Voice of the Arts

Grammy-nominated lutenist, Ronn McFarlane, spoke with Anna Singer about the Baltimore Consort’s upcoming concert, In Angels Wede, on November 18th, 7:30 pm at the Calvary Episcopal Church, as a part of Chatham Baroque’s 2023-2024 concert series. This concert will also feature live narration by Emmy award winner, Robert Aubry Davis. Ronn talks about how the program takes a walk through Mary Queen of Scots life, with music that highlights the different parts of the world she lived in during her life. Ronn also talks about his love of the lute, his transition from blues guitar, and how the lute brings new colors to his work. Visit chathambaroque.org to learn more.

Pittsburgh native Archivist and Digital Project Manager at WQED, Molly Tighe, discusses her role in digitizing Beta Cams and 1 inch film reels from the 42 year run of WQED produced Black Horizons. This project was funded by the National Endowment of Humanities and the National Historic Publications and Records Commission, and features collaboration with WGBH in Boston, Media Preserve in Wexford, the American Archive of Public Broadcasting, and the Library of Congress. Molly talks about her past at Chatham University, what an archivist does, and some of the tapes that she is digitizing from Black Horizons. At the end of this 15 month project, all digital files will be available for access from the public.

David Bennett will be in his 12th Pittsburgh Opera production this year as a supernumerary with The Flying Dutchman. David talks with Anna Singer about his discovery of being a supernumerary, the roles he has been in, and his one of a kind role in The Flying Dutchman as a pirate ghost. The Flying Dutchman opens this Saturday, November 11th. Visit https://www.pittsburghopera.org/ to learn more!

Tenor Bryan Register spoke with Anna Singer about his role as Erik in the Pittsburgh Opera’s upcoming production of The Flying Dutchman from November 11th to the 19th at the Benedum Center. Bryan also discussed his journey to become a classically trained tenor, and how a very special someone paid for his schooling. Visit https://www.pittsburghopera.org/ to learn more about The Flying Dutchman.

Executive Director of Film Pittsburgh, Kathryn Spitz Cohan, discusses their busiest time of year, with two film festivals, a Script Competition, and a Filmmaker Conference happening November 8th to the 16th. The first festival, The Three Rivers Festival, kicks off with a world premiere of Unsinkable, a film about the sinking of the Titanic filmed in Pittsburgh at 7:00 pm on November 8th at the Point Park Pittsburgh Playhouse. See 22 feature length international films, followed by 119 short films from November 16th to the 19th. The Script Competition will be held November 19th, and the Filmmakers Conference will be November 17th to the 19th. Kathryn details how festival submissions are chosen each year, highlights of the festival, and why film festivals are still the best way to see independent films from across the world. Festival Passes and single tickets are available at filmpittsburgh.org.

Executive Director of Chatham Baroque, Donna Goyak, and Associate Director, Erick Hoffman, discuss the groups upcoming concerts the next two months. The first upcoming concert is on Monday, November 6th at 7:30 pm at the Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside, in collaboration with the church and Violins of Hope. Then on November 18th, The Baltimore Consort is back in a program featuring Music of Mary Queen of Scots and live narration from Emmy Award winner, Robert Aubry Davis. Chatham Baroque then has their last performance of the 2023 year, with two performances of Alegria, Music of Baroque Spain and the Americas on December 16th and 17th. Visit https://www.chathambaroque.org/ to learn more about their season!

Dr. Susan Medley joins Jim Cunningham to discuss the  annual Festival of Choirs this year in the Carnegie Hall foyer. Along the way she shares some thoughts about women conductors as seen in the film Tar with Cate Blanchett and growing diversity on high school choirs now recovering from the pandemic loss of members. The event takes place Sunday, November 5, 2023, at 4:00pm.  The Pittsburgh Concert Chorale is joined by area high schools Allderdice and Carrick, Burrell, and Quaker Valley in this special celebration of choral music!  The concert features a wide variety of choral repertoire as each choir presents an individual set. The grand finale brings all on stage together to perform the world premiere of this year’s Carol and Robert Woody Choral Commission, composed by Shawn Kirchner. 

