Every Performance Comes Alive
30 YEARS ON, JAMES EHNES CONTINUES TO FIND MEANING IN BRAHMS' VIOLIN CONCERTO BY CHARLOTTE LILLEY Photo by Benjamin Ealovega Photography For James Ehnes, Brahms' Violin [...]
A Fresh Look at Bernstein’s Serenade with Karen Gomyo
INTERVIEW BY CHARLOTTE LILLEY Leonard Bernstein is making a comeback. Not that he ever really went away — his work as a composer and conductor especially have remained [...]
Kiesza: Back in the Saddle
ELECTRIFYING STAR OVERCOMES ADVERSITY TO LIVE THE DREAM OF PERFORMING WITH HER HOMETOWN ORCHESTRA INTERVIEW BY ELIZABETH CHORNEY-BOOTH Audience members shouldn't be surprised if Kiesza, the internationally celebrated [...]
Five Fun Facts about Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin started out singing in the gospel choir at her Baptist church in Detroit, Michigan – her father was the minister and took Aretha on the road during his "gospel caravan" tours. [...]
Villain and the Rituals of Renewal: Lunar New Year Celebration
In traditional Chinese culture, Nian is the ferocious beast that lives in the mountains or under the sea, and comes out to terrorize the village on New Year’s Day. According to legend, an [...]
How becoming a #NotInMyCity Ally changed my life
Like most people, I dread having tough conversations. I walk through them in my head, running different scenarios on how the other person will react, wondering whether I’ll sufficiently answer the hard questions [...]
Paul Brandt shares his love of holiday music with hometown audience
Country music superstar Paul Brandt loves Christmas, not least because he met the love of his life — his wife Liz — on Christmas Eve of 1995. “I picked her up at church,” [...]
Five Fun Facts about Holiday Music
The music associated with traditional winter celebrations like Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa is incredibly diverse, but the Smithsonian Folkways label says it all has one thing in common: it reflects the intimacy of [...]
Q & A with Thorgy Thor
You first mentioned your dream for Thorgy and the Thorchestra when you appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race. How did that dream become reality? I was so ecstatic when Rupaul asked me to play [...]
Jeremy Dutcher Bridges Cultures, Generations, and Genres
When Jeremy Dutcher announced he would be performing with orchestras across Canada this season, he said: “This orchestra tour means so much to me. It sews together two musical halves of myself.” For [...]