Voice of the Arts
Insights and anecdotes from musicians, dancers, artists, actors and directors, as well as audience response.
Episodes
Russian pianist and composer Arsentiy Kharitonov recently released a new Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. WQED=FM's Anna Singer speaks with Arsentiy about the piece.
Arsentiy talks about developing as a pianist and what led him to start composing. He says being a performer was not enough for him---he always wanted to create his own music and to revive the Romantic tradition of the composer-performer. Arsentiy also walks Anna throu...
The New Hazlett Theater celebrates its 20th anniversary with a screening of the new film, Making Space: The Story of the New Hazlett Theater. Executive Director René Conrad and Artistic Director Melissa Cardello-Linton speak with Jim Cunningham about the New Hazlett and the film.
The film, produced by WQED's Emily Brunner, features interviews covering the history of the building and the New Hazlett's relationship with its resident ...
Bill McLaughlin, Peabody Award-winning conductor, composer, and longtime host of Exploring Music, passed away yesterday, July 23rd. To remember and honor him, WQED-FM would like to share a 2013 interview with Bill, in which he joins Jim Cunningham in celebrating 10 years of Exploring Music.
Bill talked about preparing for the program and his intention to create a space where listeners could discover classical music. He also r...
The Singing Sisters Rosalie and Rosemonde Deck were a sibling duo from the Sisters of Divine Providence. Jim Cunningham speaks with Sister Rosamonde and Sister Mary Traupman about the sisters' performing career and more.
Sister Rosamonde talks about growing up in a musical family, recording CDs at WQED, and singing for American troops in Germany. Sister Mary explains the reasons for a recent global decrease in vocations and the cha...
The grand finale of this year's Bach, Beethoven and Brunch series takes place this Sunday, July 26th, featuring Academy Concerts' "HaydnBurgh" project! Artistic Director Warren Davidson spoke with Anna Singer live on the QED Afternoon Show about the program.
"HaydnBurgh" is an initiative to perform all of 57 Haydn string quartets in the Pittsburgh area. This concert will feature three quartets, Opus 9, #5 in B flat major, Opus 50, ...
With the merger between Pittsburgh Public Theater and the Civic Light Opera underway, Interim Board Chair Tom McGough speaks with Jim Cunningham about the process and future of both organizations.
Tom talks about how the merger came about, and how he came to lead the efforts to combine the two organizations. He stresses the challenges that the theater world faces today, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, aging audiences, and the advent ...
Alumni Theater Company present the Tony Award-winning musical Once on This Island, running at the Charity Randall Theatre from July 31st--August 2nd. Jim Cunningham speaks with ATC's Artistic Director Monteze Freeland, Marketing Manager Shae Wofford, and actress Sharae Bynum about the show.
Monteze talks about the show's story and ATC's mission to uplift Black voices in theater. Sharae, who plays one of the storytellers, explains h...
Emmy Award-winning composer Bruce Broughton speaks with Anna Singer about his album, And on the Sixth Day / String Theory from the Naxos label. He also touches on his celebrated career as a film and television composer, having worked on Tombstone, Miracle on 34th Street, Hawaii Five-O, and more.
Bruce talks about his approach to composing, how he handles instrumentation, and writing themes. He tells the story of his piece And on th...
The New Ground Orchestra Festival returns for its second annual concert at Penn State's main campus on Friday, July 31st! Founder and conductor Rebekah O'Brien speaks with Jim Cunningham about the festival.
Rebekah created the New Ground Orchestra Festival as a supportive community for women in classical music. The festival with open with Fanny Mendelssohn's Overture in C and closes with Dvořák's New World Symphony. In addition to ...
Johnstown's Band of Brothers Shakespeare Company continues their run of A Midsummer Night's Dream this weekend in Powell Stackhouse Park. Doug Meagher, who plays Bottom, speaks with Jim Cunningham about the show.
The company celebrates their 35th anniversary this year. Doug has been with performing with them for many years and talks about why he loves Shakespeare and theater. Doug says this production has been a lot of fun to prepa...
Filmmaker Thomas Essig's documentary Something Divine comes to WQED+ this Friday, July 17th! Thomas speaks with Melissa Black about the story of the film.
Thomas calls Something Divine a healing journey about learning how to love yourself and others. He drew on his own experiences--growing up religious, struggling with expression, and discovering spiritualism through yoga philosophy--to form the concept of this documentary. Thomas ...
The University of Pittsburgh Bands will host their first Summer Concert Band performance! Brad Townsend, Director of Bands, and Michael Buckstein, Assistant Director of Bands, speak with Melissa Black about the concert.
This unique ensemble features Pitt students, alumni, faculty and staff, local high school musicians, and community members. Michael talks about taking inspiration from IUP's Associate Director of Bands Jason Worzbyt...
The Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra will take the stage at Mellon Park this weekend for Bach, Beethoven and Brunch! Conductor Pierce Cook speaks with Melissa Black about the concert.
TRYPO will feature some of their string players this weekend with a program titled "Be Water, My Friend." Pierce talks about how he came up with the water theme, which includes selections from Water Music, the African American spiritual "Deep Rive...
One month on from the passing of Joe Negri, Mister Rogers' drummer Bobby Rawsthorne remembers his friend. Bobby spoke with Jim Cunningham by phone about working on the show with Joe and more.
Bobby recalls fond memories from the set of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, including a time when Joe was suspended mid-air for a production of a children's opera. He says he felt incredibly fortunate to be part of the show and to play with the e...
Pittsburgh singer-songwriter Madeline Sclichter has been named as one of the winners of this year's Write Out Loud contest! Madeline speaks with Melissa Black about the contest and teases an upcoming new single.
Madeline's song, "Queen Bee," which was inspired in part by Mean Girls the Musical, was one of over 400 submissions to the contest. She'll get to travel to New York for a special recording and performance of the song. Madel...
The Pittsburgh Savoyards open their 89th season with the adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s world-famous detective in Sherlock Holmes and the Web of Deceit, a new adaptation written and directed by Robert Hockenberry. Rob joined Anna Singer to chat about the show.
Rob talks about stripping the adaptation back to the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle texts, and modernizing Sherlock's language. He says the size of the perform...
RealTime Arts present their July program, Equitable Dinners, a play, a meal, and a conversation. Co-Founders Rusty Thelin and Molly Rice, and performer Malika Cleckley, spoke with Anna Singer live on the QED Afternoon Show about the events.
Rusty talks about the origin of the program, which began with Out of Hand Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Molly goes over what to expect--she wrote the play based on conversations with Pennsyl...
Aria412 presents Anything Goes: The Music of Cole Porter on Tuesday, July 7th at 7:00pm. Co-founder Desirée Soteres and emcee Kip Soteres spoke with Anna Singer live on the QED Afternoon Show about the evening.
Desirée talks about starting Aria412 ten years ago, which she founded as a platform for Pittsburgh singers and artists to build a community and try new genres. Anything Goes continues Aria412's American Songbook series, whic...
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.