The Hermitage Piano Trio makes their Western PA debut at Thiel College for the Con Spirito Chamber Music Series on Tuesday November 7th at 7pm in the David Johnson Chapel. They will play trios by Amy Beach, Sergei Rachmaninov  and Dimitri Shostakovich. Violinist Misha Keylin speaks from his home in Brooklyn with Jim Cunningham about the program, the Trio and how it became the Hermitage, Misha’s start in St. Petersburg with his Mom who knew Mariss Jansons, making recordings for Reference in Marin County at Skywalker Sound including their new Spanish Impressions release and his Gagliano Violin.  The concert is free with a reception to follow.

Steppin’ Out With Ben Vereen dances in to the Strand Theater in Zelienople November 11th at 7:30pm with ensemble and Living Legend presenting the hits from his classic roles as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair, Sweet Charity, Pippin and Wicked. Mr. Vereen worked with Martha Graham, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins at the High School for Performing Arts in New York. He starred with Pittsburgh’s Jeff Goldblum in Tenspeed and Brown Show on tv. There was Funny lady, All that Jazz, Sammy Davis Jr, Magnum PI, Star Trek, Roots, Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, the Muppet Show and most recently the Gray House with Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman. His awards include the Hero’s Award as a First Responder at the 9/11 site at the World Trade Center, the Tony, the Drama Desk Award, the Juneteenth Legacy Award, the Sidney Poitier Lifetime Achievement Award. In this conversation with Jim Cunningham, he speaks about many of the people he has worked with, the power of the arts and his faith. Plus you can join the VIP group and get a selfie and an autograph too.

Senior Producer at WQED, Minette Seate, discusses the upcoming 15th season of Filmmakers Corner that will premiere this Saturday, November 4th at 10pm on the WQED HD Main Channel. The first episode of Filmmakers Corner will feature a conversation with Morgan Overton, the Workforce Director for Create PA, a new initiative created by The Pittsburgh Public Theater and the Pittsburgh Film Office to help train technicians using IATSE training for television, film, and theater productions in the Greater Pittsburgh area. The second episode will feature two of Benjamin Carlucci’s films. To learn more about the Filmmakers Corner, visit https://www.wqed.org/filmmakers or on our Facebook page.

Lead Social Media and Events Specialist of Made in PGH, Channing Powell, and VP of Community Engagement at WQED, Gina Masciola, discuss with Jim Cunningham about The Great Yinzer Tailgate on Saturday November 4th, from 11 am to 6pm, at the Southpoint Towne Center in Washington County. Local Pittsburgh cuisine, drinks, live entertainment from Johnny Angel, and the marketplace to start your holiday shopping! There will also be a Little Yinzer zone, sponsored by WQED, with face painting, games and much more! This free event is rain or shine! Visit https://m.facebook.com/thegreatyinzertailgate/ to stay up to date!

Mariana Whitmer, Board Chair of the Friends of the Carnegie Music Department and Julie Hanify, Library Services Manager Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh speak with Jim Cunningham about the Music Sale taking place Saturday October 21st, 2023  from 10am to 4pm.  The sale takes place on the second floor of the main branch with compact discs five for a dollar featuring classical, pop and jazz, orchestral and opera scores, chamber music, and flute music; Suzuki how to do it books, books about music and much more at extraordinary bargain prices. The proceeds will benefit the library. They also discuss the extraordinary collection at the Main branch with a series of concerts for free, online streaming music services including one made in Pittsburgh, ‘Stacks’ and the Bakaleinikoff tablecloth signed by a huge list of the musical luminaries who visited Vladimir Bakaleinikoff’s home enjoying his wife’s post-concert hospitality  in his years as Fritz Reiner’s assistant conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony. Mariana Whitmer has been teaching film music for many years at the University of Pittsburgh where she has lead discussion with a special interest in the western film world with Jerome Moross, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Dimitri Tiomkin as favorites.   How to spend your day in Oakland and much more in this conversation recorded in the office of the reference manager at the Main Branch CLP.