The Score

Happy Pride, Scorekeepers! And welcome to our Pride Extravaganza 2022! This week, we talk about some of our favorite Pride memories and play another round of Icebreakers. This time around, we get real (meet) cute as we each share the story of how we met our partners. Awwwww... <3 After that, we're honored to be joined by Jane Ramseyer Miller and Kymani Kahlil of One Voice Mixed Chorus , one the...

Well, hey there, Scorekeepers! It's time for another episode of your favorite podcast, THE SCORE ! Lee can't be with us today, so we decided to try something a little different. With all the miserable, awful things going on in the world, we decided we desperately need to take a little time to shine a spotlight on some of the good things happening around us. And there are some, we promise! And I me...

G'day, Scorekeepers! Welcome back to THE SCORE and if you like light Lin-Manuel Miranda shade, have we got an episode for you! This week, we are joined by multi-hyphenate mezzo-soprano Mia Athey , who is currently singing Mercédès in MN Opera's new production of Bizet's Carmen through May 22. She talks to us about working with the legendary Denyce Graves as well as how colorism and her biracial id...

What more is there to say, Scorekeepers? Today on THE SCORE we are joined by the incomparable Denyce Graves : world-renowned opera singer, recording artist, philanthropist and, now, stage director. Be sure to catch her directorial debut when the curtain goes up on MN Opera's new production of Bizet's Carmen from May 7-22! Hosts: Lee Bynum, Rocky Jones, Paige Reynolds Guest: Denyce Graves Music: Da...

It's another beautiful fake spring Monday here in Minneapolis, so you know what that means! It's time for another episode of your fave podcast, THE SCORE ! This week, we've learned that when it comes to equity, diversity, inclusion and access work, you've got to celebrate the victories when they come along. So up top, don't mind us as we toot our own horns and those of our colleagues at MN Opera f...

Guten morgen, dear Scorekeepers! It's another beautiful Monday in Post-Slap America! Y'all... we tried. I swear we tried. We tried so, so hard not to dip our toes into The Slap Discourse, but after a chat about the grace of soon-to-be-Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, we just couldn't resist (0:02:40) . But the good lord invented timestamps for a reason, so for those of you who just can't, we have th...

Happy Monday, Scorekeepers! And happy Women's History Month! We've got a humdinger of an episode for your listening pleasure this week. First up, one thing I bet you didn't know about Paige is that she's been training to become a doula, and recently, she experienced her first birth. She talks about this glorious, life-altering event and why doulas and midwives are so important when it comes to add...

What a glorious day, Scorekeepers! It's the first anniversary of THE SCORE and we're celebrating with two saucy, provocative and heartfelt conversations about representation with two brilliant artists! First, we're joined by MN Opera President and General Director, Ryan Taylor , who's here to talk with us about MN Opera's just-announced 2022-23 season, the new Luminary Arts Center, and why the IDE...

Greetings, dear Scorekeepers! It's time for episode 26 of THE SCORE ! This week is the first time we've all been together since the tragic death of Amir Locke, here in Minneapolis. So we invite you to process with us and invite you to join us in a conversation about what artists and arts organizations can and should do in the face of such senseless tragedy (0:04:16) . Then, it's the conclusion of...

En garde , Scorekeepers! In honor of The Anonymous Lover , the first opera by a Black composer to be performed on MN Opera's mainstage, we're back this week with the second episode of our Joseph Bologne trilogy! This week, we are joined by George N. Gianopoulos, Stephen Karr, Leila Núñez-Fredell, and Mishkar Núñez-Fredell, all members of Opera Ritrovata, an amazing company of artists dedicated to...

G'day, Scorekeepers! So... this weekend is an incredibly special and exciting one for us, because MN Opera is producing a live opera on our mainstage for the first time in almost two years! And which opera, you ask? The Anonymous Lover by Joseph Bologne (aka Chevalier de Saint-Georges), the first mainstage opera by a Black composer in MN Opera's nearly 60 years history! But who was Joseph Bologne...

Happy New Year, Scorekeepers! Our Sagittarius Season Sabbatical is officially over, so we're back, back, back again with a brand new episode for a brand new year! This week, we're honored to be joined by the incomparable, legendary Janinah Burnett! Broadway actress, Metropolitan Opera performer, teacher, advocate, what can't she do? The list of her accomplishments goes on and on, plus she's lovely...

Happy Kwanzaa, dear Scorekeepers! We hope you're all safe and healthy, having a lovely, festive time with family and friends and/or taking some time to rest and get yourself ready for the year to come. This week, we're coming at you with the second installment of our 2021 retrospective. This year we've had some provocative conversations, met some amazing people, and had a lot of fun. So come along...

