HearTOGETHER Podcast

On the final episode of our series, host Khadija Mbowe is joined by the renowned trumpet player and composer Terence Blanchard. Hear the pair talk like two old friends as they get real about everything from their experiences navigating the opera world to the power that sharing an article has to convey fatherly love.  Get Tickets To See Terence Blanchard Live in Philly on April 7, 2024! https://www...

Two-time Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano, Curtis Institute of Music graduate, and former varsity basketball captain J’Nai Bridges joins host Khadija Mbowe for a free-flowing conversation about her wide-ranging musical influences, structured systems for success, and the public humiliation that (inadvertently) led to her becoming a star. In February 2024, Bridges joined The Philadelphia Orchestra to an...

A candid conversation between host Khadija Mbowe and 23-year-old Detroit Symphony Orchestra assistant conductor, Na'Zir McFadden. You'll hear about his collaborative conducting style, day-in-the-life, and deep Philly roots.    Music from this episode: STRAUSS, Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30   (Opening), Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Na’Zir McFadden, conductor. COLRIDGE-TAYLOR,  African Su...

Music historian, pianist, composer, and the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania Dr. Guthrie Ramsey joins Judith Anne Still, daughter of the late composer William Grant Still, to discuss her father’s life and music, how his experiences as a Black man informed his compositions, and how, despite his many “firsts,” his music was largely unrecognized u...

On our season finale, interdisciplinary artist respectfulchild (they/them) shares a frank discussion with host Khadija Mbowe about their creative journey of experimentation and discovery. Born in Canada to Chinese-Malaysian parents, early on, respectfulchild yearned to defy expectations as a classical music student. Today, their compositions and artwork are a vehicle to imagine, discover, and occu...

Ian Cusson celebrates deep questions and despises stereotypes. is In this episode, you'll hear the sought-after Indigenous (Georgian Bay Métis Community) and French Canadian composer share a candid conversation with host Khadija Mbowe, digging into his experiences of privilege, shame, and one anecdote of sweet, swift, cosmic justice.  Chapters: [00:00] Introduction [02:49] Métis community inf...

Mari Esabel Valverde is an award-winning composer of choral music and among the leading voices in American choral composition today.  In addition to instructing high schoolers in classical voice, she has specialized in working with transgender vocalists like herself.  In this episode, you'll hear Mari tell host Khadija Mbowe about how she learned to overcome self-doubt, why "respect&quot...

Babatunde Akinboboye, known online as @babatundehiphopera, became a viral sensation when he started blending his lifelong love of hip-hop with his budding interest in opera. Today, he's built a multi-faceted career that gives him the best of the concert hall and the digital stage.  In this candid convo with host Khadija Mbowe, Babatunde talks about overcoming preconceived notions, stepping in...

This one's for the music lovers! Tune in to hear Babatunde Akinboboye tell host Khadija Mbowe about his favorite music, stick around to hear them wax philosophical about training, technology, and the importance of feeling music viscerally.    Chapters:   [00:26] Babatunde's 5 favorite hip-hop artists [6:18] Babatunde's 5 favorite arias [08:00] How training threatened to erode Babatu...

Who makes you laugh? Cataclysm sentence? Skill you wish you had? Song you wish you'd written? Worst advice? The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

Theo Baer aka iT Boy is a Brooklyn-based composer of music that has, at various times, been described as  "experimental," "thoughtful," and " cosmic. " In this discussion with host Khadija Mbowe, Theo reflects on the influences that brought him here; starting with a childhood growing up as the adopted child of Mennonite missionaries, walking a tightrope between his pr...

Who makes you laugh? Cataclysm sentence? Skill you wish you had? Song you wish you'd written? Worst advice? The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

Tailinh Agoyo is an award-winning multi-disciplinary artist, TV and film actor, and co-founding director of We Are the Seeds, an organization that amplifies and uplifts Indigenous voices through the arts in an effort to reverse the erasure of native people in Philadelphia and the nation. In this candid conversation with host Khadija Mbowe, you'll hear about how We Are The Seeds is rooted in T...

New host Khadija Mbowe is joined by esteemed soprano Karen Slack for a no-holds-barred conversation about excellence, expectations, and self-esteem.  Chapters: [03:25] Fairytale love story [05:19] Music in the household [07:29] Veterinary dreams [8:27] Journey into classical through CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts High School) [14:11] Undiagnosed learning challenges [15:07] The double-edged swo...

Who makes you laugh? Cataclysm sentence? Skill you wish you had? Song you wish you'd written? Worst advice? The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

Season 3 of the HearTOGETHER podcast opens with a passing of the torch as Executive Producer Tori Marchiony interviews incoming host, Khadija Mbowe. Khadija is a socio-cultural content creator, classically trained soprano, and self-described loving provocateur. In this episode, you’ll hear about Khadija’s cross-continental upbringing, musical evolution, why they made a sharp turn away from the ope...

Where are all the great Black pianists? Michelle Cann is one of the best. And she's determined to help shift the musical landscape to include many more pianists of color in the coming generations.  On the season two finale of the HearTOGETHER Podcast, pianist Michelle Cann joins host Tori Marchiony for an intimate conversation about the nature of competition, expressing something transcendent...

What do you do to survive? For inti figgis-vizueta , making music inside traditional institutions felt like trying to put a square peg into a round hole– painful, and fruitless. So, she eschewed the status quo and focused on embracing the angles that made her unique.  On this episode of the HearTOGETHER podcast, NYC-based composer inti figgis-vizueta speaks with host Tori Marchiony about her early...

What role does empathy play in your life? For Lina González-Granados , it’s a core value for daily living, as well as a musical superpower that’s been instilled in her artistic practice by more than one mentor. On this episode of the HearTOGETHER Podcast, conductor Lina González-Granados joins host Tori Marchiony for a heartfelt interview about what it took to follow her dreams across the world, h...

Reflections on programming, progress, "the American dream," and more! On January 17th, 2022, as part of The Philadelphia Orchestra's annual day of free community programming in observance of Martin Luther King Jr day, an audience gathered in the Perelman Theater at The Kimmel Center for From Programming to Progress , a live panel discussion with pianist Michelle Cann , Juilliard eth...

Which stories are worth repeating? This question has driven storyteller, narrator, and longtime Philadelphia Orchestra collaborator Charlotte Blake Alston throughout her more than 30-year career.  On this episode of the HearTOGETHER Podcast, American griot Charlotte Blake Alston joins host Tori Marchiony for a candid conversation about her transition from being a teacher to a full-time creative, t...

What does “home” sound like to you? For composer Reena Esmail , this was a question of invention, not recollection. Today, she is celebrated for the seamless interplay between her Western and Hindustani influences in her music, but her journey through craft, culture, and creativity was winding and often treacherous.  In this episode of HearTOGETHER, composer Reena Esmail joins host Tori Marchiony...

How do you honor the multitudes you contain?  The Honorable Elizabeth A. Baker makes space for all that she is by eschewing conventional categorizations and creating art that follows her own curiosities, not the latest trends. In this episode of HearTOGETHER, new renaissance artist The Honorable Elizabeth A. Baker joins host Tori Marchiony for a candid conversation about self-definition, collabora...

Do you think of "doing the right thing" as fun and joyful? Lara Downes does. In this episode of HearTOGETHER, pianist and podcast host (NPR's Amplify ) Lara Downes joins host Tori Marchiony for an intimate conversation about growing up as an American abroad, exploring her identity through music, and expanding the cannon to create a more inclusive and vibrant future for concert music...

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.