WRR 101.1 Focus on the Arts

"To be intermingled with that sound is really incredible... I don’t think of it as me in the front and them in the back,” says saxophonist Branford Marsalis, the GRAMMY Award-winning instrumentalist and composer who will join the Plano Symphony Orchestra Feb. 17, 2024. In this feature, Marsalis chats with WRR's Amy Bishop about the program, as well as his recently announced new gig back in his hom...

“We love the artform that is concert curation – the kind of conversational possibilities it offers both between ourselves and the composers whose works we choose to play," says violinist Brigid Coleridge of the Merz Trio. Dallas Chamber Music Society will welcome the group in concert at SMU Feb. 12, 2024, marking the organization's inaugural Next Gen artist residency program. Coleridge spoke with...

"We recorded it in 1996 and then companies changed hands and I don’t really know what happened," explains cellist Ofra Harnoy, in reference to her Abbey Road recording of Elgar's Cello Concerto, which was recently found after nearly 27 years. Get the details in this feature with WRR's Amy Bishop.

“Every Mozart concerto is an absolute gem and they’re all different from one another in different ways," says pianist Alessio Bax. "This one is very dear to me because it is actually the one piece that made me fall in love with the piano.” Bax revisits Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Jan. 18-20, 2024. In this feature with WRR's Amy Bishop, Bax shares his thoughts...

"There was something in the joy – this kind of utter joy that I was finding in the silence of meditation and of going inwardly that was coming through, and it started with lyrics and melodies, and then this whole thing came about," explains soprano Hila Plitmann, describing her composition, "In this Circle," which she'll perform with the Dallas Winds Jan. 16, 2024. In this feature with WRR's Amy B...

"Whenever I’m asked about this Christmas tradition, I kind of light up, because it’s such an important one – certainly to Orpheus – but it’s a hugely important one in our community," says J.D. Burnett, Artistic Director for Dallas-based Orpheus Chamber Singers. Their annual Christmas program has been a beloved tradition for North Texans for nearly 30 years and includes performances in both Dallas...

"I honestly think that when the Trains open, it tells you that the holidays are approaching," says Jill Cumnock, CEO of the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas. Since 1987, The Trains at NorthPark have raised more than $18 million in support of the Ronald McDonald House, a non-profit providing a home and services for families of children who come to Dallas for essential medical care. In this feature,...

"For an opera that sounds really challenging to present, they've done some wonderful creative opportunities in what you're going to see visually... but it's also just a story of great determination and inspiration," explains Ian Derrer, The Dallas Opera's Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO, describing the creative team behind "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." Derrer and baritone Lucas Mea...

"Anybody who likes 'The Nutcracker' is going to see a lot of elements in it... this is a darker rendition of those elements," says Geoff Henley, author and producer of 'Nightmare Before Nutcracker,' a new ballet premiering in Richardson. In this feature, he chats with WRR's Amy Bishop about the unique story of a ballerina coming to terms with life's travails, all set to an eclectic music score of...

“We want to inspire action," says Sam Brukhman, founder and Artistic Director of Dallas-based Verdigris Ensemble. "And that action, in this particular case, is the conservation of our ecosystem and how important our environment is within the context of the City of Dallas - and what we need to do to be able to preserve it.” The choir will be featuring three locally commissioned world-premieres in t...

“We want to do what we do everywhere for everybody," says Scott Walzel, Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Associate Principal Bassoon and Director of Community Development. This fall, the DSO has launched a series of free community concerts across the city and beyond, ranging from chamber music performances at Klyde Warren Park to instrument petting zoos in the Dallas Arts District. Hear the details in...

"It's incredibly danceable music," says Katie Puder, Avant Chamber Ballet's Artistic Director, describing Philip Glass' music to "Dracula." The ballet company will bring the story to life on stage at Moody Performance Hall in October, just in time for Halloween. Puder gives more details on her vision for the production in this feature with WRR's Amy Bishop.

"I always hope that my shows can be a way in for some people," says singer/songwriter/pianist Ben Folds. "What I want is for people to see the orchestra in the best possible light and then come back and see Prokofiev, or Ravel or Beethoven or Mozart or Mahler. There’s really insanely good music right around the corner and sometimes people don’t know about it.” Ben Folds will join the Dallas Sympho...

