Phillip Gainsley's Podcast

Karita Mattila continues to captivate audiences worldwide in a career spanning more than four decades. The Finnish soprano is celebrated for her compelling dramatic portrayals and acclaimed interpretations of 20th-century and contemporary repertoire. In 2026/27, Karita returns to Finland for an opening concert with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, an 80th Anniversary Gala with the Tampere Philhar...

It’s homecoming time on the main stage of Chanhassen Dinner Theaters.  Tamara Kangas Erickson returns to the theater as president and artistic director 45 years after starring as one of the von Trapp Family Singers in The Sound of Music . Tamara and the late Michael Brindisi forged a strong artistic partnership beginning in 2004, with her first serving as  resident choreographer on Michael’s artis...

Quinn Kelsey has been called “the premier Verdi baritone of his generation” His Rigoletto has become the standard. His mastery of Verdi’s baritone roles extends far beyond Rigoletto .  He has contributed his artistry to the title roles in Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra, and Falstaff, as well as Renato in Un ballo in maschera, Il Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore , Amonasro in Aida , Germont in La traviata...

Gary William Friedman is a versatile composer best known for his groundbreaking score for the TONY nominated, OBIE Award winning musical The Me Nobody Knows . In addition to the theater, his music spans the genres of jazz, film, symphonic and liturgical works. His orchestral, operatic and dance works have been commissioned and performed at venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,...

Bill McLaughlin was a classical music radio host, a music educator, a musicologist, a composer and a conductor.   He was a Peabody Award–winning classical music radio host. In 1980, he launched the popular St. Paul Sunday Morning on NPR.  Later he hosted Exploring Music, heard on the WFMT network.  He was known for his ingratiating personality.  Bill was also a professional orchestra musician, ove...

At age 16, violinist Ariana Kim made her debut with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and at age 24, she was appointed acting concertmaster of the Louisiana Philharmonic.  Ariana made her New York recital debut at Carnegie’s Weill Hall during her doctoral studies at Juilliard and she is now a tenured professor at Cornell University.  Equally devoted to contemporary and long-established literature, Ar...

Courtney Lewis is currently celebrating 11 years with the Jacksonville Symphony, having established himself as one of his generation’s most dynamic conductors. Deeply committed to new music, Courtney has worked with many of today's leading composers. In Jacksonville, recent and upcoming commissions include works by Carlos Simon, Tarik O'Regan, Lowell Liebermann, Courtney Bryan and Conrad Tao. In t...

Stephanie Childress is principal guest conductor of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and she is a rising star on both sides of the Atlantic, equally at home in opera and in concerts. Born in London to a non-musical family, as a teenager she would often skip classes and spend her afternoons watching stage and orchestra rehearsals at the English National Opera, eventually dropping out of school to...

     James Robinson is a stage director and arts administrator who has worked at opera houses throughout the world.  His double-calling is unique.     He currently is Seattle Opera’s fifth general and artistic director.  As I record this, we regret the recent passing of SpeightJenkins, a predecessor of James Robinson at Seattle Opera between 1983 and 2014.      James Robinson had been the artistic...

Daniel Okrent is the author of seven books, most recently, “Stephen Sondheim Art Isn’t Easy,” of which The Guardian said: “The entire book is sheer delight and Okrent, formerly an editor at The New York Times and a baseball fanatic who effectively invented the modern fantasy baseball league, does a terrific job of telling Sondheim’s life story alongside shrewd analysis of his body of work.” Other...

Steven C. Smith is an Emmy-nominated documentary producer, author, and speaker who specializes in Hollywood history and profiles of contemporary filmmakers. A four-time Emmy nominee and 16-time Telly Award winner, Steven has produced and written over 200 documentaries. They include The Sound of a City: Julie Andrews Returns to Salzburg; The Lure of the Desert: Martin Scorsese on Lawrence of Arabia...

     For over 45 years, Sir Donald Runnicles has built his reputation with several of the most significant opera companies and orchestras, and he is especially celebrated for his interpretations of Romantic and post-Romantic symphonic and opera repertoire which are core to his musical identity.      He has held chief artistic leadership positions at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (since 2009), Grand Tet...

