Paul Pelkonen

570 44th St. Apt. 4 Brooklyn, NY 11220 USA
http://super-conductor.blogspot.com/
14 Years Experience

Professional Experience

I am a freelance writer based in New York City with 16 years experience writing for newspapers, magazines, and the Web. I specialize in feature and profile writing with my primary beat being classical music and opera. For the last seven years, my classical music blog, Superconductor, has offered the best in music coverage, with an almost-daily mix of concert reviews, CD reviews, and general previews of upcoming operas staged in New York and on the East Coast. The blog, hosted on Google's Blogger platform, has seen fast-rising numbers with current pageviews numbering above 40,000/month. I am a skilled, experienced interviewer, a good writer and a terrier after a story lead. I am accredited at most classical music and opera performances spaces in North America and have built a strong network of contacts in the arts industry.

Expertise

Copywriter 9 YearsWriter 17 YearsSocial Media 8 Years

Specialty

Arts & Humanities 17 YearsBooks & Literature 5 YearsMusic 17 Years

Industries

Magazine - Trade magazines/publications (B2B) 9 YearsOnline/new media 15 YearsNewspaper - National 9 Years

Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

  • International Herald Tribune (10+)
  • Washington National Opera (6-10)
  • Wizard Entertainment (6-10)
  • Opera News (Metropolitan Opera Guild) (6-10)
  • Time Out New York (6-10)
  • New York Daily News (6-10)
  • Time Life Books (3-5)
  • Georgia Music Magazine (6-10)
  • BBC World (with IHT) (1-2)
  • Chamber Music Magazine (1-2)

Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

  • Rolex (through IHT) (10+)
  • Credit Suisse (through IHT and BBC) (1-2)
  • ViaMei Magazine (1-2)
  • Ziva Continuum (1-2)

Awards

1997 Webby Award for Best City Guide, 1998 PC Magazine Award for Best Sports Coverage.

Associations

Society of Professional Journalists, AvantGuild.

Other Work History

Writer/Publisher: Superconductor. Writer, Publisher, Hair Whip. Freelance Contributer, Ear For Opera, International Herald Tribune, March 2005-Present Freelance Contributor, BBC World Visionaries, Aug. 2008-present. Associate Editor, Citysearch.com Nov. 1996-March 2001.

Technical Skills

Mac OSX, Blogger Editor, Basic HTML,

Foreign Language Skills

Spanish

Unions

Freelancers Union

Computer Skills

Word, Excel, OS 10, Windows XP, Basic HTML, Dreamweaver, PhotoShop, OSX Preview,

Equipment

MacBookPro, IPad, IPHoneMac Mini, Audio Recorder (IPod), Audio Recorder (phone line) Audio recorder (cassette), Personal music library--audio and books.

Work Permits & Visas

U.S. Passport.

References

Linda Healey International Herald Tribune lhealey@iht.com Paris, France Melissa A.E. Sanders Atlanta Symphony Orchestra 404 733-4846, melissa.sanders@woodruffcenter.org Personal: Alfred Hubay 35 Park Avenue Apt. 16C New York NY 10016 (212) 685-9332 Ethan Sacks Web Editor The New York Daily News (212) 210-2074 esacks@rcn.com

Most Recent Work

Top Ten Obscure Composers
(Superconductor 1/23/2011)
An overview of ten lesser-known composers in the classical music field.
Knowing the Score: Donald Runnicles Conducts <i>Tannhauser</i>
(International Herald Tribune 9/19/2007)
Interview with conductor Donald Runnicles on the ins and outs of the company's new production of Wagner's <i>Tannhauser</i>.
Back To the Future
(International Herald Tribune 5/4/2005)
Interviews with Lorin Maazel and Robert Lepage in conjunction with Covent Garden's production of Maazel's new opera, '1984'
Mahler Interrupted
(Superconductor 1/11/2012)
"Tuesday night's New York Philharmonic performance of the Mahler Ninth was stopped dead by an unusual instrument--the iPhone. An iPhone (using the marimba ring-tone) went off repeatedly in the fourth movement of Mahler's final completed symphony."
Sticks and Stones
(ViaMei Magazine 3/1/2007)
Article on Tan Dun's "The First Emperor"
Web of Confusion
(Wizard Entertainment/PieMonkey.com 1/11/2011)
The most expensive musical in Broadway history reconstructs the Peter Parker story as a modern Greek myth set in New York City. But at this stage, it is a deeply flawed theatrical product where spectacular visuals struggle through a web of mediocre rock-opera balladry.
Eyeball to Eyeball With the Artists
(International Herald Tribune 10/19/2005)
An article for "Ear for Opera" detailing the world of Opera Prompters.
2010: The Year In Reviews
(Superconductor 1/3/2010)
A look back at the year in music and some of the best articles from Superconductor in 2010.
Bad John Claggart
(Washington Opera 9/2/2004)
General interest article on Benjamin Britten's opera "Billy Budd."

Writing Samples

Sticks and Stones
(ViaMei Magazine 1/30/2007)
Profile on composer Tan Dun.
Fidelio
(TimeLife Books 10/1/2006)
Article written for book on "Basic Classics" for TimeLife Books.
No More Mr. Nice Guy: Alfonso Antoniozzi Discusses Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola
(Washington Opera 2/1/2004)
Interview with Alfonso Antoniozzi
The Revolution By Night
(Washington Opera 9/2/2003)
General interest article on Wagner and the Ring
Rhapsody in Blue
(Stagebill Magazine 7/2/2002)
Interview with Daniel C. Rodriguez, opera-singing officer in the NYPD.

General

(6/9/2026)
Guilt Without Gilt
(Superconductor 1/5/2011)
Review of the Metropolitan Opera's minimalist Willy Decker staging of Verdi's "La Traviata."
Current Resume
(Paul J. Pelkonen 5/5/2014)
The Roots of Romantic Comedy: <i>Arabella</i> and <i>Der Rosenkavalier</i>
(Superconductor 1/11/2010)
Article about the influence of Richard Strauss on modern romantic comedy.
Opera Review: <i>Anna Bolena</i> at the Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble
(Superconductor 2/2/2010)
Review of Anna Bolena at a small East Village opera company.
Night on Bald Mountain
(TimeLife Books 11/1/2006)
Article written for book on "Basic Classics" for TimeLife Books.
Rienzi and the Fascist Beast
(Superconductor 1/4/2011)
Review of a DVD of the Berlin State Opera production of Wagner's opera Rienzi.
Help! Help! The Bobbleheads!
(Superconductor 1/2/2011)
Review of a DVD of the Munich production of Hans Pfitzner's little-heard opera "Palestrina."
Nuns, Drugs and Guns
(International Herald Tribune 11/8/2006)
Interview with Geoff Tate of Queensryche and article about the rock opera "operation: mindcrime".