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Quincy Roberts of Roberts Trucking, which was hired to remove shingle mountain, is a trained opera singer and coordinated this impromptu concert for Marsha Jackson.

An Ode to the Death of Shingle Mountain, 'Ms. Jackson Did Not Deserve This'

By Lauren Drewes Daniels

Mar 2, 2021

It was a worthy and fitting musical ode to a woman who fought for years to get a six-story mountain of shingles removed from her backyard. The gesture was the work of a trucking company owner with a propensity for opera. Crows cackled from the trees while Marsha Jackson and...

Let the music come to you when with the Concert Truck, which will perform pop-up concerts around Dallas starting Nov. 21.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Channels Pimp My Ride With a Beethoven-Inspired Piece

By Lauren Drewes Daniels

Nov 16, 2020

Well, Pimp My Ride might be a wee bit misleading, but here we are. What actually is going down is The Concert Truck is rolling into town and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra has sort of adopted it. Concert pianists Susan Zhang and Nick Luby installed a concert piano into a...

Chamber trio HAVEN's new album was inspired by a cover story with six stories about the 2004 tsunami. Got it?

Chamber Trio HAVEN Releases a Tsunami of an Album

By Jessica Strange

Nov 12, 2020

It’s not uncommon for great pieces of journalism to be adapted into screenplays. Movies like A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Bernie and Almost Famous take stories off newsstands and put them on the big screen. But rarely has journalism crossed over into the world of music. Contemporary chamber trio HAVEN...

Composer Bruce Faulconer wants to make a new composition inspired by the series that made him a household name among anime fans.

DragonBall Z Composer Wants to Write a New Musical Composition Just for Fans

By Danny Gallagher

Aug 18, 2020

The first iterations of the classic anime series DragonBall Z came to America's screens in the late 1990s, courtesy of Cartoon Network. It took a few seasons for the fantasy adventure cartoon to find an audience, but when it did, the show dropped a spirit bomb on its competition by...

Two DSO violinists serenaded 100-year-old MaryBelle Judd in May.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Members Perform One-On-One for Hospital Patients

By Eva Raggio

Jul 24, 2020

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra may have suffered pandemic-sized losses like most local cultural institutions, but they’re not sitting around playing a sad violin — at least not for their own benefit. While the organization was forced to furlough 31 employees, the orchestra members remain on staff, says Kim Nolotemy, DSO...

The University of North Texas has a renowned jazz program, but one of its facilities is named after a child molester, students say.

Petition Seeks To Rename UNT's Stan Kenton Hall. Jazz Great's Daughter Accused him of Rape.

By Tyler Hicks

Jun 24, 2020

It’s been a bad few weeks to be a dead creep. As Black Lives Matter protests continue across the nation, many people are pointing to institutions that memorialize or legitimize racism and racists. Brands are changing their names. Confederate statues are crumbling. Sports teams are under fire. And some people...

The Dallas Jazz Piano Society is a nonprofit that offers a glimmer of positivity to North Texas jazz lovers of all ages.

The Dallas Jazz Piano Society Plays a Key Role as a Nonprofit for Youth

By Scott Tucker

Jun 12, 2020

While there's plenty of bad news plaguing the world, the Dallas Jazz Piano Society offers a glimmer of positivity to North Texas jazz lovers of all ages. What started out more than a decade ago as a jazz concert in the living room of Jim Callaway’s home turned into a...

It's never too late. At 87, Al Schahn took on a new career.

At 87 Years Old, Al Schahn Began Restoring Violins. At 88, He Became a Violin Maker.

By Karen Gavis

Jun 9, 2020

As a boy, Al Schahn knew that the handmade violins his “papa” created made a distinct sound. Now 88 years old, Schahn began patiently restoring musical instruments last year and has since refurbished more than 20 violins, he says, including 13 that his father made. The instruments arrived from places like...

Two violinists came out to serenade 100-year-old MaryBelle Judd.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Sends Violinists to Serenade a Dallas Woman on Her 100th Birthday

By Eva Raggio

May 5, 2020

This past weekend, a Dallas woman named MaryBelle Judd turned 100 years old. The act of surviving an entire century is an occasion that should earn one, at the very least, a celebratory dinner at Chili’s, but COVID-19 forced Judd's family to stay at home. A pandemic might have derailed...

The ship may be sinking, but the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is still bringing music to Dallas audiences.

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra Shows That We’ll Always Need Classical Music

By Chelsey Norris

Mar 25, 2020

The economic impact of COVID-19 is extending far and wide, and the music and arts industries have been hit particularly hard. Concerts were one of the first types of gatherings canceled in order to slow the spread of the virus, and it is likely to be months before things start returning...

