Voice of the Arts

Ingomar Church is hosting it's 4th year of free summer recitals! Traditional Worship and Music Leader at the Church, Ben Bugaile, talks about the upcoming recital series. This year's series features The Arsenal Duo on July 13th, Du Pragma on July 20th, the Pittsburgh Cello Quartet on July 27th, Dr. Taras Filenko on August 3rd, and Ben's original art song project on August 17th. Ben highlights each...

The Pittsburgh Historical Music Society presents an 18th Century Salon with music, song, and dance from France and England! Soprano Sarah Richards talks about the upcoming performance in which she will sing some solos. The event aims to recreate a Baroque-era salon, complete with candles, period music, and dancing. Sarah shares the details about the Baroque French and English repertoire from compo...

Director of Public Services at the Carnegie Library, Mary Monaghan, talks with Jim Cunningham about the Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books. The Festival boasts nearly 100 authors and poets discussing their work. There will also be events for kids and families with food trucks! Each panel discussion will be introduced by librarians. One even by Music Department Head, Julie Hanify. The Festival is...

South Park Theatre's 2025 season has already started! Executive Director, Lorraine Mszanski, and Director of Children's Theatre, Emily Lorence Ragan, discuss the highlights of this year's season. Lorraine talks about the Mainstage season, which kicked off with "Caught in the Net" on May 1st. With about a week and a half between shows, Lorraine highlights the fast paced nature of South Park Theatre...

St. Paul Cathedral's next free organ recital features Adam Brakel! Adam talks with Jim Cunningham live on the WQED-FM morning show about his concert and his background. Adam is a Pittsburgh native who now lives in Palm Beach, Florida. He reminisces growing up in the South Hills, studying at Duquesne University, and working at St. Paul's for a time. His program features a diverse selection of works...

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is hosting a free concert in May! Pittsburgh Symphony Paul Ross Fellows, Carlos Clark and Joshua Carr, talk with Jim Cunningham live about their upcoming free concert on May 29th. The concert titled "Spotlight on African American Composers" features Valerie Coleman, Adolphus Hailstork, Jesse Montgomery, and many more. Carlos and Joshua talk about their experience...

The summer time is here, and it's perfect to listen to Barbershop-style music! Director of the Cranberry Men's Chorus Ron Brooks, and members Larry and Noah, talk about the Chorus's upcoming summer concerts. Ron talks about the all-male chorus based in Cranberry, PA, and what barbershop music comprises of. It features four vocal parts, the lead melody, the high tenor above the melody, and the bass...

Vocal Confluence presents their upcoming concert "Sounds of Steel: An Acapella Tribute to Pittsburgh Artists" this weekend! Artistic Director B Rauch and Assistant Director Josh Gongaware, talk about their upcoming concert that pays tribute to Pittsburgh artists through the ages. Vocal Confluence is an all-voice barbershop chorus that looks to foster a vibrant singing community that is inclusive a...

Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures just announced their new season! Executive Director of Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures, Sony Ton-Aime, gives Voice of the Arts an exclusive look at their upcoming Ten Evenings 2025-2026 Season. The season opens on September 15th with Jill Lepore and her new book "We the People". Aligning with the 250th anniversary of the United States, this non-fiction book dives into the...

It is another season of Front Porch Theatricals! Producer Nancy Zionts, and actresses Saige Smith and Becki Toth, talk about the upcoming 2025 season of Front Porch Theatricals. Nancy talks about the backstory of Front Porch, a Pittsburgh-based professional theater company founded in 2009. Their mission is to produce two meaningful musicals each year showcasing exclusively local talent, both on an...

It is the last concert of Resonance Works 2024-2025 season! Artistic Director Maria Sensi Sellner, soprano Katie Lindhart, and Stage Director Rob Frankenberry, talk about the upcoming opera, "Anna Bolena". Maria talks about the story of "Anna Bolena" and how it is an opera that features two females in major roles. Katie talks about starring in the title role as a dream come true. She finds the rol...

The music program at Third Presbyterian Church is featuring an upcoming concert as a part of their concert series! Singer Sydney Kaczorowski and pianist Fabio Gentili, talk about their upcoming recital featuring Slavic art songs. The program features work by Zoltan Kodaly, Bohuslav Martinu, and Feliks Nowowiejski. Sydney talks about her background as an Ethnomusicologist, and her Polish and Italia...

Bach, Beethoven and Brunch returns for 2025. Bryan Sejvar spoke with Melissa Culbertson of the City of Pittsburgh's Office of Special Events. She runs down this year's line up of performers - Pittsburgh Youth Concert Orchestra on June 22nd; Cello Fury on June 29th; members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on July 13th; Chamber Music Pittsburgh on July 20th; and the North Pittsburgh Flute Socie...

