HarmonyTALK

Some of Broadway's biggest stars never step into the spotlight. They stand in the orchestra pit. In this encore episode of HarmonyTALK , host Lisa Champeau welcomes Dan Micciche, Music Director and Conductor of WICKED on Broadway, for a fascinating conversation about the artistry, discipline, and teamwork required to keep one of the most successful musicals in theater history performing at its hig...

The Harmony in the Woods summer concert opens its sixth season this weekend in Hawley, Pennsylvania, welcoming world-class musicians from around the globe to its intimate outdoor amphitheater nestled among the trees, including today’s HarmonyTALK guest Taylor Ashton. This year's 23-concert season, which opens Friday, July 3, with Toronto's acclaimed Bywater Call, runs every weekend through Septemb...

Most people spend a lifetime trying to balance their passions. Tannis Kowalchuk planted hers in the same field. In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with the artistic director of Farm Arts Collective and co-owner of Willow Wisp Organic Farm along Pennsylvania's Delaware River. A performer at heart, Tannis always knew she belonged on a stage. Then she met a farmer. What foll...

From Rural Pennsylvania to the World's Greatest Opera Houses For most kids who grow up in a small rural town, the world's great opera houses can feel unimaginably far away. For Melanie Henley Heyn, they became home. In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with the internationally acclaimed opera singer whose journey began at age ten in a production of Amahl and the Night Visit...

What Happens When a Reporter Stops Looking Away? For most people, curiosity lasts a few moments. For Matt Birkbeck, it became a life's work. Long before true crime podcasts dominated streaming platforms and documentary series filled television schedules, Birkbeck was chasing leads, knocking on doors, digging through court records, and asking questions others overlooked. His reporting led him deep...

The Harmony in the Woods summer concert opens its sixth season this weekend in Hawley, Pennsylvania, welcoming world-class musicians from around the globe to its intimate outdoor amphitheater nestled among the trees, including today’s HarmonyTALK guest Taylor Ashton. This year's 23-concert season, which opens Friday, July 3, with Toronto's acclaimed Bywater Call, runs every weekend through Septemb...

Before 911, Before Organ Donation Laws, Before Physician Assistants Imagine calling for help during a medical emergency in the 1960s and discovering there was no coordinated EMS system. Imagine lifesaving organs being lost because there was no legal framework for donation. Imagine overworked doctors without trained Physician Assistants helping bridge the gap in care. That was American healthcare b...

From 14 Straight Losses to National Coach of the Year: The Chris Ayres Story Chris Ayres knows what it feels like to struggle before things finally click. Long before becoming one of college wrestling’s most respected coaches, he lost 14 straight matches as a youth wrestler. Most athletes would have quit. Instead, Ayres stayed in the fight. In this inspiring episode of HarmonyTALK, host Greg Frigo...

When Music Becomes Common Ground: Harvey Price and the Peace Drums Project What if the path to peace started with children simply playing music together? In this moving episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens sits down with renowned percussionist, jazz vibraphonist, educator and Peace Drums Project founder Harvey Price to explore how one unlikely instrument became a bridge across cultural and r...

All’s Well That Ends Well: Michael Bradshaw Flynn On Bringing Back the Bard Fifteen years ago, staging Shakespeare in Scranton sounded improbable to plenty of people, especially to some New York theater types. The original production was intended as a one-time public performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Nay Aug Park. Organizers hoped a modest audience would turn out for the celebrated Bard....

From the Black Forest to Honesdale: A Story Grown by Hand What does it look like to build a life slowly, intentionally, and with your hands in the soil? In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with Gudrun Feigl, founder of Mount Pleasant Herbary, whose journey from Germany’s Black Forest to Northeastern Pennsylvania is rooted in memory, creativity, and quiet persistence. Gudru...

Scranton: The City Fans Thought They Knew How did an architect end up reshaping a city’s pop culture identity? In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens sits down with Michele Dempsey, architect, entrepreneur, single mom, and one of the creative forces who helped turn Scranton’s connection to ‘The Office’ into something no one expected: pride, tourism and a renewed identity. Set as the ba...

Following a Different Beat: From State Trooper to Global Travel Guide What happens when the thing you’ve always loved becomes the center of your life? In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Greg Frigoletto sits down with Matt Kizis, whose journey reflects a powerful shift toward alignment and possibility. After years of service as a dedicated Pennsylvania State Trooper, Matt traded in his badge for...

