Alan Sherrod
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Drawing from a career background in music, motion pictures, and theatre, Alan Sherrod has been writing about Knoxville's diverse art and music scene since 2007 — first as the classical/new music writer for the alternative weekly Metro Pulse, then later in the same capacity for the Knoxville Mercury. After the closure of Metro Pulse in 2014 by its parent company, Sherrod created ARTS KNOXVILLE to provide a home for Knoxville arts journalism. In August, 2017, he expanded ARTS KNOXVILLE into the site it is today — a site dedicated to continuing the arts journalism legacy of those alternative weeklies. In addition to covering Knoxville's arts scene, he has also contributed music content to the Nashville Scene and other arts and entertainment publications around the U.S, including the website, Classical Journal. Mr. Sherrod was a recipient of a 2010 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts — the Arts Journalism Institute in Classical Music and Opera — under the auspices of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. In 2019, Sherrod was inducted into the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame.

Review: MCO’s ‘The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace’ Is Infinitely Charming

BY ALAN SHERROD   In its ten years of existence, Marble City Opera has filled a niche in Knoxville’s music scene,  a niche for which it seems it was destined. It has also earned a reputation for a mind-boggling variety…

Preview: Marble City Opera – “The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace”

For its mid-season production, Marble City Opera is presenting The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace—music by Kamala Sankaram and libretto by Rob Handel. The one-act chamber opera received its premiere in 2019 from Opera Ithaca. The MCO production will be…

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Announces 2023-2024 Season

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Aram Demirjian, has announced the program lineups and dates for the 2023-24 season for each of its five main series. •  The eight Masterworks concert pairs at the Tennessee Theatre feature the…

Review: KSO Finds Delightful Sunday Companions in Mozart, Rossini, and Schubert

BY ALAN SHERROD   Sunday afternoon’s Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Classics concert at the Bijou was not “Mostly Mozart,” but it was—at least—“partly Mozart” in much the same clever spirit and variety that has been showcased in the notable long-running…

Sunday Spotlight: Pianist Emi Kagawa & KSO Chamber Orchestra—Mozart, Rossini, Schubert

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra—Chamber Classics Series “Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27” Conductor: Aram Demirjian •  Gioachino Rossini: Overture To Il Signor Bruschino •  W.A. Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 In B-Flat, K. 595   (Pianist Emi Kagawa) •  Franz Schubert: Symphony No.…

Big Ears 2023: David Byrne-“Reasons To Be Cheerful”

In 2019, David Byrne—known for being the face of Talking Heads and for his diverse solo work—announced a venture called Reasons to be Cheerful, a project that calls itself “part magazine, part therapy session, part blueprint for a better world.”…

Tuesday Arts Miscellany: March Comes In Like A Lion

Dogwood Arts: “Converge: Coming Together, Embracing Balance” Dogwood Arts opens a new exhibition on FIRST FRIDAY (March 3) entitled “Converge: Coming Together, Embracing Balance.” The show is a group exhibition featuring artwork by twenty-five local immigrant and refugee artists. The…

Review: KSO and Violinist Blake Pouliot Take Mendelssohn Concerto To An Electric Finale

BY ALAN SHERROD   If art thrives on turmoil and risk-taking—which is often the case—it should come as no surprise that the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, last week faced with the turmoil of a last-minute soloist cancellation, would find an exciting…

Knoxville Jazz Orchestra Announces NXT GEN Spring ’23 Concerts

Knoxville Jazz Orchestra’s NXT GEN series, a platform for a younger generation of jazz musicians, picks up where it left off last fall and returns for a Spring ’23 set of three double-header engagements. Performances are scheduled for Sunday evenings…

Tuesday Arts Miscellany: February 21 – 26

Go! Contemporary Dance Works: Cleopatra, the Last Pharoah “Deviating from Hollywood’s traditional portrayal of Cleopatra, GO! will explore the mysteries of this young woman and her political battles for dominance over the Ptolemaic Throne… Intertwining Egyptian rituals, mysticism and traditions,…

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