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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 …

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 …

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 …

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 …

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 …

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

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

Two of the Charlotte region's choral ensembles team up for a concert of music by Black composers at First United Methodist Church of Charlotte. Caritas A Cappella Ensemble and Charlotte Contemporary Ensemble will present a program called " HEHLEHLOOYUH: A Celebration of Choral Music by Black Composers" which features a wide variety of classically b…

Uptown Charlotte hosts the multi-week festival known as Charlotte Shout! The festival is produced by Charlotte Center City Partners and includes music performances, art installations, community conversations, culinary events, and more. The idea is to showcase and celebrate Charlotte's creativity, innovation, and diversity. Robert Krumbine, Chief Cr…

Christ Episcopal Church in Charlotte welcomes the Choir of New College, Oxford for a concert that includes classic English choral works. The Choir of New College has been around since 1379 and is one of the most celebrated choral groups in the world. It is also the oldest choir of its kind in Oxford and Cambridge. Robert Quinney, Director of the Ch…

The Charlotte Symphony (CSO) has just announced its 2023-24 season, and it's filled with variety and diversity across all the series: Classics, Pops, Movie, and Family. The season features several big names (like Renee Fleming), puts some Charlotte Symphony musicians in the spotlight, blurs genre boundaries, and provides lots of opportunities for m…

The compositions and recordings of American fiddler, violinist, and composer Mark O'Connor are heard often on WDAV. His career which has seen him work across genres – country, folk, classical, and jazz – began as a child when he showed astonishing musical talent at an early age. His memoir, "Crossing Bridges," chronicles the ups and downs of life a…

Trio Gaia, winners of the 2022 WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition, return to Davidson for a concert at Tyler Tallman Hall. Learn how these young musicians, who are New England Conservatory’s piano trio in residence, formed their ensemble and why they enjoy playing chamber music together. Learn more about Trio Gaia in the Davidson College Conc…

The Charlotte Symphony welcomes guest conductor Vinay Parameswaran to the podium to lead a program of twentieth and twenty-first century music by Sibelius, Britten, Still, and up-and-coming American composer Gabriella Smith. He shares the story of how he became a conductor instead of a lawyer and gives in depth insights into all the works on the sy…

The Charlotte Symphony will perform a concert called "Together We Rise" at the Sarah Belk Gambrell Center at Queens University. It will explore themes of freedom, strength, and justice through works by a diverse range of composers. One of the works on the program is by Queens University Composer-in-Residence, Malek Jandali. He talks about his compo…

WDAV and the Fair Play Music Equity Initiative continues its NoteWorthy concert series, which teams local pop musicians of color with classically-trained musicians. Music producer and recording artist YUNG Citizen, classical musicians Casey Mink, violin and Suzanne Polak, piano, and bassist David Vergato speak about their approaches to this genre-b…

The Carolina Brass Quintet will present a fun and challenging virtuosic recital as part of Music at St. Alban's in Davidson, NC. The recital will celebrate the contributions and talents of trumpeter and quintet founder Bill Lawing who will retire from the quintet in December 2022. Besides his long service in Carolina Brass Quintet, Lawing is the Es…

Guest conductor Erina Yashima leads the Charlotte Symphony in a program that includes Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique . Yashima recently finished her tenure as Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. And she recently started in her new position as First Kapellmeister at the Komische Oper Berlin. She talks …

WDAV and the Fair Play Music Equity Initiative launch another video in the NoteWorthy concert series, which teams local pop musicians of color with classically-trained musicians. Singer/songwriter Nathan Kam talks about his approach to performing his songs, and how it felt to collaborate with classical musicians Alice Silva, violin, Mira Frisch, ce…

The Mint Museum Uptown in Charlotte is hosting an exhibition called "American Made: Paintings and Sculpture from the DeMell Jacobsen Collection." The collection features more than 100 paintings and sculptures from the Thomas H. and Diane DeMell Jacobsen PhD Foundation. And it surveys more than two centuries of American art. Listen to Dr. Diane Jaco…

Conductor Marcelo Lehninger will return to the Charlotte podium to lead the Charlotte Symphony in a program of music by Beethoven, Lili Boulanger, and Manuel da Falla. Lehninger explains how the works on the program relate to one another. Plus, he talks about finding his own interpretation of a familiar work like Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony whi…

The UNC School of the Arts Chamber Music Festival is led by artistic directors and faculty members violinist Ida Bieler and pianist Dmitri Vorobiev. The two talk about why they founded the festival which will bring students together with faculty members and special guests for several days of focused music making and learning. Learn more about UNC S…

The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) season opens with concerts featuring Elgar's Cello Concerto, Strauss's symphonic poem Aus Italien , and Anna Clyne's Pivot . Inbal Segev will be the soloist for the Cello Concerto, and the performances will be led by Andrew Grams who has been guest conductor with the CSO on a couple of occasions. Grams talks a…