2008 NEA Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera

About the Institute

Columbia University and the National Endowment for the Arts are pleased to announce the 5th annual Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera. This 11-day intensive workshop brings writers and editors from across the country to New York City for a total immersion in the world of classical music and opera. The
twenty-three fellows will attend at least 8 performances, participate in writing
workshops, take short classes in music history, and meet with leaders in the field, from administrators of New York's primary music institutions, to critics and writers at major US publications. The institute is designed for American journalists, especially those covering the arts outside of the top media markets. No specialized musical knowledge is required. Staff writers, editors, and freelancers are welcome to apply.  The Institute will be held at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City from November 8 – 18.

2008 Fellows Selected:

The twenty-three fellows for the 2008 Institute have been selected and they come from a true cross-section of the United States…from Camarillo, California to Jackson, Mississippi with Billings, Montana and Phoenix, Arizona in between.  The towns and cities represented by this year’s fellows fit in with the NEA’S mandate that the journalists chosen include primarily those covering the arts outside of the largest cities.    Also, this year’s fellows include ten free-lance reporters, more free-lancers than ever in the history of the Institute held here at Columbia’s Journalism School.   This certainly reflects changes in the news industry when it comes to coverage of the arts. 

Here's what previous participants have said about the institute:

"I have attended quite a few professional meetings, conferences and writing workshops. The NEA Institute was the most energizing, inspiring experience of my 15-year career in journalism. I didn't want it to end! "
                                   Elaine Guregian, Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH

"We wolfed down more music and more understanding in twelve days than I thought was humanly possible."
                                   Thomas Small, Freelance, Concertonet.com, Laguna Beach, CA

"This program gave me the vocabulary I lacked, an understanding that escaped me and an exposure that instilled in me an appreciation for classical music and opera. In the few years since, I have taken baby steps that became giant leaps. My paper, which shied away from reviewing and reporting on classical music because of its perceived elitism, is once again devoted to its coverage."
                                   Cathalena Burch, Senior writer, Arizona Daily Star, AZ

Some of the performances this year's participants will be attending:

• Valery Gergiev conducts the Kirov orchestra at Lincoln Center
• New Metropolitan Opera production of Berlioz’s “The Damnation of Faust” directed by Robert Lapage (first MET staging in a century)
• Israel Philharmonic performs Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel
• MET Opera New York premiere of John Adams’ “Dr Atomic”
• Bernstein Festival performance at Carnegie Hall featuring the New York Philharmonic conducted by incoming music director Alan Gilbert
• And more...

Download the 2008 Press Release

Institute Leadership

Andras Szanto, Director
Anya Grundmann, Co-Director
Joseph Horowitz, Artistic Director
Alice Pifer, Administrator
Margaret Kelley, Program Assistant
nea_institute@earthlink.net