Voice of the Arts

Tuesday Musical Club's upcoming concert celebrates composers born in March, featuring music from Bach, Haydn, Chopin, Bartók, and Barber. WQED volunteer Giovanni Mori spoke with organizer Catherine Crotty and pianist Vanessa Schmithorst about the program. Catherine explains how the concert idea came to fruition and points out highlights on the program. Vanessa will play Bach's Partita in C minor f...

Resonance Works presents the Pittsburgh premiere of Reena Esmail’s Malhaar: A Requiem for Water and the return of Nancy Galbraith’s Flute Concerto, which Resonance Works commissioned and premiered in 2019. Conductor/producer Maria Sensi Sellner, Hindustani vocalist Vidita Kanniks, and flutist Lindsey Goodman joined Jim Cunningham live on the QED Morning Show to talk about the program. Vidita and M...

The Bruckner Society of America President Benjamin Korstvedt joins Jim Cunningham to recall the presentation of the Kilenyi Award from the Bruckner Society to Manfred Honeck on February 21, 2026, at Heinz Hall. The Pittsburgh Symphony followed the presentation with a performance of Bruckner's Eighth Symphony, which was recorded for broadcast on WQED-FM and for a Reference CD. Manfred Honeck had al...

Last week, Disney's Beauty and the Beast returned to Pittsburgh's Benedum Center for its first North American production in over 25 years! WQED Digital Correspondent Nick Tommarello spoke with Assistant Conductor and keyboardist Connor Doran about this very special occasion. Connor talks about the timeless nature of the story and its music, his role in performances, and the joy of interacting with...

Slippery Rock University recently hosted their 11th annual Honors Flute Ensemble on February 21st-22nd. Dr. Cassandra Eisenreich, composer Greg Lutz, and SRU sophomore Ben Bellomo joined Jim Cunningham live on the QED Morning Show to give a recap of the concert. Cassandra talks about the Honors Flute Ensemble, which brought high school students to SRU for two days of rehearsals, workshops, and the...

Pittsburgh Opera presents the World Premiere of "Time to Act" at the Bitz Opera Factory from February 28th through March 8th. The opera follows a group of high school students preparing for a production of Sophocles’ Antigone, who are joined by a new student, Alona, who comes with a formidable secret. WQED-FM's Anna Singer spoke with Timothi Williams, who sings the role of Alona. Timothi talks abo...

Pittsburgh Opera presents the World Premiere of "Time to Act" at the Bitz Opera Factory from February 28th through March 8th. The opera follows a group of high school students preparing for a production of Sophocles’ Antigone, who are joined by a new student, Alona, who comes with a formidable secret. WQED-FM's Anna Singer spoke with Shannon Crowley, who sings the role of Bailey. Shannon talks abo...

Pittsburgh Opera presents the World Premiere of "Time to Act" at the Bitz Opera Factory from February 28th through March 8th. The opera follows a group of high school students preparing for a production of Sophocles’ Antigone, who are joined by a new student, Alona, who comes with a formidable secret. WQED-FM's Anna Singer spoke with conductor Michael Sakir. Michael talked about working with compo...

Pittsburgh Opera presents the World Premiere of "Time to Act" at the Bitz Opera Factory from February 28th through March 8th. The opera follows a group of high school students preparing for a production of Sophocles’ Antigone, who are joined by a new student, Alona, who comes with a formidable secret. WQED-FM's Anna Singer spoke with composer Laura Kaminsky, who talked about her initial reluctance...

Pittsburgh Opera presents the World Premiere of "Time to Act" at the Bitz Opera Factory from February 28th through March 8th. The opera follows a group of high school students preparing for a production of Sophocles’ Antigone, who are joined by a new student, Alona, who comes with a formidable secret. WQED-FM's Anna Singer spoke with Crystal Manich, the opera's librettist. Crystal talked about the...

Jim Cunningham speaks with Charlie Peck, now in his second year on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh Music Department. Two of his latest creations will be played by the The Bergamot Quartet, a rising star on the American contemporary music scene, joined by virtuoso percussionist Ji Hye Jung for a concert of new acoustic and electronic music. The event marks the world premiere of a kineti...

Third Presbyterian Church's Spring 2026 Music at Third series continues with "Ché Bandonéon!" Music Director Lenny Young joined QED's Anna Singer live to talk about the program. The bandonéon is the instrument of the tango, a concertina instrument which resembles the accordion. "Ché Bandonéon!" will be a solo recital featuring Argentinian bandonéon player Rodolfo Zanetti. On the program are tradit...

