Best WDAV Classical Public Radio Podcasts (2024)

1
Guy Fishman on “The Cello Ascending”

13h ago

—

These days, the cello is one of the star instruments of the orchestra, but that hasn't always been the case. For the 2024 Charlotte Bach Festival, principal cello and Bach Akademie Charlotte artistic leader Guy Fishman has put together a program called "The Cello Ascending." He discusses how the program explores how the cello's role has evolved fro…

1
Dr. Hilary Green on Juneteenth

4d ago

—

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 ev…

1
Aisslinn Nosky on the Charlotte Bach Festival

3h ago

—

Bach Akademie Charlotte's concertmaster Aisslinn Nosky explains why Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" is the featured work in the opening concert of the 2024 Charlotte Bach Festival . She also talks about why she loves the work and looks forward to playing with with her Bach Akademie colleagues. Aisslinn will be both soloist and conductor for the perfor…

1
Focus on Charlotte Bach Festival 2024

5d ago

—

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 …

1
Rodney Marsalis on Summer in the Springs

12d ago

—

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: Th…

1
Daniel Wiley on the Salisbury Symphony

26d ago

—

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. …

1
Christopher James Lees on MERGE

1M ago

—

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:…

1
Mark and Maggie O’Connor on Life after Life

1M ago

—

Mark and Maggie O’Connor kick off a national tour in support of their new album, Life after Life, at The Cain Center for the Arts in Cornelius, NC. Before that, they perform a few tracks for us and speak to Frank Dominguez about how the pandemic isolation allowed them to focus on songwriting, much of which forms the basis of the new release. Learn …

1
Lorne Lassiter & Gary Ferraro on Craft Across Continents

1M ago

—

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 …

1
Kalena Bovell on the Salisbury Symphony

2M ago

—

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 w…

1
David Fisk on Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Endowment

2M ago

—

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 t…

1
Tom Gabbard on Blumenthal Arts

2M ago

—

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…

1
Kristen Wile on Charlotte StrEATs

2M ago

—

Each Spring the Charlotte Shout! Festival takes place in uptown Charlotte, and one important component of the festival is Charlotte StrEATs, which focuses on food. This week we talk to one of the producers of Charlotte StrEATs, Kristen Wile from Unpretentious Palate, a digital publication covering food and drink in our region. She gives us an overv…

1
Rick Thurmond on Charlotte Shout!

2M ago

—

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 cu…

1
Professor Jennifer Stasack on Davidson’s Digital Composers

2M ago

—

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 p…

1
Dr. Scott MacLeod on Piedmont Opera

3M ago

—

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 Hig…

1
Micah Deer on One Voice Chorus

3M ago

—

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 progra…

1
Thorgy Thor on the Thorchestra

3M ago

—

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 …

1
Bechtler String Quartet on Komitas

3M ago

—

Members of the Bechtler Ensemble perform a program of music by the Armenian curate Komitas, a pioneer in the field of ethnomusicology. Ensemble director Tanja Bechtler also speaks about Komitas’ efforts to preserve Armenian culture in the face of genocide. Heard on the Episode: Joe Meyer, violin 1 Tatiana Karpova, violin 2 Vasily Gorkovoy, viola Ta…

1
Michelle Di Russo on the Salisbury Symphony

4M ago

—

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 seaso…

1
Jake Runestad and Kenney Potter on Charlotte Master Chorale Unity Concert

4M ago

—

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 Run…

1
Denyce Graves on Opera Carolina

4M ago

—

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 i…

1
Alan Black on Cellomania

4M ago

—

Alan Black, Principal Cello Emeritus of the Charlotte Symphony, joins Rachel to talk about Bach's Cello Suites and why he loves playing them. Alan and fellow cellist Grace Anderson will perform all six suites on WDAV's upcoming "Cellomania" Tour to Bach's region of Germany. Learn more about the Bach Cellomania Tour…

1
Eric Boruff on Cornelius Youth Orchestras

4M ago

—

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 ch…

1
Jocelyn Hagen & Kenney Potter on the Charlotte Master Chorale

4M ago

—

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 te…

1
Burnt Reeds on Homegrown Melodies

4M ago

—

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 …

1
Michael L. Kitchen and Dr. Amy Carleton on the Black Notes Project Music Festival

5M ago

—

The inaugural Black Notes Project Music Festival makes it debut at Charlotte's Knight Theater. The two-day festival celebrates and amplifies Black music and artistry and will honor the classical orchestral tradition while situating it alongside contemporary musical innovation. Nationally known artists such as harpist Brandee Younger and opera singe…

