Voice of the Arts

The Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra begins it's 2025-2026 concert season with "PYSO Plays Opera" - Sunday, November 16th, 7:30pm at Heinz Hall. Jacob Joyce conducts the orchestra in music of Verdi, Wagner, Puccini and Ethyl Smith. Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Lauryn Davis joins the PYSO to sing "Matern aller Arten" by Mozart. Jacob Joyce joined Jim Cunningham on the QED Morning Show to tal...

Pittsburgh Opera presents Gregory Spears' "Fellow Travelers" for 3 performances only - Friday November 14th (7pm), Saturday November 15th (7pm), and Sunday November 16th (2pm) at the Byham Theater. WQED-FM's Anna Singer spoke with Logan Wagner, who sings the role of "Timothy Laughlin." He sang the role in a student production in Cincinnati with Erik Nordstrom. He talks about the music and the dyna...

Pittsburgh Opera presents Gregory Spears' "Fellow Travelers" for 3 performances only - Friday November 14th (7pm), Saturday November 15th (7pm), and Sunday November 16th (2pm) at the Byham Theater. WQED-FM's Anna Singer spoke with Erik Nordstrom, who sings the role of "Hawkins Fuller." He sang the role in a student production in Cincinnati and is excited to revisit the role. Thanks for tuning in t...

Pittsburgh Opera presents Gregory Spears' "Fellow Travelers" for 3 performances only - Friday November 14th (7pm), Saturday November 15th (7pm), and Sunday November 16th (2pm) at the Byham Theater. WQED-FM's Anna Singer spoke with Stage Director Brian Staufenbiel, who talks about his vision for the opera, and how it's extremely helpful to have two cast members who have already done a production of...

Pittsburgh Opera presents Gregory Spears' "Fellow Travelers" for 3 performances only - Friday November 14th (7pm), Saturday November 15th (7pm), and Sunday November 16th (2pm) at the Byham Theater. WQED-FM's Anna Singer spoke with Pittsburgh Opera Music Director Antony Walker, who talks about the music, the historical context of the opera, and how he thinks its important as a conductor to sit in o...

Tuesday Musical Club is hosting it's Composer Workshop Concert next Tuesday! Composer Joshua Malave talks about his work with the Tuesday Musical Club Composers workshop, and his piece he will play for the concert. Title "Piano Sonata in F Major", Josh talks about the circumstances that led to him writing this piece for a different concert. He plays the 3rd movement in this episode in our studios....

Flutist Lindsey Goodman has a new album "Transporting Bright" coming out today! WQED's Anna Singer talks with Lindsey about her new album, which features 11 commissioned works by living American composers. The composers include Pittsburgher's such as Nancy Galbraith, and Rob Frankenberry. There are also multiple groups in the album, including flute quartet Pandemonium 4, and the Chrysalis Duo. Lin...

See houses decorated for the Holidays during the 2025 Symphony Splendor Holiday House Tour. There are two tour times on November 22nd - from 11am to 4pm and 5pm to 8pm. The house tour is in the exclusive Lake Macleod neighborhood in Gibsonia. Pittsburgh Symphony Association President-Elect Ruth Ann Pritchard, and PSO Violinist Irene Cheng spoke with WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham about this year's tour...

The Frick Pittsburgh has a new art exhibit, perfect for the holiday season! Chief Curator and Director of Collections, Dawn Brean, and Director of Learning and Visitor Experience, Kelsie Paul, talks about the exhibit "The Scandinavian Home: Landscape and Lore". This show is part of a large private collection of Scandinavian art from David and Susan Werner. This exhibit features over 100 different...

It's an opera that Pittsburgh Opera General Director Christopher Hahn has wanted to put on stage for many years. "Fellow Travelers" is set in 1950's Washington DC during the Eisenhower administration while Joe McCarthy was sifting through the government in the red scare to sort out communists. Fellow Travelers turns up in Thomas Mallon's novel and several screen adaptations. Now the story is set t...

Chatham Baroque is back at it again, this time with just the trio! Members Andrew Fouts (violin), Patricia Halverson (viola da gamba), and Scott Pauley (theorbo & baroque guitar), talk about their upcoming concert "A Trio Virtuosic". The program highlights include Bach's Sonata in G Major, Schmelzer's Sonata Quarta in D Major, and Biber's Sonata in F Major. The trio emphasizes the returning to fam...

Just in time for spooky season, horror and science fiction writer Lawrence C. Connolly talks about his latest writings!   Lawrence talks about two of his most recent projects, a play for Prime Stage Theatre reimaging 4 Edgar Alan Poe stories, and his newest book, "Minute Men: Execute & Run". Lawrence talks about his adaptation of the four stories for the play, and how his brother's idea sparked a...

