Voice of the Arts
Insights and anecdotes from musicians, dancers, artists, actors and directors, as well as audience response.
Episodes
May 17, 2024 • 10 mins
Actors Randy Kovitz and Connor McCanlus spoke with WQED-FM about their upcoming roles as the bounty hunter and the photographer in the Pittsburgh Public Theater's world premiere, The Coffin Maker. This world premiere featuring a Pittsburgh playwright, Mark Clayton Southers, runs from May 29th to June 16th at the O'Reilly Theater. Connor talks about his field trip to the Photo Antiquities Museum of Photographic History in downtown P...
Mark as Played
May 17, 2024 • 11 mins
Playwright and Founder of the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, Mark Clayton Southers, spoke with WQED-FM about his upcoming world premiere play of The Coffin Maker, running at the Pittsburgh Public Theater from May 29th to June 16th. Mark describes the story of an enslaved wife and freed husband working for an undertaker in Oklahoma, when a bounty hunter comes in and changes everything. He also describes why he wrote this pl...
Mark as Played
May 17, 2024 • 16 mins
Director, playwright and Co-Artistic Director of City Theatre, Monteze Freeland, spoke with WQED-FM at the Pittsburgh Public Theater about the upcoming play, The Coffin Maker. This world premiere featuring a Pittsburgh playwright, Mark Clayton Southers, runs from May 29th to June 16th at the O'Reilly Theater. Monteze talks about his first introduction to the play almost 2 1/2 years ago, the challenges of researching slavery, the t...
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May 16, 2024 • 31 mins
Former Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and former director of the Carnegie Mellon University Philharmonic, Andres Cardenes, spoke with Jim Cunningham about his past 36 years in the city of Pittsburgh, and why he is moving to Florida to continue his work. Both reminisce about Andres' start with the PSO in the 1980s, and talk about the future of classical music for young musicians in conservatories around the United States....
Mark as Played
May 15, 2024 • 13 mins
Pittsburgh house painters and musicians, Ricky Granati and his son Jules Granati, spoke about The Merrick Art Gallery's upcoming event, Toast, on May 25th at 5 pm which features WQED-FM's own Anna Singer performing with a Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra String Quartet. It will be a fun affair with food, wine, and great music! Ricky discusses how he first discovered the Art Gallery, and Jules highlights how big an effect classical mus...
Mark as Played
May 15, 2024 • 31 mins
Executive Director of Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures, Sony Ton-Aime, dives deep the Ten Evenings 2024-2025 season. Starting with Colm Toibin on September 16th with his newest book, Long Island, this years authors are exciting as ever! Sony highlights the diverse group that includes History professor and author of Democracy Awakening, Heather Cox Richardson, as well as newer names such as Pico Iyer and Leif Enger. The last lecture is ...
Mark as Played
May 14, 2024 • 21 mins
Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Nicholas Dragga, spoke about the last performance of the season, Cinderella, premiering May 17th to the 19th at the Benedum Center. This U.S premiere of this production with music by Prokofiev and choreography by Jaune Smeulders features the PBT Orchestra in the finale of the season. Nick also highlights next years 55th Emerald season with high quality productions all year long a...
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Founder of CutTime Productions, Mr. CutTime AKA Rick Robinson, member of the Beo String Quartet, Andrew "Gio" Giordano, and composer, Jordan Speranzo, spoke about their collaboration in the Millvale Music Festival this Friday and Saturday, May 17th and 18th. For the first time ever, there will be classical music on the Millvale Music Festival stage! Jordan talks about conducting The Millvale Festival Orchestra that will perform at ...
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May 13, 2024 • 16 mins
Oboist Lenny Young and Mezzo-Soprano Raquel Winnica Young, spoke with WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham live on the morning show to highlight their upcoming concert with Chamber Music Pittsburgh, The Voice of Poulenc, this Thursday, May 16th, and Saturday, May 18th, at the Third Presbyterian Church. It is an evening of music, talk, dance, and culture, dedicated to the composer, Francis Poulenc. Lenny and Raquel both discuss how these concer...
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May 8, 2024 • 13 mins
Pittsburgh musician and painter, Ricky Granati, highlights The Merrick Art Gallery's upcoming event, Toast, on May 25th at 5 pm which features WQED-FM's own Anna Singer performing with a Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra String Quartet. Ricky discusses how he first discovered the Art Gallery when one of the owners contracted him to repaint the old train station, and how his meeting with Anna shaped this event into something larger. Vis...