Inside George Magazine: Lisa DePaulo on JFK Jr., Journalism, and Getting the Story Right That second call brought the Dunmore, Pennsylvania, native into one of the most influential media spaces of the 1990s. DePaulo shares what it was like to work with JFK Jr. as an editor, how he shaped her approach to reporting, and what he understood about the balance between access and restraint. She reflects...

What happens when a story you love becomes the life you choose? In this powerful episode of HarmonyTALK, host Todd Stephens sits down with Scranton native Mike Kunda, founder of the Yo, Philly! Rocky Film Tour and one of the most recognized Rocky impersonators in the world. As a child, Mike faced bullying, insecurity, and a deep sense of not belonging. Then he discovered Rocky . What began as esca...

How many ceilings can one woman break? Pat Mitchell stopped counting. In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with a true original. A woman who did not just rise through the ranks of media, she reshaped them. Pat Mitchell is a serial ceiling smasher. The first female president of PBS and CNN. The first woman to own and host a nationally syndicated daily talk show. And long bef...

Chef Von on Hustle, Reinvention and Building Something Real What does it take to bet on yourself when there’s no backup plan? In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Greg Frigoletto sits down with Chef Ryan Von Smith, known as Chef Von, a self-taught chef whose journey spans Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, and Macau. After leaving Scranton, Pennsylvania, in search of something bigger, Chef Von work...

Beyond the Tank: When the Real Entrepreneurial Journey Begins Many entrepreneurs dream of appearing on Shark Tank. But what happens after the cameras turn off? In this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau sits down with Scranton native and inventor Kim Meckwood , founder of Click & Carry , the simple but ingenious device designed to make carrying grocery bags, paint cans, sports equipmen...

What happens when the people you are studying ask you to stand beside them instead? In this powerful episode of HarmonyTALK, host Lisa Champeau interviews Judy Frater, a Pennsylvania-born Fulbright Scholar, Ashoka Fellow, design educator, author and founder of India’s first design school for traditional textile artisans. After moving to Kutch, India, more than 30 years ago, Judy’s academic researc...

How do you choreograph change when life shifts beneath your feet? On this episode of HarmonyTALK, host Greg Frigoletto sits down with internationally acclaimed choreographer, creative director, educator and podcast host Cherice Barton to explore what it means to move through evolving seasons with grace, humor, and purpose. With a career spanning Broadway, Cirque, television, ballet and global imme...

Jeff Braverman joins HarmonyTALK to reflect on 30 years of leadership at Camp Nesher and the unexpected decisions that helped shape one of its most meaningful legacies. What began as a dream to create a vibrant summer camp experience centered on community and faith took an unexpected turn when he was approached by a parent who asked if their wheelchair-bound child with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy...

How do you scale a bold idea into a movement? In this HarmonyTALK podcast episode, host Lisa Champeau interviews Dakota Kate Isaacs, the first U.S. employee at DECIEM and former Director of DECIEM USA. Dakota helped grow The Ordinary into one of the most disruptive beauty brands in the world, expanding to more than 2,500 retail locations across North America. She discusses scaling disruption, work...

Valentine’s Day may be about romance, but it can also highlight just how exhausting modern dating has become. On this special HarmonyTALK episode, host Greg Frigoletto welcomes professional matchmaker Rachel Brown, founder of Jewish Matchmaking NYC, for a candid conversation about why real connection goes far beyond swiping right. Rachel shares how she discovered her gift for matchmaking at just 1...

This episode of HarmonyTALK pulls back the curtain on the music industry through the eyes of one of its most trusted and respected behind-the-scenes figures. Jim Della Croce has spent more than four decades shaping careers, protecting legacies, and advocating fiercely for artists whose music has defined generations. From the Pocono Mountains to Nashville’s Music Row and Hollywood’s platinum-record...

What happens when confidence, compassion, and coding collide? On this episode of HarmonyTALK , host Greg Frigoletto sits down with Jacqueline Means , Miss Caribbean 2025, STEM advocate, and founder of the Girls Empowerment STEM Initiative , to explore how one young woman turned purpose into power. From earning national and international pageant titles to inspiring underprivileged girls to pursue c...