Running at Contemporary Craft right now is Peregrination , the art of Chinese Canadian artist Xiaojing Yan. Contemporary Craft’s Director of Visual Engagement Yu-San Cheng spoke with QED’s Melissa Black about the exhibition. Born in Jiangsu, China, Xiaojing moved to Toronto to further her education and career, and she received her master’s degree in sculpture from Indiana University of Pennsylvani...

Can business be creative? WQED producer Nick Zaller sat down with owner and Creative Director of The Boredom Set Coffee Company, Q, to chat about how much artistic expression is involved in running a coffee business. Q talks about the message behind Boredom Set, “create to spite boredom,” and how owning his own business has allowed for creative freedom and artistic expression. Q also tells Nick ab...

The Pittsburgh Symphony plays Bruckner's Eighth Symphony this weekend! Music Director Manfred Honeck joined Jim Cunningham live on the QED Morning Show to talk about the program. Maestro Honeck discusses the questions surrounding death that Bruckner was fixated on. The Eighth Symphony, nicknamed The Apocalyptic , especially looks beyond life, reflecting the paths and conflict of the human journey...

The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra serves up a Valentine's Musical treat this Saturday, 7:30pm at the Palace Theater. Music Director Daniel Meyer conducts Copland's "Rodeo" and Randall Thompson's Symphony No. 2, while Janice Carissa will play the Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue. Westmoreland Symphony Executive Director Mike Rozell and pianist Janice Carissa stopped by the QED Morning Show to talk about...

The Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra presents their Wind Symphony and Percussion Ensemble at the South Fayette High School at 1:30pm on February 14th, and at 7pm with "A Pops Evening with Jesse Nager." Jesse and Brian Worsdale, Music Director, join Jim Cunningham to discuss the program and Jesse's career in Mamma Mia, Good Vibrations, Mary Poppins, Motown and Stephen Sondheim's Being Alive whi...

Chatham Baroque has an upcoming concert which features “Lisette quitté la plaine,” the oldest known song text in early Haitian Creole. Baritone Jean Bernard Cerin, who serves as the Director of the Voice Program at Cornell University, joined QED's Anna Singer over the phone to talk about the program. Jean-Bernard speaks about his research on Haitian classical music and how he came across the Liset...

The Pittsburgh Youth Symphony have a concert this Sunday, February 15th! Music Director Jacob Joyce joined Jim Cunningham live on the QED Morning Show to talk about the program. The program includes Mozart’s Symphony No. 31  “Paris Symphony,”   Beethoven’s  Leonore Overture No. 3 , and concludes with Richard Strauss’s epic tone poem  Don Juan . The concert also features PYSO violinist Karin Hoppo,...

The Frick Pittsburgh's upcoming exhibition is Lewis Hine Pictures America ! QED's Melissa Black spoke with Lauryn Smith, Assistant Curator, and Kelsie Paul, Director of Learning and Visitor Experience, about the exhibition. Lauryn gives an overview of who Lewis Hine was and his work photographing industrial America, immigrants at Ellis Island, and his participation in the Pittsburgh Survey, which...

The next installment in the Bach Choir's Cirque du Cinéma series is a program called Never Silenced, which pairs the music of J.S. Bach with the revolutionary silent films of Charlie Chaplin. Artistic Director Thomas Douglas joined Anna Singer live to talk about the concert. Thomas explains the method behind this pairing, bridging the gap between two artistic eras and genres. The films Caught in a...

Artistic Director of Academy Concerts Warren Davidson's newest project is HaydnBurgh: an ambitious concert series featuring all of Haydn's string quartets! Warren spoke with Jim Cunningham about the project. Warren talks about how special Haydn is as a composer, and the variety of emotions his pieces evoke. His string quartets were not intended for concert halls, but rather "rooms" in private home...

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2026-2027 season! Vice President of Artistic Planning Mary Persin joined Jim Cunningham live on the morning of the announcement for an exclusive preview. This exciting season includes artist, composer, and conductor debuts, world premieres, and new PSO commissions. The symphony will also celebrate the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's death in Mar...

Pittsburgh pianist and silent film composer Tom Roberts returns to WQED’s Voice of the Arts podcast! Among many musical projects, Roberts is known for composing original live scores to some of Charlie Chaplin’s earliest films, which he will perform at his upcoming concert called “Chaplin by Candlelight," presenting his work from films including The Rink , The Pawn Shop , Kid Auto Races at Venice ,...

The Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh welcomes their friends Voces Solis for a special collaboration! Artistic Director Edward Leonard and Voces Solis Artistic Director Ryan Keeling joined Jim Cunningham live on the QED Morning Show to talk about the concert. The program highlights Mozart's Solemn Vespers, Paul Moravec's "Songs of Love and War," as well as pieces from Barber, Beethoven, and English...