Claire Caverly, the Production Manager for the Empire Film and Media Ensemble, offers up this guest blog post on what makes Holiday soundtracks so festive:

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and it seems that around every corner, we encounter the sounds of this yuletide season. Radio stations blast “All I Want for Christmas” and “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.” Advertisements bombard us with their merry jingles. It seems like Love Actually might just be on a 24/7 television loop. After a few weeks of this, all I want for Christmas is for the madness to end.

Meet your local American orchestra on Youtube, getting creative and making us laugh.  Here are a few promotional videos that caught our eye.

The San Diego Symphony promises that going the orchestra will turn you into a better you!

What’s the future of funding the arts in Rochester? Local artists, officials and event organizers gathered at the Visual Studies Workshop auditorium in the Arts and Cultural Council Center Friday evening to discuss ways to fund Rochester arts in the future. 

The meeting, organized by City Councilmember Elaine Spaull, attracted more than 80 people, including artists or staff members at local major arts organizations, including the Rochester City Ballet and Writers & Books. 

Karim Wasfi became famous around the world because of misfortune. The renowned performer and conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra played cello at the scenes of suicide attacks in Baghdad in 2015. He was the man who made beautiful music among the wreckage of a great city.

WXXI Public Broadcasting and CITY Newspaper have announced that WXXI has signed a letter of intent to acquire the weekly publication and its digital platforms.

The announcement on Wednesday comes after Mary Anna and Bill Towler, founders and co-publishers of CITY Newspaper, approached WXXI with the desire to extend service of the newspaper beyond their eventual retirement.