Author: Y Kendall

The MCR Interview

Shamel Pitts, Founder and Artistic Director of TRIBE

The MCR Interview: Journalist Y. Kendell interviews Shamel Pitts, the founder and artistic director of TRIBE, about performance art, afrofuturism, the complexities of race and identity. TRIBE will be performingRead More

From the Nashville Ballet

A Tale of Two Nutcrackers

The Nutcracker has been in the news lately. That’s unusual because this 19th-century masterpiece has been a staple of American holiday seasons for generations, remaining as part of the festiveRead More

From Nashville Ballet

The MCR Interview: Mollie Sansone, resident choreographer for Nashville Ballet, discusses her work

A star on Nashville’s skyline since 2004, when she began her career with the Nashville Ballet, Mollie Sansone has had a remarkable career as a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. HerRead More

In Correspondence from San Francisco

Les Illuminations by Benjamin Britten and The Planets by Gustav Holst

(performed in Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, California, October 27, 2023. San Francisco Symphony, Elim Chan, conductor; Andrew Staples, tenor.) Greatness makes itself known, even to the least experienced musicRead More

From Clarksville

Stanley Yates, The Farewell Concert?

Years ago I was sitting in the flute section of a regional orchestra in California. The inventive Board had hired an up-and-coming acolyte of the Boston Symphony’s famed Seiji OzawaRead More

MCR Profiles:

Stanley Yates, Guitar

How did a working-class boy from a twelfth-century town, who survived an early life of personal and parental illness and foster homes, end up with stunning accolades for international performances,Read More

From Nashville Ballet

Ups and Downs: The Nashville Ballet Tackles Mourning, Rabbits, and Stravinsky

The filmed introductions provided an attractive opening to the Nashville Ballet program this past weekend (Sept 22–25). Each intro featured someone deeply engaged in each of the three works. InRead More

From the Nashville Ballet

Taking the First Leap Into the Future: Nashville’s Inaugural Dance Festival

On Friday, July 21, 2023, Nashville inaugurated its first annual Dance Festival. Sponsored by the Nashville Ballet (NB) under newly promoted artistic director Nick Mullikin, the performance was a boldRead More

The Nashville Symphony plays Copland, Slatkin, Elgar

A Celebration, An Elegy, A Majestic Ending

Fresh from their triumph in the world premiere of The Jonah People, an opera the symphony commissioned from composer Hannibal Lokumbé, the Nashville Symphony presented a solid program of moreRead More

From the Nashville Symphony

Reflections on The Jonah People: A Legacy of Struggle and Triumph

It was a madhouse. Half the crowd was shouting in delight; half the crowd was shouting in shock. The roar from these competing forces was so loud that the dancersRead More