1
Frances Blaker on Splendid Music from the Time of Queen Charlotte

5M ago

—

North Carolina Baroque Orchestra will perform concerts called "Splendid Music from the Time of King George III and Queen Charlotte" in locations across the Charlotte region. The program includes works by Chevalier de Saint Georges, Handel, Mozart, Avison, and others. Frances Blaker, the ensemble's artistic director and conductor, explains how the c…

1
Steven LaCosse on The Metropolitan Opera’s Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition

5M ago

—

The Metropolitan Opera's Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition has auditions across the country. The competition is designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist the development of their careers. The North Carolina District holds auditions and approximately 25 singers will compete to move on to Regionals in Atlanta. The event is op…

1
Laura Atkinson on Bach Christmas Oratorio

6M ago

—

Bach wrote his Christmas Oratorio for the Christmas season of 1734. It consists of six cantatas, each intended for performance on a feast day during the Christmas season. In June 2023, Bach Akademie Charlotte's Bach festival centered around the Christmas Oratorio. Laura Atkinson, a singer and the Education Director of Bach Akademie Charlotte, talks…

1
Charlotte Symphony Orchestra Announces Kwamé Ryan as Next Music Director

6M ago

—

After a search that has lasted more than two years, the Charlotte Symphony has announced their next Music Director: Kwamé Ryan. Originally from Trinidad, Ryan has an impressive resume and has worked around the globe. He was General Music Director of the Freiburg Opera from 1999 to 2003 and Musical and Artistic Director of the National Orchestra of …

1
Jeremy Mims on Christmas with Caritas

6M ago

—

Caritas a Cappella ensemble presents a concert of Christmas and holiday music in Charlotte. The set will include settings of familiar carols as well as beautiful motets written by modern and Renaissance composers. And this time, the ensemble will be led by their new artistic director, Dr. Jeremy Mims. By day, Jeremy is Associate Professor and Direc…

1
Dr. Geoffrey Whitehead and Jeff Andler on the Charlotte Civic Orchestra

7M ago

—

The Charlotte Civic Orchestra presents its annual Christmas Extravaganza at the Halton Theater at CPCC’s Uptown Campus. The program features a sixty-piece orchestra, performances by the Charlotte Youth Ballet and Diamond Elite Dancers, the Holiday Singers, and soloists, plus the combined choirs of the Marvin Ridge and Porter Ridge High Schools. Dr.…

1
Dr. John Michael Cooper, Dr. Sequina Dubose, & Dr. Justin Smith on the Margaret Bonds Symposium at Queens University

7M ago

—

Composer, pianist, and social justice activist Margaret Bonds is one of the twentieth century's more remarkable American artists, and her reputation is growing in stature among twenty-first century music lovers. There's a terrific opportunity to learn more about this remarkable woman and her music when Queens University hosts the Margaret Bonds Sym…

1
Tichina Vaughn on Piedmont Opera

8M ago

—

Piedmont Opera in Winston-Salem is opening their new season with Verdi's Il Trovatore and they're welcoming home Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Tichina Vaughn. Vaughn was raised in Winston-Salem, and she is a graduate of UNC School of the Arts. After getting her start with the Metropolitan Opera, she went on to international acclaim performing many y…

1
A Conversation with Amerigo Trio and A Tribute to Bacharach

8M ago

—

In the month of October, Davidson College will present several great concerts. Renowned vocal group Stile Antico performs a program celebrating William Byrd. And the Amerigo Trio, whose members are all internationally acclaimed musicians, is in concert. And later in the month, Davidson faculty members will present a benefit tribute to Burt Bacharac…

1
Dr. Marques Garrett on the Charlotte Master Chorale

9M ago

—

The Charlotte Master Chorale comes to the Cain Center in Cornelius and Queens University in Charlotte respectively this fall. The theme of the concerts is freedom and oppression across communities and features the North Carolina premiere of R. Nathaniel Dett's The Ordering of Mose s as well as Bernstein's Chichester Psalms. Dr. Marques L.A. Garrett…

1
Martie Perry on Heartland Baroque

9M ago

—

Heartland Baroque is an ensemble specializing in music of the 17th and 18th centuries. They perform regularly in our region and will give a concert at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Davidson. Violinist Martie Perry is founder and artistic director of Heartland Baroque. She explains how Heartland Baroque's historically informed performances provide…