Hey hey, Scorekeepers! Oh lord, it's a blizzard! It's officially snowing here in the Twin Cities, so we thought it appropriate to start the winter and end the year on a cozy and nostalgic note. It's Part 1 of our Best of 2021 series! This year we've had some provocative conversations, met some amazing people, and had a lot of fun. So come along as we take a look back at this wild and wonderful yea...

Happy Monday, dear Scorekeepers! We hope you are refreshed and rejuvenated after that hectic holiday week. As you know, Paige, Lee, and Rocky are beginning their Sagittarius Season Sabbatical, but we didn't want to leave you hanging! For your listening pleasure, we offer this dope conversation with Minnesota fashion designers and Project Runway alums, TIM+THOM! Through their incredible designs and...

Greetings, Scorekeepers! We're back back back again with episode 19 of THE SCORE and today we are honored to be joined by living legend and Twin Cities icon, T. MYCHAEL RAMBO (0:24:20) ! Star of stage and screen, singer, activist, educator, the list goes on and on. Join us for a funny, entertaining and at times poignant chat about his illustrious career, what he feels makes the arts scene here in...

Oh my goodness, we're back for episode 18 of THE SCORE ! Can you believe it? We're all grown up and after a month apart, all of three of us are reunited in the Pod Closet and it feels so good. This week, after a quick catch-up (0:00:59) , we dive into Professor George E. Lewis' essay "New Music Decolonization in Eight Difficult Steps" (0:17:43) . We chat about how some of his ideas could be used t...

Hey there, Scorekeepers! It's episode 17 of your favorite podcast, THE SCORE ! This week, Lee is away, so we invited back our dear friend, Frankie Charles, for a spirited, freewheeling convo all about artistic freedom by way of NYT 's messy "Bad Art Friend" saga, Dave Chappelle's transphobia, and, naturally, problematic operas (0:05:14) . Then Paige takes center stage with a fascinating look into...

Welcome to the 16th episode of MN Opera's New York Times -very-briefly-mentioned podcast, THE SCORE ! This week, to celebrate our Sweet Sixteen, we are joined by a dear friend, a brilliant colleague, and our favorite Cubano, Frankie Charles, the Impact Department Coordinator here at MN Opera (0:00:27) . This episode is a little different. Given Frankie's background in technical theater, things sta...

Greetings, dear Scorekeepers! It's time for episode 15 of THE SCORE!!! This week, we are thrilled to welcome our wonderful guest, composer, Juilliard professor and all-around smart and lovely person, Trevor Weston! Join us for a fun and fascinating conversation as we take a journey through Black music history from Africa to the present and discuss the state of arts education. (0:31:16) Before that...

It's episode 14 of THE SCORE and we have an absolutely jam-packed episode for you this week! First, we couldn't be more excited for this week's guest, composer and Miss America 2019, Nia Imani Franklin! Nia joins us to talk about her illustrious career, her inspiring advocacy work, and her new album, Extended , out 9/17 (0:30:57) . Also, Rocky took a little adventure to the West Coast while we wer...

It's lucky episode 13 of THE SCORE and it's August, the world is on fire both literally and figuratively, and we're hot and tired, but, hey, that doesn't mean we can't find a little joy to celebrate! First, Paige has discovered a passion for Caribbean Carnival Masquerade, so she gives us a fascinating lesson on the history of Carnival and the inspiration for The Cotton Jab, the new character and c...

Greetings, Scorekeepers! Welcome back to MN Opera's THE SCORE! As you can see we're on Mondays now, so let's get this week started off right with... some COVID chat? Like every other human on earth we are doing our best to stay upright as we ride this fourth wave, so we spend a little time trying to process our feelings and find a little oasis of sanity. Come breathe with us! Fortunately, however,...

Greetings, Scorekeepers! We're back from our vacation with a very special new episode of THE SCORE ! And why is it so special, you ask? Because for the very first time ever, Paige, Rocky and Lee are actually recording the show in person in the same room at the same time! What a treat! And on this week's episode, after a brief lamentation on the state of the world, we celebrate some of the incredib...

Episode 10! Can you believe it, Scorekeepers?! We kind of can't, so we're celebrating this momentous occasion by... going on vacation! But fear not, even though this is an abbreviated episode, we've still got that sweet, sweet content you've been craving. First up, we're joined for a chat by our first real-life full-time professional opera singer, lyric tenor Andrew Stenson. Andrew has sung in ope...