Anastasia Tsioulcas
Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.
On happier days, Tsioulcas has celebrated the life of the late Aretha Franklin, traveled to Havana to profile musicians and dancers, revealed the hidden artistry of an Indian virtuoso who spent 60 years in her apartment and brought listeners into the creative process of composers Steve Reich and Terry Riley.
Tsioulcas was formerly a reporter and producer for NPR Music, where she covered breaking news in the music industry as well as a wide range of musical genres and artists. She has also produced episodes for NPR Music's much-lauded Tiny Desk concert series, and has hosted live concerts from venues like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and New York's (Le) Poisson Rouge. She also commissioned and produced several world premieres on behalf of NPR Music, including a live event that brought together 350 musicians to debut a new work together. As a video producer, she created high-profile video shorts for NPR Music, including performances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma in a Brooklyn theatrical props warehouse and pianist Yuja Wang in an icy-cold Steinway & Sons piano factory.
Tsioulcas has also reported from north and west Africa, south Asia, and across Europe for NPR and other outlets. Prior to joining NPR in 2011, she was widely published as a writer and critic on both classical and world music, and was the North America editor for Gramophone Magazine and the classical music columnist for Billboard.
Born in Boston and based in New York, Tsioulcas is a lapsed classical violinist and violist (shoutout to all the overlooked violists!). She graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University with a B.A. in comparative religion.
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Two of the U.S.' most influential and storied summer music festivals have been canceled for 2020, due to coronavirus concerns. The sibling events were scheduled to take place in July and August.
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One of New York City's biggest tourist attractions and the U.S.' largest art museum says that it has revised its budget shortfall projection — some $50 million greater than just a month ago. -
The Bureau of Prisons has announced that for the next two weeks, inmates in every institution across the country will be kept in their assigned cells or quarters. -
Confinement can create "fertile ground for domestic violence," says the country's minister for gender quality. France is also creating support sites for women at supermarkets and pharmacies. -
The town of Llandudno, Wales, has gone quiet, like so many other communities around the globe observing anti-coronavirus measures. Going into the breach: a herd of curious Kashmiri goats. -
The community of Lakewood is experiencing a very high rate of infections as well. Police have broken up numerous gatherings recently, despite a stay-at-home order from the governor.
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The East Meadow in Central Park and a training facility at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens are scheduled to become makeshift hospitals while regular facilities are strained by COVID-19. -
The painting, titled The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884, was stolen early Monday morning from the Singer Laren museum near Amsterdam. Police say the thieves smashed a glass entrance. -
Arts and cultural events and institutions across the country are announcing cancellations and closures, including SXSW in Austin, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. -
The influential annual music festival in Indio, Calif. announced Tuesday that it has to move its dates from April to October.