1
Alejandro Cerrudo on the Charlotte Ballet

9M ago

—

Charlotte Ballet is gearing up for the 2023-2024 season which will be the first one fully curated by artistic director Alejandro Cerrudo. Several world premieres by notable choreographers are highlights, and the season kicks off with a performance in Toronto, the first time since 1981 Charlotte Ballet is traveling abroad. Cerrudo describes some of …

1
Christopher James Lees on the Rock Hill Symphony Orchestra

9M ago

—

The Rock Hill Symphony welcomes a new music director this season -- Christopher James Lees. Lees is already known to the area's classical audiences through his work as the Charlotte Symphony's Resident Conductor. Now he's poised to lead the region's newest orchestra in its next chapter. Lees talks about the symphony's future aspirations and their f…

1
Peter Askim on the Salisbury Symphony

10M ago

—

In the coming year, the Salisbury Symphony will be looking for a new music director. One of their candidates, Peter Askim, will lead the first concert of the season at Catawba College. Askim is on the faculty at N.C. State University, leads the Raleigh Civic Symphony and Chamber Orchestra, and is a composer and bassist as well as a conductor. He ta…

1
Michelle Merrill on the Winston-Salem Symphony

11M ago

—

The Winston-Salem Symphony recently announced their new music director -- Michelle Merrill. Merrill served four years with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as assistant then associate conductor under Leonard Slatkin. She will be the Winston-Salem Symphony's first female music director and the only woman to lead a professional orchestra in the Carolin…

1
Ashley Lam and Luvo on Opera Carolina & International Lyric Academy

12M ago

—

Opera Carolina is going international this summer through a new partnership with International Lyric Academy. More than 100 opera singers and musicians from across the globe have arrived in the Queen City for three weeks of immersive mentorship, followed by two weeks in Vicenza, Italy. Part of the experience is a summer festival of free and tickete…

1
Clive Driskill-Smith on Bach

1y ago

—

Internationally acclaimed organist Clive Driskill-Smith chats about the importance of Bach to organists.By WDAV Classical Public Radio

1
Musicians on the Charlotte Bach Festival

1y ago

—

The Charlotte Bach Festival returns to the Queen City with a full schedule of recitals, concerts, and educational opportunities, drawing talented musicians from across the country to celebrate the artistic legacy of J. S. Bach. On this episode, Aisslinn Nosky, Laura C. Atkinson, Margaret Carpenter Haigh and Derrick Miller provide insights into what…

1
Guy Fishman on Local Classical Music Organizations (and Breakfast)

1y ago

—

Guy Fishman, principal cellist of both the Handel & Haydn Society and the Bach Akademie Charlotte Orchestra, talks about the excitement of helping build one of the Charlotte region's newest classical music organizations. He also describes his most enjoyable breakfast scenario.By WDAV Classical Public Radio

1
Calin Lupanu and Monica Boboc on Chamber Music 4All

1y ago

—

We welcome a string quartet of Charlotte Symphony musicians who perform concerts as part of the Chamber Music 4All series. Hear excerpts of works by Janacek and Mendelssohn, and series founders Calin Lupanu and Monica Boboc speak about the series’ objectives. Learn more about Chamber Music 4 All events…

1
Kazem Abdullah on the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra

1y ago

—

Kazem Abdullah leads the Charlotte Symphony in their final classics concerts of the season. Abdullah was General Music Director of the City of Aachen in Germany from 2012 to 2017. He has also served as an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, and has guest conducted around the country for both opera productions and orchestral concerts. He …

1
Lan Shui on the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra

1y ago

—

Conductor Lan Shui joins the Charlotte Symphony (CSO) for concerts at Belk Theatre in Charlotte. He gives us a rundown of the works on the CSO program, and he explains why he loves being a guest conductor. Pictured: Lan Shui by Singapore Symphony OrchestraBy WDAV Classical Public Radio

1
Kory Caudill on ”The Concert for the Human Family”

1y ago

—

Pianist/composer Kory Caudill is music director of “ The Concert for the Human Family,” performances which highlight themes of community and racial reconciliation. Caudill talks about the concert coming to Charlotte’s Holy Comforter Episcopal Church.By WDAV Classical Public Radio

Podcasts Worth a Listen

WDAV Classical Public Radio Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide