best Choral Performance. Geelhoed declined to cite specific sales figures, but noted that "it has vastly exceeded the hopes and goals of selling maybe 10 to 15 thousand copies." Successful orchestra-led labels are designed to build an organization's brand, not make a profit, said Matt Whittier, the senior marketing manager at Naxos of America. And while digital sales grow, orchestras must also think about "merch sales" – using CDs as souvenirs for patrons to pick up as they're leaving the hall. "Those audience members would like to walk away with a tangible memento of a concert," he noted. "It's very possible that we can chart a record from the sales of one concert or one weekend of concerts for an artist." While orchestras in Chicago, San Francisco and London have maintained a steady recorded presence, other in-house labels have faltered because they lack sufficient marketing and distribution, say all three guests in this podcast. The Berlin Philharmonic should benefit from having a distribution platform already in place with its Digital Concert Hall. It just shouldn't expect to make lots of money. "An orchestra with its own record label in this day and age is about creating memories," said Geelhoed. "It's not just the here and now...but that an album's going to be around." Listen to the full segment above and tell us what you think in the comments box below. Do you buy orchestra-produced recordings? Do you care if an ensemble is recording the same repertoire over again?

It’s that time of year again, when orchestras across the land are dusting off their holiday pops programs and choruses are warming up for Messiahs and sing-a-along carol extravaganzas. But for the recording industry, Christmas music has changed. The big orchestral albums of the sort that conductors like Arthur Fiedler or Eugene Ormandy used to make have fallen by the wayside. So have the grand star vehicles, with a sequined opera diva belting out Christmas songs backed up by a choir and orchestra. But as we hear in this edition of Conducting Business, what remains are plenty of smaller-scale recordings that either attempt to make a cozier or refined spiritual statement (as with many early-music groups), or round up a bunch of stars from different genres to perform the standards. The changes are partly driven by economics, said Anastasia Tscioulcas, who covers classical music for NPR Music. “Where did the recordings go? They’re very expensive to make,” she told host Naomi Lewin. “The big star-studded album with the full symphony orchestra behind them and maybe chorus thrown in for good measure is extremely expensive to produce.” The new realities are a reflection of changes in the classical music business. “The number of stars that have that sort of appeal has descended dramatically,” noted Anne Midgette, classical music critic of the Washington Post. “Renee Fleming and Anna Netrebko are the only opera singers who have that sort of mass appeal.” Of course, Christmas is not a time for snobbery or strict adherence to high-minded artistic ideals, say the panelists. Nostalgia is a big part of what drives the business. Listeners are often attracted to a holiday album by their favorite star, which sticks with them later in life. Steven Epstein, a multi-Grammy Award-winning record producer, says a simpler aesthetic has come to dominate. “The most successful Christmas albums are those where the arrangements are not complex and that the melodies don’t get lost,” he said. Epstein’s imprint can be found on several albums that follow an increasingly popular template: gather together stars from different genres and try and capture some of their respective fan bases. The most recent recording of this sort is “Musical Gifts from Joshua Bell and Friends,” which was released last month, but Epstein cites a similar effort from back in 1989: "Crescent City Christmas," for which Wynton Marsalis was joined by singers like Jon Hendricks and Kathleen Battle. “That is what really brings in the consumer are the additional guest artists,” Epstein noted. Midgette sees no loss in the decline of the diva Christmas record. “Artistically these things are negligible – and I say that as somebody who has my favorite Christmas albums, which have been basically the same since I was about seven." Listen to the full podcast above and tell us below: What are your most and least favorite holiday albums? Sidebar: A Few of our favorite Christmas Recordings Anne Midgette:Christmas from a Golden Age (Naxos) (singers including Victoria de los Angeles, John McCormack, Rosa Ponselle and others)The Messiah Remix (Cantaloupe) (featuring remixed versions by Paul Lansky, Eve Beglarian, Phil Kline and others) Anastasia Tsioulcas:Vince Guaraldi: "A Charlie Brown Christmas"Robert Shaw Chorale: "The Many Moods of Christmas" Steven Epstein:Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Naomi Lewin:Britten's Ceremony of Carols (Philadelphia Singers, Benita Valente, Maureen Forrester, David Gordon)...And an honorable mention for worst Christmas collaboration: Michael Bolton and Placido Domingo sing "Ave Maria" from "Merry Christmas from Vienna" .chart_div { width: 600px; height: 300px; } loadSurvey( "which-piece-classical-holiday-music-most-overexpos", "survey_which-piece-classical-holiday-music-most-overexpos");

Before the Minnesota Orchestra locked out its musicians in a season-long labor dispute, the orchestra's administration had already locked down a large number of domain names – buying up at least a dozen website addresses that were variations on "Save Our Minnesota Orchestra." The bulk purchase was uncovered by Emily Hogstad, a Wisconsin-based blogger who was trying to set up a website to rally support for locked-out musicians. She quickly discovered that many of the obvious URLs had already been taken — several months before the lockout began, by the orchestra itself. (She eventually found one, which launched this week.) The incident is the latest example of political-style web advocacy that's moved into the realm of classical music and the arts. In this podcast, we get three views on the trend, including that of Hogstad, who writes the blog Song of the Lark. A Minnesota Orchestra spokesperson told NPR Music's Anastasia Tsioulcas that the organization reserved the URLs to protect the orchestra's name, knowing well that the labor talks would be contentious. Such purchases are a standard business practice, although they're usually masked by a third-party buyer so that it's not quite so obvious what's taking place. Even so, the revelation drew a wave of negative commentary and the orchestra had to acknowledge Hogstad's blog, which she said it had previously ignored. Tsioulcas believes the rise of "save our symphony" advocacy websites signifies a new level of audience empowerment, giving fans "a foot in the discussion," as she put it. "It used to be that for a ticket buyer, a fan, really the only agency they had was: would they buy tickets or not?" She further notes that the musicians themselves had bought up their own domain name two years earlier. Ryan J. Davis is a vice president of the new-media start up Vocativ, and has worked on social media at Blue State Digital and the 2004 Howard Dean campaign. He notes that arts organizations have been generally slow to understand social media. However, he said, "we're seeing this shift from the power of institutions to dictate policy and the top-down way they’ve been doing for generations for an ability for people to using social media to express their opinions and filter information up." Another recent example of fan-driven advocacy involves an online petition aimed at pressuring the Metropolitan Opera to dedicate its opening night gala to the gay community. The gala features the two stars – Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev – who are supporters of Vladimir Putin, who recently passed anti-gay legislation in Russia. Davis believes that whether or not the petition can influence Met policy, it has succeeded in stimulating a conversation about the issue of gay rights. "It's just another piece of bad P.R. for Russia," he said. Arts organizations must also learn better ways to harness social media, and not only from a defensive stance, said Tsioulcas. Two years ago, it was enough to stage a flashmob and that would spawn a viral YouTube video. "That’s not quite enough," Tsioulcas said. "They really have to spend the time and effort and learn how to spread them. "It's a multi-way conversation. It's not there as a megaphone to broadcast your next press release." Weigh in: How can the Internet give fans a greater voice in performing arts companies? Listen to the full discussion above and share your thoughts below.