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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With a voice by turns soaring and haunting, Shajarian was considered one of his nation's treasures — and then ran afoul of the regime. He died Thursday in Tehran at age 80. -
In his book Disloyal: A Memoir, President Trump's former personal attorney catalogs a laundry list of accusations, ranging from racism and sexual misconduct to financial misdeeds. -
Federal prosecutors say that one of the three men offered $500,000 to keep one woman from testifying. Another allegedly burned an SUV leased by an accuser's father. -
Three of the show's executive producers have been accused of sexual misconduct among complaints made by 36 former staffers to BuzzFeed News. DeGeneres has apologized and pledged change. -
At a campaign rally in Dallas that featured Vice President Pence, a choir of about 100 people sang unmasked. Epidemiologists worry that singers are particularly likely to spread the coronavirus.
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A soul singer from Atlanta, an Iroquois bead artist, West African dancers and an Armenian vocalist are among this year's recipients of National Heritage Fellowship -
Two of New York City's biggest cultural institutions said Thursday that they will remain closed through the New Year, due to the pandemic. -
Working alongside dozens of other volunteers, middle school chorus teacher Jacob Ezzo has made and sent PPE to health care workers and first responders from New Jersey to the Navajo Nation. -
The Riverside County, Calif., health commissioner gives an order on Wednesday evening that the popular festival and its country music sibling, Stagecoach, would both be canceled this year. -
The Recording Academy has announced changes for the names and definitions of four categories traditionally associated with artists of color. What does that mean for systemic changes at the Grammys?
