Episodes
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Juneteenth marks the date on June 19, 1865, when news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached the last remaining enslaved people in Texas. We talk with Davidson College historian Hilary Green about how Texas commemorations in the 19th century led to the declaration of a national holiday in 2021. We also get an overview of the Juneteenth events happening in the Charlotte area.
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Bach Akademie Charlotte’s 2024 Bach Festival returns to various locations around Charlotte and this year’s festival is called “Bach Akademie Charlotte Goes to Italy.” While it is indeed a Bach festival, it’s bookended by opening and closing concerts that focus on music from Italy, namely Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 . We talk to Bach Akademie Charlotte leadership about those concerts as well as many of the other events, both concerts and educational sessions, that make up this year’s festival. Learn more about the Bach Festival: Bach Akademie Charlotte Goes to Italy Pictured: Aislinn Nosky by Sian Richards.
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Trumpeter Rodney Marsalis is a member of the famous New Orleans musical family and the leader of the Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass. We talk to Marsalis about his career and the group's upcoming concert at Gardner-Webb University. Learn more about the Summer in the Springs with the Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass Concert Pictured: The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass will be at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs for the Summer in the Spring concert series. Rodney Marsalis at center and Tim Hudson of Gardner-Webb second from right. (Courtesy of the The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass ).
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The Salisbury Symphony has been looking for a new music director this season, and they will audition their final candidate at their concert called "Hope and Lifting." Daniel Wiley will conduct the orchestra in music of Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and Omar Thomas. Wiley is currently assistant conductor with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Pops. He talks about his passion for providing music education in the communities he serves. Learn more about the Salisbury Symphony's Hope and Lifting Pictured: Daniel Wiley/courtesy of danielwiley.com .
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The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is producing an immersive event called "Merge" that combines modern symphonic music with electronic dance music and synchronized visual projections. Resident Conductor Christopher James Lees talks about the symphony's foray into new territory and the collaboration that brought it to life. Learn more about the MERGE: Symphonic x Electronic event Pictured: Christopher James Lees courtesy of Charlotte Symphony.
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Charlotteans Lorne Lassiter and Gary Ferraro helped found the former Mint Museum of Craft and Design in uptown. They've also donated dozens of pieces from their own collection. The exhibit "Craft Across Continents" features many of those works in glass, wood, ceramics, and textiles. On this edition of the Piedmont Arts podcast, we tour the exhibit and talk with the couple about their passion for collecting. Charlotte collectors Gary Ferraro and Lorne Lassiter (l-r) in their uptown Charlotte apartment. Work from their collection is featured in the show "Craft Across Continents" at the Mint Museum in Charlotte. Photo courtesy Mint Museum. "Smok," which means dragon in Polish, is a glass sculpture by the Polish artist Anna Skibska. Lorne Lassiter and Gary Ferraro have donated it to the Mint Museum, along with other works in the show "Craft Across Continents."
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Kalena Bovell, a candidate for Salisbury Symphony Music Director, will lead the orchestra in a program called "Musical Inspirations." Bovell made her professional debut as the Chicago Sinfonietta's Assistant Conductor in 2015 and has led performances at the BBC Proms and the Kennedy Center. She also recently had her opera debut at Volcano Theatre where she led a reimagined production of Scott Joplin's Treemonisha making her the first black woman to conduct opera in Canada. On this episode of Piedmont Arts, Bovell talks about discovering her love of conducting and about becoming a poet. Learn more about Salisbury Symphony's Musical Inspirations Pictured: Kalena Bovell by Jamie Pratt Photos.
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The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) shared news that the organization has raised more than $40 million toward a goal of $50 million for its endowment. CSO President and CEO David Fisk discusses why having a significant endowment makes the orchestra stronger, and he provides details about the vital programs the endowment campaign will enable in the future.
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Charlotte's nonprofit Blumenthal Arts hosts touring Broadway shows, symphony concerts and the ballet, among other things. But it's also branching out to other kinds of events, like the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit a couple of years ago. David Boraks talks with Blumenthal Arts CEO Tom Gabbard about another big immersive exhibit coming to Charlotte and how the organization is evolving. Pictured: Tom Gabbard photo by Chris Edwards.
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The Charlotte Shout! festival is produced by Charlotte Center City Partners and showcases Charlotte's creativity, innovation, diversity, and resilience. It includes music acts, art installations, community conversations, culinary events, and more. We talk to Rick Thurmond from Charlotte Center City Partners about the festival's importance to our cultural eco-system. He also gives tips for getting the most out of Charlotte Shout!, especially if you've never been before. Learn more about Charlotte Shout!
