Phillip Gainsley's Podcast

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...

 Alex Bonoff is studying to become a cantor, and is currently a cantorial soloist at Temple Israel of Minneapolis, a congregation that has had only two cantors in its 147 year history.    We’ll to talk to Alex about that, but I also want to discuss his history as a composer, orchestrator, producer, audio engineer, copyist, music director and supervisor, working on projects in film, television and...

Robert Marx is president of The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, one of New York City’s leading arts philanthropies.  Since 1995, Rob has appeared on the Metropolitan Opera’s live Saturday afternoon radio broadcasts as an intermission host, commentator and Opera Quiz panelist.  His many broadcast interview subjects have included the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, stage...

David Feheley is a technical director, with 20 years of experience, specializing in producing opera and productions in repertory. He is currently the technical director for the Metropolitan Opera. David studied theatrical production at York University in his native Toronto before joining the newly opened York University Student Centre as its production manager.  He managed all aspects of the Centr...

Steven Blier is the co-founder and artistic director of the New York Festival of Song, and has served as programmer/translator/pianist/arranger of more than 150 of its programs. He has been a recital collaborator with some of the great singers of our time, including Renée Fleming and Cecilia Bartoli. He has recorded on the Koch, New World, Nonesuch, Albany, and RCA labels, and he won a Grammy Awar...

After graduation from Macalester College in St. Paul, Lawrence Perelman imagined a performing arts cable channel. So he earned an MBA at Columbia Business School and later founded Semantix Creative Group, a strategic advisory firm for performing artists and global performing arts institutions. As Semantix’s CEO, Lawrence kept pitching his idea, and even discussed it with Carnegie Hall’s Clive Gill...

Earl J. Schub has had a distinguished career as an educator and arts administrator. For 12 years he was the dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University.   He had served as Lyric Opera of Chicago’s director of public relations and marketing, and executive producer for television, and director of education.  He served as manager of the company’s Opera Center for American A...

Richard Schoch is an historian whose research encompasses theater historiography, Shakespeare in performance, musical theater, and cultural history. Richard is the author of eight books, including the recently published S hakespeare's House: A Window onto his Life and Legacy. His latest book is How Sondheim Can Change Your Life , published last November. In 2021 he was elected to the Royal Irish A...