Voice of the Arts

It's that time of year again for Be My Neighbor Day! This free event celebrates a community in Pittsburgh and the kindness we all share. This year, it is in McKees Rocks, where the organization Focus on Renewal is a big part of connecting everyone in the community. Arts Coordinator at Focus on Renewal and author Tamika Huffman, and WQED Learning Neighborhood Manager, Abha Vaishampayan, talk about...

Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is coming to Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh Public Theater! Director of the show and regular director with PPT Pamela Berlin talks about the show. Older couple, Martha and George, invite a younger couple Nick and Honey, to their house for after party drinks. What follows is a night of drunken truths, bitterness, and shocking reveals. It is the first t...

The Andy Warhol Museum and The Carnegie Mellon University School of Art MFA program are collaborating in a new exhibition. Associate Registrar of Exhibitions and Loans at The Andy Warhol Museum, Katie Briski, and Director of the ICA Pittsburgh, Elizabeth Chodos, talk about the exhibition "Holding Still, Holding On". Elizabeth describes the exhibition, which features the CMU School of Art MFA Class...

Beth Corning is back in studio to talk about Corningworks upcoming 15th season of Glue Factory Projects! Beth describes what the Glue Factory Projects are, and why she started them after moving to Pittsburgh. Her upcoming show is entitled "Stand By - an allegory" and will run March 28th to April 6th. Beth talks about the idea behind the project, how we as humans deal with mortality, and working wi...

Belle Voci is celebrating Women's History Month with music by African American women! Artistic Director of Belle Voci, Lorraine Milovac, talks about their upcoming concert "United in Purpose" on Saturday, March 15th. She talks about the program, which features words by poet Maya Angelou. She also talks about the other choral groups in this concert, including the Heritage Gospel Chorale and the Uni...

The Edgewood Symphony Orchestra is celebrating local composers with their upcoming concert! The Symphony's Music Director Walter Morales, principal flutist Peggy Greb, and local composers Robert Schultz and Andrew Kohn, discuss the upcoming concert on March 15th. Walter talks about the entire program, which starts off with Bach's "Air on the G String". The other two pieces paired with Robert and A...

It is time to sing with a special event by the Mendelssohn Choir! Music Director, Daniel Singer, spoke with Jim Cunningham live on the WQED-FM morning show about their upcoming concert on March 30th. Daniel talks about how the event is the first self-produced concert of the choir this year. Most choirs associated with Symphonies across the US do not program their own concerts. Mendelssohn is break...

It's already halfway through Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures season, but there still is plenty more events coming up! Executive Director of Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures, Sony Ton-Aime, talks about the rest of the 2024-2025 season, and what authors are coming to Pittsburgh. He first recaps the immense success of the first Western Pennsylvania Book Read with Antonia Hylton and her book "Madness: Race a...

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Harpist, Gretchen Van Hoesen, talks about her upcoming performance for the Tiffany Concert Series at Calvary United Methodist Church. She talks about the program for the concert, which includes two U.S. premieres! She and Yevgeny Faniuk (flutist), George Sakakeeny (bassoonist), and colleague at the PSO Jeremy Branson (percussionist), will perform the U.S. premiere of...

At the intersection of music and technology, there is Ego. Director and composer, Ramin Akhavijou, actress Hazel Leroy, and lighting designer Rianne Lindsey, talks about their work together for New Hazlett Theater's next Community Supported Artist Series work, Ego. Ramin discusses the main theme of a journey through the intersection of identity, music, and technology. He talks about his inspiratio...

The sounds of South Africa's indigenous peoples are coming to Pittsburgh! Executive Artistic Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus, Lee Saville-Iksic, talks about the group hosting Thula Sizwe. A Zulu group from South Africa, Thula Sizwe will be performing on March 15th as a part of PYC's BIPOC Artist in Residence program for 2025. Lee highlights PYC's mission, and why they decided to start the...

The Chautauqua Institution is celebrating over 150 years with a lot of great programming for 2025! Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer at Chautauqua Institution, Deborah Sunya Moore, spoke with Jim Cunningham about the recent screening of "Chautauqua at 150: Wynton Marsalis' All Rise", and upcoming events happening this summer. There were various screenings across the area, culminating...

Board the HMS Pinafore and see if love wins in this wildly popular and comedic Gilbert and Sullivan show! Stage Director Melissa Grande, and cast member and coordinator extraordinaire Lynette Garlan, talk about the Pittsburgh Savoyards upcoming production of HMS Pinafore. Melissa talks about the story that revolves around a captain's daughter who is in love with a lowly sailor, despite being promi...

