Sunday Baroque Conversations

The largest chamber music competition in the world is based in South Bend, Indiana and was founded by a music loving furniture salesman in 1973. The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association is a comprehensive organization that helps to launch the careers of young emerging chamber musicians, and supports grassroots musical education and outreach.  Not only is the competition live-streamed online...

Edward Klorman is a violist and Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin - Madison's Mead Witter School of Music. In 2025 he published his book, BACH: THE CELLO SUITES, exploring what makes these seemingly humble unaccompanied cello compositions so extraordinary and lasting. Over the centuries, they have become the "holy grail" for every serious cellist, and have migrated from the practic...

What would it take to present THE COMPLETE BACH? Thanks to an extraordinary 11-year project underway in Worcester, MA, you can find out! Starting in 2024 and continuing through March 21, 2035, Music Worcester is presenting a series of concerts encompassing all of Johann Sebastian Bach's massive compositional output. Chris Shepherd is Artistic Director of THE COMPLETE BACH, and he talked with Suzan...

The talented recorder player Vladimir Soares made a recording with harpsichordist Fabian Grosch of Flute Sonatas by Anna Bon di Venezia that I have admired (and played regularly on Sunday Baroque) for years. Vladimir Soares was introduced to music through the Orquestra Villa-Lobos, a social project that provides free musical education to children in the South of Brazil. Soon, he was graduating fro...

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein has many loves – her family, her hometown, her musical collaborators, and Johann Sebastian Bach's music, to name just a few. The proud Brooklyn resident founded her musical ensemble and called it BAROKLYN. They named their 2025 debut album Complicité, a term she first heard from her son, who studied the teachings of the French theatre practitioner, Jacques Lecoq. Suzanne...

New Zealand-born composer and educator Matthew Suttor's passion for music began when he was a small child. Throughout his career he has explored many facets of music making, with a particular interest in computer music and, now, the use of AI in music and as a creative catalyst. That's what led him to "collaborate" with AI to write his opera about Alan Turing, the British mathematician whose work...

New York-based musician Caroline Shaw is a singer, violinist, composer, and producer who performs in solo and collaborative projects. Growing up in Greenville, NC, her introduction to music came through her mother -- a Suzuki music teacher -- and by listening to her local public radio station! The multi-faceted musician is an innovator whose creative outlets include commissions for a variety of pe...

Eric Milnes is a professional instrumentalist and conductor who is also deeply committed to teaching and to fostering amateur talent. Along with instrumentalist Mélisande Corriveau, Milnes is co-director of Quebec's critically acclaimed period instrument orchestra and vocal ensemble, L'Harmonie des Saisons. They're the ensemble-in-residence for BURLINGTON BAROQUE, founded in 2024 to present concer...

From the time she was very young, Thorgy Thor (née Shane Thor Galligan) was an outgoing bundle of energy. Her parents signed her up for a variety of activities, including sports and music, to keep her engaged and to burn off some of that excess energy. Developing skills playing violin, viola, and cello led Thorgy Thor to major in music at The Hartt School (CT), and at SUNY Purchase (NY). After gra...

Violinist Kristin Lee was born in Seoul, Korea and came to the United States at age 7. At the time she spoke no English and the once-chatty, outgoing little girl suddenly found herself isolated, lonely, without friends. Immersing herself in music helped her bridge that gap, make friends, and find her calling. Kristen Lee spoke with Suzanne about how her experience as a foreign-born citizen of this...

Debra Nagy plays baroque oboe, and the historical performance expert is also founding director of the chamber group Les Délices. The award-winning Cleveland-based group has a reputation for performing less well-known music of the baroque era. Debra Nagy spoke with Suzanne about how she finds the music she programs for Les Délices, and the creative process that brings together research, composition...

The Grammy-nominated Neave Trio consists of violinist Anna Williams, cellist Mikhail Veselov, and pianist Eri Nakamura. They state their goal simply: To Engage. To Exchange. To Connect. Their 2024 album ROOTED features works centered around folk music by composers Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Bedrich Smetana, Joseph Suk, and Frank Martin. Neave Trio spoke with Suzanne about their collaborative process...