You can learn more about Slippery Rock University's Flute Ensemble online or on their Facebook Page .   Lastly, want to learn more about Slippery Rock University? Listen to our previous podcast with Dr. Eisenreich about SRU's Early Childhood and Elementary Music Community Initiatives here .  Thanks for tuning in to WQED's Voice of the Arts, Pittsburgh's trusted source for arts and culture in our r...

Pittsburgh violinist and composer, Devin Arrington, talks live with Anna Singer about his musical career and his new work. Devin talks about his studies at Carnegie Mellon University under Leonardo Balada. He won the First Music Prize, which eventually led to his Carnegie Hall premiere with one of his pieces. Anna plays two pieces of Devin's. the first is "Heavenward" and the second is "String Qua...

Organizer Barbra Folb and pianist Nanette Kaplan Solomon bring friends of the Tuesday Musical Club to WQED FM's studio to give a first look into the program for their upcoming recital. In this episode you'll hear Peter Schickele's "Quartet for Piano, Clarinet, Violin, and Cello" and "Selections from the Short-Tempered Clavier". Nanette and Barbara chat about the significance of Schickele's music i...

McKeesport Little Theater is heading down to Squid Row! Director Jeff Boles, and actors Johnny and Carina Terreri, talk about their upcoming production of "Little Shop of Horrors". They talk about the story of an assistant at a floral shop that cultivates a man-eating plant, named after his crush of course. Jeff highlights the wonderful music in this musical, written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashm...

Longtime supporters of WQED, Don and Anne Boyd, share their story with Jim Cunningham, and about a special upcoming event. Don and Anne first met in Boston, when Don was working at Minuteman Records. A huge record store, Don fell in love with it's classical music selection. Working as a translator for Deutche Grammophon, Anne met Don at the record store while browsing their collection. They eventu...

It is time for the 4th Benefit Concert for Ukraine! Organizers Cheryl Redmond and Marta Krechkovsky talk about the upcoming concert that have all proceeds benefiting DTCare. Marta highlights the program which features solo and chamber performances by vocalists from Ukraine, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra members, and many others. William Caballero, Cynthia Koledo DeAlmedia, Nick Myers, David McCaro...

Conductor of Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra (TRYPO), Brian Worsdale, talks live with Jim Cunningham about their upcoming spring concert. The weekend of concerts showcases talent of over 200 young musicians across multiple ensembles. The first concert features the Wind Symphony and Percussion Ensemble. The second features the Tutti Strings and Symphonette. The final concert is a performance b...

It is time to dust off those ruby red shoes and follow the yellow brick road! Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Nicholas Dragga, talks about their upcoming Pittsburgh premiere of "The Wizard of Oz". This new ballet first premiered in 2018 by the Colorado, Kansas City, and Royal Winnipeg ballet's. There will be special effects, projections, flying, and much more! Nick highlights...

The Masterworks Concert Chorale presents "The Killer B's and the Broadway Steve's"! Conductor, Erich Lascek details the program in this conversation with Jim Cunningham. The program includes Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, as well as Stephen Sondheim, Steven Flaherty and Steven Schwarz. Bob Dylan's The Times They are A'Changin' will feature WQED Education's Liz Kostandinu. Errol Garner's Take the A Train...

A native of Washington, PA, organist Paul Jacobs returns to the area for a performance with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra! Paul talks about the program, which features Alexandre Guilmant's Symphony No. 1 in D Minor. Manfred Honeck will conduct the show at the St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe. Paul talks about the musical appeal of the symphony, and the balance between organ and orchestra. He a...

The South Hills Chorale's spring concert will be celebrating Pittsburgh's musical legacy! Executive Director of the Chorale, Rick Smith, and his wife, Debbie Smith, talk about the upcoming concert in May. Rick highlights the concerts program, which honors Pittsburgh musicians across genres. Some honorees include Errol Garner, Billy Porter, Henry Mancini, Nancy Galbraith, and Fred Rogers. The group...

The Pittsburgh Youth Concert Orchestra is finishing it's 2025 season with Broadway! Artistic Director Pablo Ardiles and Assistant Conductor Sean Radermacher talk about PYCO's upcoming spring concerts. Entitled "Broadway and Beyond" the finale concerts feature a Medley of Broadway Music, Mars from The Planets by Holst, Star Wars, Uptown Funk, and some Beatles. Pablo highlights that the two concerts...