Around 1998 when I was pulling together artists for the disc “Lesbian American Composers,” Laura Kaminsky wrote me a rather curt letter about the whole project. A simple “No, thanks” would have sufficed. I’d actually forgotten about that, having put out of my mind some of the stormier aspects of bringing to market that title and the two volumes of “Gay American Composers” discs at...

The 2009 OUT Music Awards (the first since 2006) were announced at a ceremony in New York on Tuesday, December 8: OUTSTANDING ROCK SONG: Stewed Tomatoes “Leather Daddy” OUTSTANDING POP SONG: Athena Reich “Love is Love” OUTSTANDING HIP HOP/RAP SONG: Jasper James “ROCKET” OUTSTANDING R & B/SOUL SONG: Nhojj “Love” OUTSTANDING ELECTRO/DANCE SONG: Brian Kent “Breathe Life” OUTSTANDING...

With five entries in each of more than 100 categories, the nominations for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards (announced on December 2) surely include plenty of gays and lesbians. But scanning the classical nominations, we’ve got: Conductor Marin Alsop’s recording of Bernstein’s Mass nominated for Best Classical Album Guitarist Sharon Isbin’s “Journey to the New World” nominated for Best Instrumental...

Pianist Theresa L. Bogard has been a specialist in women composers, performing works of Louis Talma, Margaret Bonds, Ruth Crawford Seeger, and Mrs. H. H. A. Beach among many others. Her 1998 disc of music by Talma received the Gay & Lesbian American Music Award for Best Classical Performance.  A faculty member at the University of Wyoming, Bogard earned her D.M.A. at the University of Colorado and also studied at the...

Does anybody remember Day Without Art? December 1st is still World AIDS Day but in the arts today AIDS ain’t hot any more. That’s both good and bad, I suppose.  Our artists aren’t dropping like flies, as they did in the late 80s and early 90s. But HIV still takes a heavy toil on gay men, just more subtly and more slowly. (For evidence, see “Another Kind of AIDS Crisis” from the November 9, 2009 edition of New York...

Chris DeBlasio (1959-1993) Twenty years ago in New York Mimi Stern-Wolfe, a pianist/conductor/impressario, started producing concerts of music by composers with AIDS, roughly timed to coincide with World AIDS Day.  Among those who attended performances of their music were Chris DeBlasio, Kevin Oldham and Lee Gannon (all now deceased), as well as the still very vital Fred Hersch.  A CD of highlights was released a few years...

Despite its name, “Lipsynch” is not a drag show.   It’s the latest large scale theater piece from the inventive Canadian writer and director Robert Lepage.  Best characterized as a play, the piece begins and ends with one character singing lengthy excerpts from Gorecki’s Symphony No. 3, “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.” As much as I’ve loved that slow and lush music and its popular 1992 recording by Dawn Upshaw,...

Two upcoming events from gay composer extraordinaire David Del Tredici. His “Magyar Madness” – a klezmer inspired romp for clarinet and string quartet – will have its New York City debut with David Krakauer and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at 5 p.m. on Sunday 10/18 in the shining new Alice Tully Hall. Go to: http://www.chambermusicsociety.org for tickets and more information. Pianist Marc Peloquin...

Margaret Cho made her reputation with her mouth, which is as funny as it is foul.  The stand up comic, who appears Saturday night at The Egg in Albany, has developed a cult following through live performance, various television appearances and several concert films.  Through it all, she’s found humor in cringe inducing topics like exploring her bisexual side, the embarrassment of returning rented porn videos late, and...

The estate of the late composer/pianist Yvar Mikhashoff has announced its third year of an innovative funding opportunity to encourage collaborations between young composers and pianists. Guidelines available here. Deadline November 16, 2009.