Alex Ambrose

Senior Producer

Alex Ambrose is a culture editor and a music and media strategist at the intersection of art, technology, and education. He currently serves as an A&R consultant at Universal Music Group’s Decca US and a creative strategist at The Fearless Cooperative. He is also the founder of Hacking The Application and Admissions Process, an organization that seeks to democratize college counseling. 

During his time at New York Public Radio, he conceived and produced festival content with Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, BBC Proms, New York and San Francisco Philharmonics. He was the Executive Producer for the Peabody Award-winning podcast Meet the Composer with host Nadia Sirota and the trailblazing Helga podcast with host Helga Davis. He also was the founder of and lead producer for WQXR's Q2 Music, an online radio station, web magazine, live-event series, and content incubator devoted to contemporary classical music.

Alex Ambrose appears in the following:

Video artist Arthur Jafa on actualizing Black potential, part 2

Tuesday, February 07, 2023

Video artist and cinematographer Arthur Jafa discusses "Black potential" and the origins of "Love is the Message."

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Video artist Arthur Jafa on actualizing Black potential, part 1

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Arthur Jafa, decorated video artist and cinematographer, talks "Black potential" and the passing of the critic and musician Greg Tate.

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Writer Macarena Gómez-Barris on finding beauty in ambiguity

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Macarena Goméz-Barris, Chair of Modern Culture and Media at Brown University, discusses finding beauty in the most ambiguous of places.

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Silhouettist Kara Walker on early fame and symbols of Black servitude

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Kara Walker, silhouettist and former MacArthur genius, discusses navigating her own inner conflicts and achieving great acclaim through making use of symbols of Black servitude. 

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Smithsonian director Kevin Young on the power of unexpected transformations

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Kevin Young, poetry editor for The New Yorker and director of Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, talks about the power of unexpected transformations.

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Sociologist Tricia Rose on hip-hop as a global profit powerhouse

Tuesday, January 03, 2023

Tricia Rose, Chancellor's Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University, discusses the beauty of chaos, and how essential it is to build safe communities of accountability.

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Visual artist Carrie Mae Weems on grace and inclusion

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Carrie Mae Weems, one of today’s most influential contemporary artists, discusses advancing the field by including Black artists and what "grace" means to her and her mother.

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Choreographer Bill T. Jones on the violence within seduction

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Legendary dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones talks about growing up a "Black Yankee" in the 1950s through the 1960s and the adjacency of violence to the power of seduction.

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Jazz vocalist Somi on finding your voice

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Somi, GRAMMY-nominated jazz singer, discusses what happens when a teacher steals your joy, connecting to her ancestors, and how she is still finding her voice. 

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Musician Bartees Strange on indie music’s overlooked audiences

Tuesday, December 06, 2022

Producer and singer-songwriter Bartees Strange considers what it means to write music for the people who are not seen, heard, or cared about.

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Painter Glenn Ligon on the value of difference

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Contemporary American artist Glenn Ligon discusses what it means to have a parent who fiercely supports you and the essential lesson that there's value in the things you do differently. 

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Poet Claudia Rankine on power and democracy

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Claudia Rankine, one of the most celebrated writers of our time, talks about who holds the power in our democracy and what it means to earn a mother's understanding of your work.  

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Playwright Michael R. Jackson on risk and fearlessness

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Michael R. Jackson, who wrote the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical A Strange Loop, talks about artistic fearlessness and how we use identities to foster understanding.

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Helga Season 5 Trailer

Thursday, November 10, 2022

Conversations with extraordinary people.

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Leonard Bernstein’s Black America

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Leonard Bernstein marched in Selma with Harry Belafonte, and his campaign for racial justice involved empowering black conductors and soloists. Host Terrance McKnight tells this story.

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Leonard Bernstein’s Black America

Friday, August 24, 2018

Leonard Bernstein marched in Selma with Harry Belafonte, and his campaign for racial justice involved empowering black conductors and soloists. Host Terrance McKnight tells this story.
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Remixing Matt Marks

Thursday, August 16, 2018

New Sounds and Alarm Will Sound announce Remixing Matt Marks: an ongoing, crowdsourced musical tribute celebrating the irrepressible imagination of the late composer-performer.
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Author Jacqueline Woodson

Monday, May 07, 2018

National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson sits down with host Helga Davis to talk about the power of family – the so-called alternative ones she was born into and made for herself.

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Gender Is Not a Genre: Amplifying Women Who Compose

Thursday, March 08, 2018

New Sounds
Listen to 24 hours (or more) of music by composers, both emerging and established, who happen to be women. Yes, it is also International Women's Day. Listen on our stream all day.
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Watch: Luna Lab's Inaugural Year Highlights Music of Young Female Composers

Monday, September 25, 2017

Founded by composers Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid, the Kaufman Music Center's Luna Lab supports the work of young female composers. Watch performances of music from the inaugural season.

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