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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Facing a pandemic lockdown, huge political upheavals and ongoing uncertainty about the future, musicians including Oumou Sangare and Songhoy Blues offer lessons in creativity and optimism. -
The statue was once of a smiling woman in a pastoral scene. Now, it looks more like a melted candle with some gouged holes. Professional art restorers in Spain are calling for stricter oversight. -
Viewers worldwide are responding to a moving video of Marta C. González, a former dancer afflicted with dementia. But critics are questioning whether González is who the clip makers claim she is.
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The actor said Friday that Warner Bros. asked him to resign after he lost a libel suit in the U.K. earlier this week. As a result, the studio has pushed back the third film in the series to 2022. -
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, starring Sacha Baron Cohen, has become a political football during this presidential election season. A scene involving Rudy Giuliani seized social media attention. -
This is the first time that the New York Philharmonic has been forced to cancel its entire concert season. No previously scheduled concerts will happen before June 2021. -
A runner managed to record his terrifying six-minute encounter with a protective mama mountain lion in Utah — and escape unscathed.
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Unauthorized boxes — many marked "official" — have been discovered across California, including at state Republican party offices and churches. -
Voters spent as much as five hours waiting to cast in-person ballots. The lines were particularly intense around the Atlanta metro area. -
Tory Lanez faces several felony charges related to a shooting in the Hollywood Hills on July 12. The incident's details line up with allegations made by rapper and singer Megan Thee Stallion.
