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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An unusual quartet of tenor saxophones delves into the connections between body, breath, sound and creation with a fierce and unyielding spirit. -
An American vocalist shades his tune about the end of a love affair with the colors and rhythms of Brazil. -
As the Summer Olympics start, celebrate the glories of Brazilian music — from bossa nova to the rollicking Northeastern forró of Luiz Gonzaga and the classical mixology of Villa-Lobos. -
An odd little tune the outgoing British prime minister sang in front of No. 10 Downing St. has inspired a bit of analysis — and a rash of arrangements and tributes. -
The cellist and founder of the Silk Road Ensemble talks about how his concept of "roots" has expanded — and how music happens between the notes on a page.
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Watch the celebrated director of 20 Feet from Stardom discuss his latest film, The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project.
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The newly announced music director of the Metropolitan Opera talks about joining one of the world's most famous opera houses — and how he might help heal its wounds. -
Like Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and others, the renowned violinist has canceled a North Carolina appearance over a law limiting civil rights protections for LGBT people. -
Russian musician Sergei Roldugin's name has emerged in the massive data leak known as the Panama Papers. He is allegedly at the center of his country's offshore banking activities. -
Forget the stereotypes of machismo and mambo. Havana's all-female string orchestra, the Camerata Romeu, offers a completely different Cuban musical experience.
