Tim Page and his son John
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Tim Page, former cultural reporter and music critic for The New York Times from 1982 through 1987 and chief classical music critic for The Washington Post from 1995 through 2008, tells me his plate is as full as it has ever been since accepting a buyout.
Initially, Page was invited to help found a program in Arts Journalism at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California as a visiting professor. As it turned out, he liked this new gig so much that he decided to accept a company buyout from The Washington Post and devote his energies to teaching full-time. The Pulitzer winning music critic tells me he is fortunate enough to have been named a tenured full professor last year, and teaches in two departments -- music and journalism.
In addition to his new academic responsibilities, Page has published two books since leaving the Post, ``Parallel Play,’’ a memoir, about growing up in Storrs, Connecticut, his strained relationship with his father, his admission of suffering with panic attacks and his lifelong battle with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, that wasn’t diagnosed until he was 45 years old. The memoir is actually an extension of an article he wrote for The New Yorker in 2007 under the same title.
To mark the 120th birth of Carnegie Hall in 2011, Page also wrote (in collaboration with the staff of Carnegie Hall) ``Carnegie Hall Treasures'', a sumptuously illustrated hardback, packed with heaps of memorabilia about the historic concert venue in Midtown Manhattan.
Other books by this distinguished music critic and professor, include: "The Glenn Gould Reader" (Alfred A. Knopf, 1984), "Music From The Road: Views and Reviews 1978 - 1992," an anthology of previously published work (Oxford University Press, 1992), "The Unknown Sigrid Undset" (Steerforth, 2001), "Tim Page on Music" (Amadeus Press, 2002), and "What's God Got To Do With It?: Robert Ingersoll on Free Thought, Honest Talk and the Separation of Church and State" (Steerforth Press, 2005).
Page was awarded a Pulitzer for Distinguished Criticism in 1997 for his ``lucid and illuminating music criticism’’ as described by the Pulitzer committee. In addition to working at The New York Times and Washington Post, he was chief music critic at Newsday from 1987 through 1995.
Before his journalism career as a music critic took root, Page formed a rock band, ``Dover Beach’’ and played cocktail piano at the "Wellington Room," a restaurant in Storrs, Conn in 1973 and 1974.
Settling in nicely to his new tenured position at USC, Page now lives in South Los Angeles.
For those who might want to shoot Tim an email, his contact information can be found on his USC home page.
Bill Lucey
[email protected]
June 29, 2012
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