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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The beloved vocal quartet says goodbye with an all-American album that suits our troubled times. These Civil War and Reconstruction songs help us reflect on what divides us and binds us together. -
Our happy duty: finding 10 releases from 2014 that we can't wait to share.
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Watch performances of vocal, instrumental and electronic chamber music, as well as interviews with rising young composers.
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Watch a great little TED-Ed video that lays out the scientific evidence.
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It sounds like something out of a Dan Brown novel. But a secret group of 13 gathered earlier this year to exhume the preserved heart of one of the world's most beloved composers, Frederic Chopin.
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Joyce DiDonato — a Kansas native and lifelong Royals fan — happens to be one of the world's greatest opera singers. Here's what makes her so extraordinary.
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The English conductor, keyboard player and musicologist died Wednesday at age 73. He used modern scholarship and keen musicianship to bring new life to works by Handel and Bach, Mozart and Haydn.
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The adventuresome string quartet asked a huge range of musicians to create new pieces modeled on artistic idols. Hear pieces inspired by figures ranging from John Steinbeck to James Brown.
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The winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for music is both an unforgettable seascape and an urgent call to action. Hear the Alaskan composer and environmentalist's sweeping symphonic work.
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But flutist Yukie Ota didn't let a little insect throw her off her game at the Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition.
