Tom Cole
Tom Cole is a senior editor on NPR's Arts Desk. He develops, edits, produces, and reports on stories about art, culture, music, film, and theater for NPR's news magazines Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, and All Things Considered. Cole has held these responsibilities since February 1990.
Prior to his work with the Arts Desk, Cole worked for three and a half years as an associate producer for NPR's daily classical music program Performance Today, and also for Morning Edition, where he coordinated, edited, and produced arts and culture stories.
From April 1979 to July 1986, Cole worked for NPR Member station WAMU-FM in Washington, DC. He was the production manager for the daily operation of studios, and also served as a reporter, writing and producing music features that were broadcast locally and nationally. In addition, from October 1985 to November 1986, Cole worked for Voice of America as a producer for VOA Europe.
Since 1977, Cole has been the host and producer of a weekly three-hour program of music and interviews broadcast on public radio station WPFW-FM in Washington.
Over the course of his career, Cole has produced or collaborated on a number of public radio projects. He co-edited the Peabody Award-winning NPR documentary, "I Must Keep Fightin': The Art of Paul Robeson." He was also an advisor, contributor, and co-editor of the Peabody Award-winning series, "The NPR 100," the top 100 songs of the 20th century.
A native of Washington, DC, Cole has studied classical guitar at The American University and privately. He also studied comparative literature at Catholic University in Washington, DC, and at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.
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NewsTony Rice first gained attention as a member of J.D. Crowe's boundary-pushing New South. Rice took it even further in the David Grisman Quintet. But the road took a toll on Rice. -
NewsGuitarist Julian Bream, who died Friday at the age of 87, was as important to the history of classical guitar as Andres Segovia. -
Want to start the new year with some new music? Weekend Edition has you covered with a new genre every week this month. -
NewsThe opera star, who has been accused by 20 women, was scheduled to perform Verdi's Macbeth starting on Wednesday night. In an email, he told Met staffers that he will never perform there again. -
NewsIn The Americans, a book of photos taken while road-tripping across the country in the 1950s, his portrait of the United States was dark, grainy and free from nostalgia. He died on Monday night. -
NewsThe city maintains that Smollett filed a false police report and is seeking repayment of the costs incurred in investigating it. -
NewsThe song was everywhere during the 1967 gatherings in San Francisco. After it was used in a public service announcement, it became an anthem for the rest of the world. -
Fans and fellow musicians are remembering Dick Dale, who died Saturday at 81. Dale's sound inspired legions of musicians back in the 1960s and into the 21st century.
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As we do every year at about this time, we look back at some of the musicians who died. The 2018 song montage honors musicians from Aretha Franklin to Dolores O'Riordan to Roy Hargrove.
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NewsChristie's and Sotheby's auction houses in New York have been holding their spring auctions and such well-known names as Monet have set records. There have also been surprises.