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Traditionally, composers have written music with a group of musicians in mind, painstakingly transcribing or notating their ideas as sheet music. But these days, many work on a computer loaded with a digital library of instruments and sounds. That’s the case for the next generation of composers in training at Davidson College. We visit with music professor Jennifer Stasack and some of her students who talk about using digital tools to bring their ideas to life. We also hear some of their compositions. Pictured: Davidson College professor and composer Jennifer Stasack teaches digital composition. She spoke at a recent New Music Davidson showcase of student work. Credit: Josh Matushak/Davidson College WDAV · Davidson’s Digital Composers Video : Watch New Music Davidson - A Student Composer Showcase
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The Marriage of Figaro considered one of the greatest operas of all time, is billed as a comic opera but addresses serious themes such as tension between the social classes. Find out more about this masterpiece, and its important place in history by listening to a conversation with Dr. Scott MacLeod, associate professor of music and director of High Point University's vocal division, who is singing the role of Bartolo. Learn more about Piedmont Opera’s performance of The Marriage of Figaro Pictured: Dr. Scott MacLeod/Facebook
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One Voice Chorus was founded in Charlotte in 1990 to bring together lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and LGBTQIA+ affirming people to celebrate their lives through song. Since that time the chorus has grown in membership from 25 to more than 90 singers. Executive Director Micah Deer fills us in on the organization's history, purpose, and program called "Mindful Music". Learn more about One Voice Chorus’ Mindful Music Pictured: Micah Deer, Executive Director/onevoicechorus.com
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Thorgy Thor, a classically trained musician who first came to national prominence on the television series RuPaul’s Drag Race , is the guest on this episode of Piedmont Arts. After a recent appearance at Davidson College, she spoke to us about how she developed the concert program Thorgy and the Thorchestra which has been performed with orchestras in Canada and the U.S. including the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra last season. She has also performed as an instrumentalist at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City.
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The Salisbury Symphony is auditioning candidates for music director. Michelle Di Russo, a candidate for the position, will conduct their "Enchanting Sounds" concert in Keppel Auditorium. She'll lead a program of music by Piazzola, Saint-Saens, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Di Russo is from Argentina, and currently the Associate Conductor in her second season with the North Carolina Symphony. She talks about the music on the program and shares her approach to working with an orchestra for the first time. Learn more about "Enchanting Sounds" with the Salisbury Symphony Pictured: Michelle Di Russo by Roy Cox
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Each year, Charlotte Master Chorale presents a "Unity Concert" with the goal of building bridges in the community through the shared experience of choral music. This year's concert is called "Unity: Earth" and is Saturday, March 9 at 4pm at First United Methodist Church in Charlotte. The ensemble will perform the North Carolina premiere of Jake Runestad's EMMY® Award winning Earth Symphony which presents a view of humanity from the point of view of Mother Earth. Jake Runestad and Charlotte Master Chorale Artistic Director Kenney Potter are guests on this episode of the Piedmont Arts podcast where they talk about the composer's work and the aspirations of the "Unity" concerts. Learn more about the Charlotte Master Chorale "Unity Concert" Pictured: Jake Runestad photo by Michael Markowski. Jake Runestad , composer Kenney Potter , Artistic Director
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One of the most extraordinary figures in American classical music is someone you may never have heard of. Mary Cardwell Dawson, born in 1894 in Madison, NC, was a musician, teacher, and founding director of the National Negro Opera Company, the longest-running, all-Black opera company which helped launch the careers of many singers. Now her story is being told in a 'play with music', The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson , which is being produced by Opera Carolina and stars internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves. In this episode, she tells us about Dawson’s determination and accomplishments. Learn more about Opera Carolina's production of The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson Pictured: Denyce Graves; by Devon Cass/IMG Artists.
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Research suggests there are significant neurological and academic benefits to children who learn to play a musical instrument. However, most school systems wait until 6th grade to offer band or orchestra programs, and many kids simply do not have access to instrumental instruction until it's offered at school. Cornelius Youth Orchestras wants to change that and has launched “Musical Pathways Initiative,” a groundbreaking program designed to provide access and opportunities for elementary aged students in the Lake Norman region to learn an instrument. Cornelius Youth Orchestras executive director Eric Boruff talks about the Initiative and how kids in the area can benefit. Learn more about the Musical Pathways Initiative
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The Charlotte Master Chorale's Chamber Singers will present concerts called "Art & Science" at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlotte and Davidson College Presbyterian Church in Davidson. The centerpiece of the concerts is a multi-media symphony, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci , by composer Jocelyn Hagen. The work uses the latest video syncing technology to bring Leonardo's words and drawings to life and provides an immersive, multi-sensory experience very different from a typical concert performance. In this episode, hear Hagen talk about her creation and its inspiration. Charlotte Master Chorale artistic director Kenney Potter joins her. Learn more about the Charlotte Master Chorale's Chamber Singers Art & Science Concerts Jocelyn Hagen , composer Kenney Potter , Artistic Director
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Burnt Reeds is a reed quintet of local professional instrumentalists. Their concert called "Homegrown Melodies" features newly commissioned works by local composers. It's a project that brings together not only composers but also music producers, local independent mixed media artists, and of course musicians -- from a variety of backgrounds. Three members of Burnt Reeds—Dr. Dylan Lloyd, Dr. Jessica Lindsey, and Teil Taliesin—talk about their interest in creating opportunities for local artists to collaborate and share their creations with the community. Learn more about the Burnt Reeds "Homegrown Melodies" Concert at Free Range Brewery Pictured: Burnt Reeds after their Providence Chamber Music Series concert./Facebook
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