"Historically, Vienna has always been regarded as the city of music," explains Maestro Hector Guzman, Music Director and Conductor of the Plano Symphony Orchestra. They'll bring the music of Vienna to the Eisemann Center, followed by their first-ever performance at SMU's Caruth Auditorium. In this feature with WRR's Amy Bishop, Guzman talks about the music they'll play and why Viennese classical m...

The Art Worth Festival is as much a celebration of music as it is visual art. The juried festival of more than 80 artists returns to the lawn of the Will Rogers Memorial Center and includes artist demonstrations and classical music performances. In this feature, WRR's Amy Bishop chats with Greg Belz, the visionary for Fort Worth's newest art festival.

"You can only cram so much art in one night," say Maura Sheffler, the Donna Wilhelm Family President and Executive Director of TACA - The Arts Community Alliance. "So we decided to create this theory, The Fall Arts Crawl." Taking place over the course of multiple evenings at various locations with various artists, the events will raise money for the Dallas arts community. WRR's Nikki Velonis chatt...

The World Doctors Orchestra consists of approximately 1800 medical professionals who perform around the globe. This October, about 100 will gather in Dallas for a couple of concerts benefiting two local charities. In this feature, WRR's Amy Bishop chats with two of the organization's members: Dr. Sing-Yi Feng and Dr. Noah DeGarmo.

"Any time that we can, we love to use the organ in the Meyerson because that Fisk organ is such an amazing instrument. It works so well with the wind band….just the combination of forces is really thrilling," explains Jerry Junkin, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Dallas Winds. The Dallas Winds open their 2023-24 season in a colossal way with Saint Saens' radiant "Organ" Symphony No. 3 with...

"We play for the audience, not for ourselves," says Fabio Luisi, Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. "The reaction of the audience and the fact to have an audience while we're playing is very important." Now entering his fourth year with the DSO, Luisi will makes his Pops debut with the orchestra to lead a program of selections of the Great American Songbook. In this feature with WRR'...

"This suite is for very large orchestra – which all the orchestras for the Ballet Russes were – and you’ll see that on the stage with us," says Maestro Clay Couturiaux, Music Director and Conductor of the Richardson Symphony Orchestra, describing Ravel's whirling Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2. The RSO will perform the work as part of their French-flavored opening night, which includes famed violin...

"I'm incredibly excited," says Enrico Lopez-Yanez, the newly appointed Principal Conductor of the 'Dallas Symphony Presents' series. "First of all, I feel thrilled to be able to work with the musicians of the Dallas Symphony and to work in a city like Dallas that has such a rich culture." In this interview with WRR's Amy Bishop, Lopez-Yanez describes his vision for the newly-created position and g...

"This was an opportunity to come in and help shape the future of my passion project, which is opera," says Fort Worth Opera's General and Artistic Director Angela Turner Wilson. In this feature, she chats with WRR's Nikki Velonis about her vision for the company, plus shares details of how to attend their swanky "Dinner with the Stars" event on September 22. More info on that: https://www.fwopera....

"The mission of the organization is to bring the world's most renowned (and)the world's greatest chamber music ensembles to the city of Dallas," says John Batchelder, Executive Director of the Dallas Chamber Music Society. The organization opens its star-studded season with the acclaimed Orion Quartet ahead of the group's retirement after 36 years. In this feature, WRR's Amy Bishop speaks with bot...

Every year, the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth brings some of the world's most prominent classical musicians to Fort Worth for a series of concerts at the Modern Art Museum. Guests this year include Cliburn medalist John Nakamatsu, the Dover Quartet, Angela Cheng, Inbal Segev, Orion Weiss, and more. In this feature, CMSFW Artistic Director Gary Levinson sat down with WRR's Amy Bishop for a qu...

Not only is he the head of one of North Texas' largest musical organizations, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's President and CEO Keith Cerny is also an exceptional musician! One of the highlights of FWSO's season includes a concert with Cerny playing a Bartok sonata. He caught up with WRR's Kurt Rongey recently for an overview of the orchestra's new season, which also brings an evening of glamour w...