GRAMMY Award-winning musician Will Liverman has been praised for his versatility and skill as a singer. The American operatic baritone has performed in several roles at the Metropolitan Opera, and Lyric Opera Chicago, where he premiered an opera he co-created -- The Factotum – with his longtime friend, DJ King Rico. Will Livermanspoke with Suzanne about his life in music.

ChamberQUEER highlights LGBTQIA voices in contemporary and historical music and reimagines the classical concert experience as a radically inclusive gathering space and musical community for the 21st century. Founded in 2018 by Jules Biber (cello), Danielle Buonaiuto (soprano), Brian Mummert (baritone), and Andrew Yee (cello), ChamberQUEER operates as a collective of performers, composers, and cre...

Byron Schenkman is an American harpsichordist, pianist, and music scholar who specializes in baroque and early music. Along with violinist Ingrid Matthews, Byron Schenkman cofounded Seattle Baroque, which the two musicians directed until 2013. Suzanne spoke with Byron Schenkman -- who has performed on dozens of recordings -- about their current projects, including the online concert series Sound S...

In 1982, a group of Early Music fans founded the Connecticut Early Music Society to present an annual festival of concerts every June. They feature a repertory of European music written before about 1800 and they focus on historically-informed performance practices, including the use of period instruments. Ian Watson is Artistic Director of the CT Early Music Festival. He is also an acclaimed keyb...

Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste met as talented teenage music students in Florida, playing violin and viola respectively. They clicked as friends, and after pursuing their university training in music, the two classically trained instrumentalists formed their hip hop duo, Black Violin. Their performances are energetic, surprising, and captivating. They use the stage names Kev Marcus and Wil B,...

If you are a fan of NPR's Tiny Desk concerts, you're in luck! Tom Huizenga is a long time NPR producer, editor and reporter whose work you've probably heard. Suzanne interviewed Tom about some of his favorite Tiny Desk performances and NPR interviews, and he shared stories about what it was like to meet some of his personal musical idols.

Grammy-nominated pianist Simone Dinnerstein has a wide variety of musical passions, but music by Johann Sebastian Bach is an important part of her foundation. She believes Bach's music has it all – intelligence and heart – and her expertise inspired The New York Times to describe her as "an utterly distinctive voice in the forest of Bach interpretation." Simone Dinnerstein joined Suzanne to talk a...

Morgan Sullivan came to singing later than many other professional singers do. Nevertheless she has achieved success as a freelance musician who has performed with numerous top tier ensembles, including Bach Collegium Japan, Folger Consort, and American Baroque Orchestra among many others. She has also recorded music by Brahms and Schutz with Yale Schola Cantorum. The singer, composer, and harpsic...

Frederick Ballentine is an American tenor whose awards include a Grammy for his recording of George Gershwin's PORGY AND BESS. The opera star exudes a sense of ease, confidence, and fun when it comes to his career as an in-demand collaborator on everything from classic operas, to cutting-edge contemporary works. Frederick Ballentine spoke with Suzanne about his beloved teachers and mentors, his mu...

Award-winning musician Shawn Okpebholo earned his degrees at the prestigious University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. But he credits his start in music to The Salvation Army church, where he received free music lessons as a child, and to his mother's tenacious support. The breadth of Dr. Okpebholo's work is extraordinary: chamber works, art songs and choral music, opera, orchestral...

From the time he was just a small child, Charles Wilson III – aka BLKBOK – showed extraordinary musical talent. The budding piano virtuoso's family nurtured his interests, which blossomed to include many genres of music: classical, hip-hop, rap, and much more. BLKBOK chose his name, in part, as a way to honor his admiration for Johann Sebastian Bach. Full of energy and positivity, BLKBOK is not ju...

"Being an artist is living a life of service." The words of Jessie Montgomery, who has earned acclaim, awards, and praise for her growing body of work as a composer, violinist, teacher, and activist. The musician credits her many teachers and mentors – and her parents – for opening up worlds to her. Jessie Montgomery shared stories about her experiences – including that time she was a little girl...

Scotland-based American conductor Kellen Gray is Assistant Conductor of the English National Opera and Assistant Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He's attuned to the orchestral repertory, including Bela Bartok, Antonin Dvorak, Aaron Copland, and Ralph Vaughan Williams. He's also passionate about championing African-diasporic composers, and has two critically acclaimed albums - A...