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Greg Sandow began in classical music as an opera singer and composer, but is best known as a critic and blogger—one of the few with a national reputation for writing about both classical music and pop. His classical criticism—which is notably lively and accessible—currently appears in the Wall Street Journal, though he's also written for Vanity Fair, the New York Times, and a host of other publications. On the pop side, he was chief pop critic of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, and music critic and senior music editor at Entertainment Weekly. He has spoken at classical music gatherings and at a heavy metal convention. He's a contributor both to the authoritative New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and to The Spin Alternative Record Guide, for which he wrote about Lyle Lovett, and hip-hop and metal acts, including Ice-T and Slayer. As a classical music critic, he is especially interested in the future of the field. This led to an appointment to the Graduate Studies faculty of The Julliard School, where he teaches a course entitled "Classical Music in an Age of Pop." He loves introducing classical music to new audiences, and thinks it can be done in a relaxed, contemporary way, without betraying its artistic depth or its great traditions. After a long hiatus, he has resumed his career as a composer, which in the past had included successful productions of four operas. He travels widely inside the classical music field, serving as a formal and informal consultant. For several orchestras—including the Pittsburgh Symphony—he has written marketing copy that describes concert programs in a way that reaches out to both the existing audience and to new listeners, while completely respecting the music's integrity.