Tuesday Musical Club is back at it again, with a concert to celebrate the 150th birthday of Maurice Ravel! Organizer Nanette Kaplan Solomon, and soprano Colleen Gray, talk about the concert's program and the legendary composer behind it all. Nanette gives a history lesson about Maruice Ravel, and why he disliked the label of "Impressionist", which many associated with his music. Colleen talks her...

What would it mean for us to “dwell together in unity”? Artistic Director of Resonance Works, Maria Sensi Sellner, spoke live with Anna Singer about their upcoming choral piece, Dwell Together. This work is in collaboration with Dr. Herbert Jones, and centers around three main choral orchestral pieces. Some of the pieces include Joel Thompson's "Seven Last Words of the Unarmed", which ties into th...

Chatham Baroque is returning to its musical roots! Co-Artistic Director and theorbo player, Scott Pauley, talks about their upcoming concert, "Quintessential Chatham Baroque" with returning member, Julie Andrijeski. Julie left the group in 2008 to teach at Case Western University, but is returning for this series of concerts. Scott reminisces about the beginning of the group, which included Julie...

It is time to go dancing and get some steps in with North Pittsburgh Symphonic Band! Musical Director and Conductor of the band, Dr. Tad Greig, talks about their upcoming concert on Sunday, March 9th. The concert's program, entitled "Dancing in Air" features a diverse mixture of dance songs. Tad highlights each piece in the program, and why he picked the piece. The North Pittsburgh Symphonic Band...

Chamber Music Pittsburgh is hosting another concert! It brings together music from composers like Julia Perry, Duke Ellington, Vijay Iyer, Henry Threadgill, Sun Ra, Tina Turner, Alice Coltrane, and asks the question: What is American? Quartet members and violinists Curtis Stewart and Jannina Norpoth talk about the program. They talk about the special focus of the group which has taken them to the...

City Theatre is celebrating 50 years, and their next production appropriately is all about celebrating birthdays. Director and previous Co-Artistic Director at City Theatre, Marc Masterson, spoke about the production of Birthday Candles at City Theatre. This play written by Noah Haidle, explores one woman's birthday over 100 years, in 90 minutes of course. Marc talks about the challenges of the pl...

The WDR (West Deutsche Rundfunk) Big Band visits the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild February 28th and March 1st with Bob Mintzer. Pianist in the band, Billy Test, is from Phillipsburg, Pa where he grew up watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and listening to the top drawer jazz of Johnny Costa, Bobby Rawsthorne, and Carl McVicker. Now Billy lives in Cologne, Germany where he composes and plays 250 conce...

In this episode, we dive into the numerous and wonderful programs at The Frick Pittsburgh during the "Kara Walker: Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated)" Exhibition. Interim Director of Learning and Visitor Experience, Kelsie Paul, gives a preview of the programs, starting on March 1st. Opening the exhibition, there will be a special lecture with Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, author of...

Voice of the Arts visited The Frick Pittsburgh to get a preview of their newest exhibition - "Kara Walker: Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated)". Chief Curator and Director of Collections, Dawn Brean, spoke about the exhibition's contemporary artist, Kara Walker. The exhibition features 15 large-scale prints from Walker's 2025 collection, and the 1866 publication of Harper's Pic...

Pittsburgh Double Bass Symposium is back! To highlight the event, double bassists John Moore, Aaron White, Jeffrey Grubbs, Peter Guild, Jeffrey Turner, Brandon McClane, Jeff Mangone, and Drew Collins, performed two pieces live in WQED's Fred Rogers Studio. They performed Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings", and an encore presentation of Daryl Rumswick's "Strauss in the Doghouse". They perform bot...

An independent production of Jen Silverman's dark comedy, Witch, is coming to Carnegie Stage with a group of local Pittsburgh artists. Co-producers Ingrid Sonnichsen, Shammen McCune, and Ken Bolden, discuss the play and why they decided to bring it to life. The group had previously produced Orphans in 2018, and found WITCH to be enticing, timeless, and fun enough to come together again. Ingrid tal...

Former Pittsburgh Opera Music Director John Mauceri remembers his time in Pittsburgh and talks about his recent CD release of Erich Wolfgang Korngold - The Korngold Symphony with the Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana. The release includes an historic recording of Korngold playing his Symphony on the piano. John Mauceri tells Jim Cunningham about the program and message behind the notes describing...