Melissa Tucker is into vampires and the ballet.

Woman Crush Wednesday: Artist Melissa Tucker

By Eva Raggio

Mar 25, 2020

Melissa Tucker has conquered many mediums. As a sculptress her work is shockingly lifelike, and as a clarinetist, she's rocked audiences with former band The Orange. The swing-dancing, vintage Mustang-driving, vampy, elegantly cool, old-time-influenced artist is also one of Dallas' best-dressed personalities. Tucker opened up about up about her screen siren...

Lydia Umlauf can't even take a selfie without her violin.

Woman Crush Wednesday: Violinist Lydia Umlauf

By Eva Raggio

Mar 11, 2020

Let us belatedly celebrate International Women's Day by introducing you to a truly admirable woman. Our crush this week is Lydia Umlauf, second chair violinist at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The accomplished musician is set on making classical music cool again, and we are happy to listen. With her project...

The DSO's new music director has a Grammy and other endless accolades.

Next Year’s Dallas Symphony Season Is Full of Big, Fun Spectacles

By Brian Reinhart

Mar 9, 2020

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming season will go heavy on big spectacles, orchestral showpieces and musical thrills. Music director Fabio Luisi and an array of guest conductors have built a lineup of the kind of music that fills the heart and the eardrums. Luisi himself will conduct two monumental works...

Rapper Common paid a visit to Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas last summer to motivate students.

21 Things To Do in Dallas This Week, Feb. 10 – 16

By Dallas Observer Staff

Feb 10, 2020

Monday, February 10 Love Me or Leave MeRecently, a real conversation between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard was leaked online and our curiosity nearly made us forget about the Super Bowl. Before YouTube and TMZ, there was only old-fashioned correspondence. Love Me or Leave Me lets us pry into the...

Dallas Symphony Orchestra principal timpanist Brian Jones, doing his thing.

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s 6th Annual SOLUNA Music & Arts Festival Might Be Their Best Yet

By Chelsey Norris

Jan 29, 2020

Clear your schedule for the first three weeks of April, because the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s SOLUNA Music & Arts Festival is back again, and you’ll want to attend every single performance. Since its inception in 2015, SOLUNA has aimed to foster collaboration across multiple genres and media while also bringing...

Do you realize ... that the Flaming Lips will be playing with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

The Flaming Lips to Perform The Soft Bulletin With the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

By Garrett Gravley

Jan 28, 2020

Oklahoma psychedelic rock behemoths the Flaming Lips have aged to be the envy of almost every artist within the genre, for reasons that vary between flawless albums like Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and the fact that the band has stayed in the mainstream eye for over 25 years. Given...

Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s New Music Director Fabio Luisi Will Lead Strauss’ Salome Without Visual Distractions

By Chelsey Norris

Jan 27, 2020

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s music director designate Fabio Luisi keeps a very busy schedule when he’s not in Dallas. The Italian-born maestro also serves as principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony and general music director of the Zurich Opera, in addition to high-profile appearances as guest conductor for orchestras...

Sarah Jaffe is joining the likes of St. Vincent and Erykah Badu with an epic collaboration with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Sarah Jaffe Will ‘Put on Her Best Suit’ for Her Debut at the Meyerson Symphony Center

By Chelsey Norris

Jan 23, 2020

One would imagine that looking out into the audience from the stage inside the Meyerson Symphony Center must be daunting, even for the most self-assured performer. The concert hall seats over 2,000 people who, on a sold-out night, would be spread out across four levels, all the way up to...

Bernadette Peters pairs with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra this Friday through Sunday.

The 21 Best Things To Do in Dallas This Week, Jan. 20 – 26

By Dallas Observer Staff

Jan 20, 2020

Monday, January 20 PJ Masks Live: Save The Day TourSuperhero movies are as American as baseball, so get the kiddos started on that tradition early so that they’ll be able to fit in one day when everyone’s talking about the 35th Avengers movie. The French cartoon (and now Disney-produced series),...

The Color Purple, Alice Walker's heart-shattering, Pulitzer-winning novel, has been adapted, then revamped, as a Tony-winning Broadway musical.

The 21 Best Things To Do in Dallas This Week, Jan. 6 – 12

By Dallas Observer Staff

Jan 6, 2020

Monday, January 6 The Funky Knuckles The jazz-funk-fusion band The Funky Knuckles have been killing it in North Texas for about the last seven years. The band's 2014 album Meta-Musica reached No. 1 on iTunes' jazz charts the day it was released. Two years later, The Funky Knuckles put out...

Classical Music

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The Best Things to Do in Dallas May 26-June 1

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