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May 7, 2024 • 13 mins
Executive Director of Brew House Arts, Natalie Sweet, and 2023-2024 Distillery Emerging Artists in Residence, Imani Batts and Armanis Fuentes, spoke with WQED-FM about their upcoming free exhibition, Getting the Spirit Out, at Brew House Arts in the South Side, opening Thursday, May 9th at 6 pm, and running until June 22nd. Imani talks about her Get Ready With Me fashion collective that celebrates black hair and beauty salons. Arma...
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May 6, 2024 • 21 mins
Dr. Rachel Berger sat down with WQED-FM's Jim Cunningham live to talk about her wind quintet, Desperate Measures, performing in Tuesday Musical Club's free Wind Power concert at Rodef Shalom's Levy Hall on Tuesday, May 14th at 1pm. Rachel talks about the program that includes Gershwin, Kaspar Kummer, and new works by Alexandra Molnar-Suhajda and Peter Schickele. Rachel also highlights her 15 years of performing with Tuesday Musical...
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May 6, 2024 • 19 mins
Director Nancy McNulty McGeever, Music Director, Deana Muro, and Producer Nancy Zionts, spoke with WQED-FM about Front Porch Theatrical's upcoming summer shows. "A...My Name is Still Alice" will run at the New Hazlett Theater from May 17th to 26th, and "Bandstand" will run August 16th to the 25th. Nancy McNulty highlights her role as the Director of "A...My Name is Still Alice" that is a 90's musical sequel. Deana Muro talks about ...
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May 3, 2024 • 18 mins
Opera superstar Renee Fleming will be on the air for the Saturday Metropolitan Opera broadcasts with the Hours by Kevin Puts on May 18 at 1pm but less two days before her return in the role at the Met, she spoke with Jim Cunningham about her new book "Music and Mind" published by Viking on April 9th, 2024. She has donated a copy of the book with a cd of the Hours and tickets to The Hours at the Met to the silent auction and Franck ...
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May 3, 2024 • 33 mins
Pianist and musicologist Robert Levin with the Academy of Ancient Music discusses with Jim Cunningham the 30 year project to record the complete Mozart Piano Concertos with original instruments and multiple pianos. Robert Levin explains which new additions to the set involved his research and completions. Robert explains how improvisations were added that resemble the technique of jazz players like Art Tatum, He also remembers his ...
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May 3, 2024 • 17 mins
Reverend Dr. Shelia Johnson-Hunt sat down with WQED-FM's Anna Singer to talk about the City Wide Revival on May 7th and 8th at Petra International Ministries. This event includes multiple styles of African American music, dance, preaching, and much more. This free event will also feature Bishop Lisa Weah and Elder Justin Hunt from Baltimore, MD. Dr. Hunt talked about her three compositions that will be featured in this program, inc...
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May 2, 2024 • 8 mins
Jim Cunningham spoke with broadcasting legend Susie Barbour about the National Museum of Broadcasting event on Saturday May 4th from 1-4pm at the Wilkinsburg Train Station celebrating the 150th birthday of Frank Conrad. The event includes birthday festivities, music by DJ Sims, a silent auction, historical displays, broadcast personalities, the beautifully restored train station and more! The key presentation will be an engaging ...
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May 2, 2024 • 20 mins
DONATE NOW FOR PUBLIC MEDIA DAYS 2024 - MAY 1&2 - Have your donation matched DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR up to $15,000 PLUS receive a complimentary Mister Rogers vinyl sticker!
Donate: www.wqed.org/pmgd
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April 30, 2024 • 22 mins
World renowned pianist, composer, and recording artist, John Bayless, and award-winning director, Stewart M. Schulman, spoke live with Anna Singer about their new documentary, Left Alone Rhapsody, that will have its Pittsburgh premiere as a part of the Jewish Film Festival's opening night on Thursday May 2nd at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. Left Alone Rhapsody chronicles John Bayless's rise from a young musical prodigy to an ...
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April 29, 2024 • 13 mins
Director Andy Hickly and Board Treasurer and Production Manager, Lynette Garlan, from the Pittsburgh Savoyards discuss their upcoming production of Sleeping Beauty at the Margaret Partee Performing Arts Center May 3rd to 11th. Andy talks about his adaptation of the well-known fairytale, and how he decided to focus on the love story between Rose and her Princeling. Lynette also highlights an art reception on May 19th from 3 to 5 pm ...
Mark as Played
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