It's not exactly Ian Underwood, the flutist of Jethro Tull, who stood on one leg playing Bach. But Stephen Schultz plays the electric baroque flute in Forest Cathedral, a world premiere from Nancy Galbraith at Carnegie Mellon. Nancy and Stephen talk about the energetic piece in Nancy's audience friendly style and also share happenings at CMU Music this fall. Stephen just wrapped up teaching a cour...

Frank Zappa's "Ruth is Sleeping" leads off Canadian born pianist Mark Andre Hamelin's new Hyperion cd "Found Objects/Sound Objects" with Salvatore Martirano heard in "Stuck on Stella," "The Perilous Night" by John Cage, Stefan Wolpe with "Passacaglia," "Refrain" by his friend Yehudi Wyner and "Hexensabbat" written by the pianist. On January 12, 2026, Mark-Andre Hamelin will have his Pittsburgh rec...

German born pianist Burkard Schliessmann has concertized around the world with a base in Frankfurt. He teaches at Curtis and in New York. He spoke with Jim Cunningham by Zoom from Germany about the solo piano works of Robert Schumann, Fantasies for the Divine Art label. The deluxe pressing is being issued as a triple gold audiophile LP. Burkard discussed his interpretation of Schumann's Kreisleria...

Stage 62 presents Oklahoma at the Carnegie Music Hall in Carnegie, PA for two weekends - November 6-9 and November 13-15 with a cast of 40 directed by Rob James . Brian Ferris, Curly, who sings “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” and Rachel Fox, Aunt Eller, who serves as the emotional overseer for the cast bring to life the Rodgers and Hammerstein ground breaking Broadway hit that tells the story of Ame...

With a strong presence on Facebook, Frank Kurtik is a different kind of poster. No cats or dogs - instead posts of Pittsburgh historical highlights, concert news, and restaurant discoveries. Frank was a long time docent at Heinz Chapel making brides comfortable on their wedding day and arranging organ recitals and tours after working as Pitt archivist. He started his higher level of educational di...

The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh’s second annual CrosSING Bridges Choral Festival takes place on Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 4pm in the newly renovated Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. Mendelssohn will share the stage once again with Heritage Gospel Chorale Pittsburgh (Dr. Herbert V.R.P. Jones, director) and Coro Latinoamericano Pittsburgh (Lourdes Santiesteban, director), along with their new c...

Pittsburgh Vintage Mixer founder Michael Lutz joined Jim Cunningham on the QED Morning show to invite listeners to the David Lawrence Convention Center Saturday November 8, 2025 from 9am to 5pm where they will find collectible curated treasures of all kinds including vinyl records and decorative items, books, furniture, and housewares all in a fun atmosphere . Kids under 13 are admitted free with...

Problem pregnancies have not been top of mind for composers but Carnegie Mellon University faculty member Katherine Pukinskis has organized the Pittsburgh debut of her "One in Four, One in Eight" and brings the Agarita Ensemble and Attack Theater Dance to three locations - McGee Medical Center, the Attack Theater headquarters, and Westminster Presbyterian Church. The tickets are free but reservati...

It's a celebration of ten years with Maestro James Blachly and the Johnstown Symphony. Opening night - October 25, 2025 - brings the start of the America 250 Celebration with Samuel Barber, Charles Ives' Unanswered Question, something new from Levi Taylor, and Brahms' Third Symphony. Maestro Blachly looks over the success of his Bach and Charlie Parker concert and the plan for a special holiday ev...

The clear singing rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales gave the 12 men of Chanticleer their name 48 years ago. Now the group is one of the world's most loved with a stop at the David Johnson Chapel on the Thiel College campus as part of the Con Spirito Concert Series on October 30th at 7pm. Assistant Music Director Matthew Mazzola runs down the American theme for the program and explains...

The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra opens its 2025-2026 season this Saturday, October 18th, with Korngold’s Violin Concerto, featuring violinist Timothy Chooi. Timothy and WSO Executive Director Michael Rozell joined WQED's Jim Cunningham live on the air to discuss the concert, Timothy's career, and the symphony. Timothy is Professor of Violin at the University of Ottawa. He holds degrees from the...

The Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania presents the Pittsburgh debut of Aljosha Jurinic on Sunday October 19th, 3pm in the Kresge Theater at Carnegie Mellon University. It's an all Chopin recital with the Second and Third Sonatas plus nocturnes. Aljosha spoke with Jim Cunningham by Zoom from his home in Boston. He is involved in research regarding biomechanics with the hope of helping musici...

The Tuesday Musical Club presents "Italia con Amore!" on October 21st, 1pm at Levy Hall, Rodef Shalom. This free concert includes music by Donizetti, Scarlatti, Boccherini and more. Soprano Sarah Richards and pianist Nanette Kaplan Solomon stopped by the studio to perform “Quando m’en vo” from Puccini's La Boheme LIVE. After the performance, they joined concert organizer Catherine Crotty in a conv...