Max Volbers is one of the most versatile young musicians in the field of early music.  He’s  a recorder player, a harpsichordist and now a conductor. He’s a representative of the sound worlds of the 17th and 18th centuries, when musicians mastered several instruments without question. He also devotes himself to new music and regularly works with composers on commissioned compositions. Max has perf...

American conductor James Gaffigan is recognized worldwide for his extraordinary collaborative spirit, and he has attracted international attention for his work as a conductor of symphony orchestras and opera.  James was recently named the next music director of Houston Grand Opera, and he will assume his new role in the 2027/28 season.  James is in demand at opera companies and symphony orchestras...

William Eddins is the music director emeritus of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.  He has also served as principal guest conductor of the National Symphonie of Ireland, resident conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and associate conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra. Bill is co-founder of MetroNOME Brewery LLC, a socially-missioned brewery established in the wake of the public unrest during...

Kent Nagano is one of today’s outstanding conductors for both operatic and orchestral repertoire. He will be the next chief conductor and artistic director of the Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España (OCNE) in Madrid starting in September 2026 and is the newly appointed principal artistic partner of Filarmonica Toscanini.  He has been honorary conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin...

Fabien Gabel is Music Director of the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich, leading concerts across the orchestra’s three venues in Vienna. He has established an international career with Orchestre de Paris, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, The Cleveland Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Seoul Phil...

Countertenor Randall Scotting has quickly become a sought-after artist by many of the world’s leading opera houses and concert halls. He’s recently made standout debuts at The Royal Opera House, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Staatsoper Hamburg.  He also sang  first time at La Fenice in Venice in the major role of Adonis in Sciarrino’s Venere e Adone , and he makes his Carnegie Hall debut in Handel’s...

You saw them on ABC News; now meet them on this excting episode. The Reasonable Doubts is a "garage band" of  Minnesota judges, created to provide creativity and to relieve stress through making music together. The group has nine members, who come together to enjoy music and foster camaraderie outside of their judicial roles.    The Reasonable Doubts was formed about two years ago by Minnesota Sup...

The New Yorker magazine called Joyce DiDonato “perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation.”  Joyce has towered at the top of the industry as a performer, a producer, and a fierce advocate for the arts. With a repertoire spanning over four centuries, a varied and highly acclaimed discography, and industry-leading projects, her artistry has defined what it is to be a singer in the 21st...

Born in Taiwan, raised in Austria, and educated in Europe and America, Pianist Jenny Lin has built a vibrant international career, notable for innovative collaborations with a range of artists and creators. In recent seasons, Jenny has performances – both digital, and in person – for Washington Performing Arts; at Hudson Hall performing the American premiere of William Bolcom’s Suite of Preludes;...

Hamburg’s new General Music Director, Omer Meir Wellber, recently began his five-year tenure of the 2025/26 opera and symphony seasons with the Philharmonic State Orchestra at the striking Elbphilharmonie.  The season’s unique programs focus on a very special kind of dialogue between the present and the past under the motto “no risk, no fun”. In this episode, Omer will explain that and more.  Suff...

For 65 years Young Concert Artists has stood at the forefront of discovering and launching the careers of the future leaders of classical music. Founded by Susan Wadsworth in 1961, YCA has invested in its artists by providing them with the tools, opportunities, and infrastructure to take their careers to the highest level. YCA alumni include Emanuel Ax, Julia Bullock, Anne AkikoMeyers, Jeremy Denk...

Enrique Mazzola, is music director at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, who recently announced his extension through the year 2031. In the 2025-26 season, Enrique makes debuts at Staatsoper Berlin with Verdi’s Un ballo in Maschera and at Opera de Paris with Rossini’s Cenerentola. At the Lyric Opera, he is currently leading productions of M edea, Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci and Cosi fan Tutti. Not...

Born in Texas to Chinese immigrant parents, Nancy Zhou began the violin under the guidance of her  father, who is from a family of traditional musicians. She went on to study with Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory while pursuing her interest in literature at Harvard University. Nancy has collaborated with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmoni...