Attending the admitted PhD open house at USC Marshall’s DSO department was an invaluable experience. It was a rare opportunity to engage with multiple faculty members. USC has a beautiful campus located in a delightful and convenient neighborhood. One of the most interesting thing was when I tried to crowdsource representative attributes for a good PhD student by asking everyone the question: What makes a popular job market candidate? Their responses provided a well-rounded view of what it takes to stand out. Below are the key takeaways: ...

I was at the opening night of Cosi Fan Tutte by the LA Opera, March 07 2025 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion theater: The pre-show lecture given by conductor James Conlon, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, featuring the amazing Chandelier. Pro Tips for classical performances, especially grand productions like Ballet and Opera: Arrive early (1 hour+) to attend pre-show lectures, explore the venue, take a glass of wine, or just chill in the bathroom. Read the synopsis on the handouts. It’s generally a good idea to read the plot before attending an opera or ballet. Operas are often performed in languages other than English, while ballets don’t even have language. It can be challenging to follow every detail of the story while also appreciating the music and staging. The title “Così fan tutte” is Italian for “Thus do all women”, often interpreted as “All women are like that.” The opera, composed by Mozart with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, is a comedic yet thought-provoking exploration of love, fidelity, and human nature. It tells the story of two young soldiers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, who make a bet with the cynical philosopher Don Alfonso that their fiancées, Dorabella and Fiordiligi, will remain faithful to them. To test their lovers, the men pretend to go off to war, only to return in disguise and attempt to seduce each other’s fiancée. ...

Dianping, an affiliate of Meituan, is essentially the monopoly version of China’s Yelp. It primarily serves as a restaurant rating platform where users review their experiences on a five-star scale with optional pictures and videos. From a business perspective, it allows sellers to register their establishments while buyers provide feedback. At its core, a rating platform is a dynamic ecosystem where sellers, buyers, and the platform’s algorithms all interact—a playground that any mechanism designer would love to experiment with. ...

This is from Classical FM: We break down Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s Oscars duet from a classical music perspective https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/music-theory/ariana-grande-cynthia-erivo-oscars-duet-analysis/ > From a classical perspective, taking a breath in the middle of the word ‘over’ in her first line seems like an unusual technical choice. But, after accepting that this is a pop-R&B take on Arlen’s classic song of hope, filled with Grande’s personal stylings, it makes more musical sense. > > As typifies many of her performances, Grande might not have the same breath control of a classical soprano, but she never throws a breath away – instead, using it as a technique to communicate emotion and add texture to her sound. > > — Classical FM Ariana Grande’s vocal position switch—that she shifts between using head voice and mix and full belt registers—there are always skilfully and smoothly delivered. She’s an awesome vocalist. But alright—here’s the real talk version: ...

By selling Ice Lemonade priced less than $1… See the previous post: A Sweet Lemon Tale — How MiXue Dominates China’s Lemonade Scene via Supply Chain Mixue - known for its cheap drinks and red-cloaked Snow King mascot - raised 444 million USD in an initial public offering by selling 17 million shares in the deal at a fixed price of HKD 202.5 each. Reuters. ...

Bach’s Badinerie is a lively, charming flute piece that has become a favorite for virtuoso (or fancy) adaptations. Badinerie is a music term frequently used in the Baroque era used to describe light, lively, and playful pieces. It’s basically a French word meaning “playfulness” or “jesting.” Bach used the title Badinerie for only one piece—the last movement of his Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor, BWV 1067. It’s a short, bouncy small piece full of joyful rapid notes, originally meant for flute solo, with strings and continuo (harpsichord + bass line). ...

2025’s Oscar opening is amazing. Ariana Grande sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”: The performance is classy. A lot of information is hidden in the references. Particularly, at the very beginning before everything starts, the Orchestra tuned (on the key A). I think this is a remarkable and important signal that showcase realness and nostalgia. And of course, flashing cash like “yeahhh we oscar hires a live orchestra”…

Chopin was born March 1st, 1810. Happy 215th birthday to this brilliant composer-slash-pianist! Chopin was an exclusively piano composer (almost all of his works involve the piano, either solo or with accompaniment). He composed around 230 pieces, and his music is mostly categorized into 9 main genres: Études (27 pieces) – These are technical studies that go beyond mere exercises and are full of musicality (e.g., Revolutionary Etude, Black Key Etude, Winter Wind). ...

I have Tchaikovsky’s Polonaise from Eugene Onegin (Op. 24) on repeat in my playlist. Since it’s such a grand waltz, I decided to look up its corresponding ballet choreography—only to end up watching the entire Eugene Onegin ballet without ever hearing the piece. Here’s why the Polonaise isn’t featured in the Onegin ballet. A Breakdown of Onegin’s Different Versions Novel and Opera Eugene Onegin’s portrait by Pushkin, Wikipedia. ...

Why Ballet? Maybe it comes down to personal taste—I’d say most girls and women, at some point in their lives, fall in love with ballet for its captivating femininity and artistry. But beyond that, ballet is a great way to invest your time—whether through practice, watching live performances in a theater, or even just playing YouTube videos in the background while doing laundry. Because ballet is both art and fun. It originated in Italian Renaissance in the 15th century, and developed into structured art by the passionate dancer King Louis XIV of France through establishing the Académie Royale de Danse in 1661. This marked the beginning of ballet as a formalized discipline with codified techniques and positions. ...