It comes as no surprise that students use YouTube for fun and for research, because it's easy to use and has a lot of content. Respected music writer Norman Lebrecht writes about how he too has been pulled into YouTube.

While he's writing about music specifically, there is also a lot of dance content. Looking for a demonstration of how a dance move goes (especially popular dance)? Try searching YouTube. Theatre researchers can also use YouTube to their benefit. Of course, as with any tool, you have to evaluate what you find here critically. But, YouTube can be very useful.

How YouTube shrank the classical world
By Norman Lebrecht / June 25, 2008
the Lebrecht Weekly in LaScena Musicale

'Oldest' computer music unveiled
By Jonathan Fildes
Science and technology reporter, BBC News
Tuesday, 17 June 2008

Did you hear the one about the musician, the dancer, and the actor? No? Me neither, I was just trying to think of a catchy way to let you know that the Music Library has recently been renamed the Music and Performing Arts Library. This change reflects that our holdings now include Theatre materials as well and Music and Dance. Our new website, which will more accurately reflect our new collections will be released later this summer.

Want to hear some jazz around town this summer? Want to hear about local jazz artists? Check out the C-U Jazz Blog.

Help the Music and Performing Arts Library redesign our website. For one hour of your time (during which you'll follow some simple tasks using our website) we will give you a $10 Espresso Royale gift card. Interested music, dance, and theatre students and faculty should contact Kirstin Dougan (dougan@illinois.edu) or 244-4072.

A new scanner is up and running in the Music and Performing Arts Library. Directions are on the machine cover; if you have any questions, just ask us!

You might have noticed the new journals display area near the reading room on the first floor. We've selected several dozen of the top journal titles in music, dance, and theatre, and will display current issues face-out (recent issues are in the shelves beneath). Older issues and journal titles not in this display (we have hundreds) can be found in the journals area in the northwest corner of the first floor.

Wuorinen on his Brokeback Mountain opera
ArtsWatch from PhillyNews
Posted by Peter Dobrin on June 9, 2008
An interview with American composer Charles Wuorinen, who has been commissioned by New York City Opera to write a work based on Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain.

Press release from New York City Opera

The scanner in the Music Library is currently out of order. We'll let you know when it's working again.

From the 5/29/08 New Yorker by Alex Ross: The idea of using music in psychological warfare