Welcome to Culture Spot LA!

Ted blends musical and psychological analyses in his musings as a freelance critic of the local sonic arts scene. He is a graduate of the University of Louisville School of Music and the UCLA Doctoral Program in Psychology. An Angeleno for the past 30 years, Ted is an avid musician and supporter of the arts.

David is a former senior editor for Classic Home magazine and writes about the arts and architecture for a variety of print and online outlets.

Samuel has worked in finance and the non-profit arts world. He worked on IT projects as a business systems analyst at Capital Group while volunteering as a board member and treasurer of a Pasadena-based chamber ensemble, and later joined the ensemble as its production manager to work on cultural exchange projects in Vietnam and Mexico. He started playing violin at the age of 10 and the piano at 12, and continues to enjoy playing as an amateur. He is currently working toward his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Henry is a connoisseur of classical music, a guitarist and songwriter of classic rock (www.hankschlinger.com),  and a behavioral scientist. He previously published classical music reviews in a weekly newspaper.

Benn has been writing since he was a little boy and dancing with all the kids on his block since then too. His writing has been published on blogs and in journals and magazines. He writes grants, fundraising letters, press releases and arts marketing copy as well.

Natalie was raised in Texas as a tennis prodigy and eventually traded her racquet for a video camera after discovering Spike Jonze’s music videos. Attending art school in San Francisco, she lived between coasts until deciding to settle in LA for the platform-friendly weather. Her LinkedIn title labels her as a writer and filmmaker, but she is also a dancer, tarot card reader and karaoke queen.

Ekphrasis Rex is the nom de plume of an art aficionado who heads an engineering group specializing in green technology.

Kueh is a music lover and pianist who plays mainly classical, but also likes to dabble in jazz.  He is also a cell biologist.  He enjoys attending concerts at Disney Hall, and likes to unwind in front of the piano after a long day at work.

Penny is an actor, musician, and playwright, and the author of the comic novel, “Jewish Thighs on Broadway,” available on Amazon.com. She writes articles on music, theater, opera and dance for various print and web publications.

Wendy is founding president of The Intimate Opera Company. Her roles include Cherubino in “The Marriage of Figaro,” Orlofsky in “Die Fledermaus,” and Suzuki in “Madama Butterfly.” She has earned degrees in piano performance from Wellesley College and a master’s degree in vocal performance from CSU Long Beach. She teaches music, piano, and voice at a private school in Fullerton.

David is an actor and writer who came to Los Angeles from the internationally unrecognized Bachelor of Fine Arts Acting program at the University of Colorado. He splits his time between reviewing LA theater for Culture Spot and analyzing college football for The Ralphie Report.

Most recently, Jessica Koslow was the editor of Campus Circle, an LA-based weekly newspaper, for four years. Before returning to her hometown, she lived in New York City, working as an editor while also freelancing for various newspapers, magazines and online publications. She received her B.A. from Brown University and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Specialized Journalism (The Arts) at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

Colleen is a writer of varying persuasion, whose interest (and BA) in dance and literature led her to music, book design, and lecture as other art forms deeming analysis worthwhile.  She holds dear her bicycle, her continuing education, and her neighborhood in Downtown LA.

Anna is a dance artist, teacher and writer, and a recent transplant to the Los Angeles area. She holds a BA in English from Dartmouth College and an MFA in dance performance from Ohio State University. Her writings about the local dance scene can also be found at danceinla.blogspot.com.

Gil, a former managing editor of the now-defunct Genre magazine, has had the privilege of photographing and interviewing some major divas in his career, including Ann-Margret, Diana Ross, Faye Dunaway, Carol Channing, Shirley MacLaine, Catherine Deneuve, Liza Minnelli, Sandra Bernhard, Anna Nicole Smith, Margaret Cho, and three Catwomen — Eartha Kitt, Lee Meriwether and Julie Newmar. He had the fortuitous opportunity to conduct Lily Tomlin’s coming out interview. Gil has since reviewed movies and theater for a number of local and national outlets. A photo montage of Gil’s Halloween Carnavale photos through the last decade was recently included in the WeHo@ 25 juried exhibition.

Néstor is a writer, translator and lecturer born and raised in Los Angeles. Aside from classical music, he writes about local news, literature, film and the pre-war popular culture of Japan. His Instagram account is @echorrhea.