In her third album, María Dueñas conveys a heartfelt tribute to Jascha Heifetz, one of the greatest violinists of all time. She speaks with Anna Singer about Homage to Heifetz, releasing August 28th.
María remembers listening to Heifetz and other great violinists while growing up taking inspiration from him as a player. She explains working with Gustavo Dudamel for this album, which features Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, Korngold’s Violin Concerto, Debussy, and Manuel Ponce. María will also return to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra next season for a performance of Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto, and she tells Anna about her relationship with Manfred Honeck and the PSO.
Homage to Heifetz will be out on the Deutsche Grammophon label on August 28th. Read more about the album and purchase your own copy on Deutsche Grammophon’s website.
Cameron Gunsbury-Massey has been announced as the new Executive Director of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh! He and the choir’s conductor, Daniel Singer, speak with Jim Cunningham about the appointment and MCP’s upcoming season.
Cameron began his musical journey as a child in Croatia and studied flute performance at the University of Texas. He most recently served as the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. Daniel gives a preview of the MCP season, which kicks off with In Time of War, featuring Haydn’s mass and pieces by Florence Price and Arvo Pärt.
Jim, Cameron, and Daniel also listen to excerpts from the choir’s performances of Eric Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil and Steven Paulus’s “The Road Home.”
Read more about Cameron’s appointment and explore the upcoming season on the Mendelssohn Choir’s website.
The Johnstown Symphony Orchestra is gearing up for it’s 98th Season, titled “Symphonic Visions” with concerts in October, November, December, February, March and April.
Executive Director Erin Codey spoke with WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham about the season – giving a rundown of each concert. She also talks about Music Director James Blachly; the Johnstown Symphony Chorus and their Director Jeffrey Webb; Inclined to Sing; the Subscriber concert in May in Johnstown’s Grand Halle; and some other special concerts members of the orchestra do throughout the year.
Erin is enthusiastic about the state of classical music and gives some ideas of places to visit and eat when you come up to hear the Johnstown Symphony perform at the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center. She says she’s see “Slap Shot” plenty of times and says some of the extras in the movie are still in town.
Get tickets and information on their season by visiting www.johnstownsymphony.org.
New music ensemble NAT 28 will perform Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians at CMU’s Kresge Theater on August 22nd! Jim Cunningham speaks with Music Director/pianist Brian Gilling and conductor Daniel Nesta Curtis about the concert and their recent recording of Nancy Galbraith’s Piano Concerto No. 4.
Brian and Daniel will both play piano in the Reich piece, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. They talk about the difficulty of the music and stress the role of a sound technician in the performance. Brian is featured as the soloist on the Galbraith CD; he and Daniel discuss working with Nancy and the recording process.
Check out NAT 28 at Kresge Theater for the 50th anniversary of Music for 18 Musicians on August 22nd at 7:30pm. Admission is pay-what-you-wish, and event details are available on NAT 28’s website. More information and streaming links to Piano Concerto No. 4 are available on Nancy Galbraith’s website.
Trombonist Jim Pugh and recording engineer Jim Anderson have reunited for a new album featuring the first-ever recording of Roy Harris’s long-lost Trombone Symphony. WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham speaks with both of them about the piece, originally written for Tommy Dorsey in 1938.
Jim Pugh talks about discovering the piece, tracking down Harris’s archivist, and searching through the Library of Congress. The album also features Nightsuite, a contemporary work by Scott Nimner, which brought together Jim Pugh’s jazz connections from across his career, including former student and fellow Steely Dan players. Jim Anderson walks through his recording process, which took place at Power Station in New York City.
Jim and Jim both grew up in Butler, Pennsylvania, and remember playing together in various ensembles, including the Butler County Symphony. Jim Anderson also recalls his experiences on the set of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood while at Duquesne, citing Marcel Marceau’s episode as a favorite.
Read more about New American Symphonies, which releases on Friday, August 14th, here.
Classical QED’s Anna Singer will take part in a concert Friday, August 14th at The Church of the Assumption in Bellevue honoring Father Tim Deely. She spoke with Father Tim and organizer Samuele Bozzolla live on the QED Afternoon Show about the concert.
The concert marks the end of Father Tim’s seven-year tenure at the church. He’ll soon leave for Italy to study canon law for three years. Sam organized this concert as a farewell for Father Tim, bringing together various singers to perform sacred music. Anna will perform, as well as Timothy Ore and Chelsea Cockburn of the Mendelssohn Choir, and members of the Assumption Choir.
Join Anna Singer for Father Tim’s farewell concert at 7:00pm on Friday, August 14th at The Church of the Assumption in Bellevue. More information is available on the Regina Coeli Parish website.
The New Hazlett Theater celebrates its 20th anniversary with a screening of the new film, Making Space: The Story of the New Hazlett Theater. The film’s producer, WQED Digital Content Manager Emily Brunner, spoke with Jim Cunningham live on the QED Morning Show about the documentary and the event.
Emily explains how the film got its start, originating from Voice of the Arts interviews she had done during her tenure as WQED-FM’s producer. She spent a lot of time last year filming interviews with the New Hazlett and Pittsburgh Public Theater, visiting the University of Pittsburgh archives, and getting drone shots from the New Hazlett. Emily also talks about accessing the film on WQED+, which she curates.
Please join WQED and the New Hazlett Theater to watch Making Space on Thursday, July 30th at 7:30pm. The screening is free to attend—guests are encouraged to RSVP on the New Hazlett’s website. You can also stream the documentary on WQED+ starting on Friday, July 31st.
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 through each movement of the concerto, which he calls a sophisticated, dark journey.
Visit Arsentiy Kharitonov’s website to learn more about him and his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra.
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 companies. René and Melissa talk about Carnegie, the old organ, and what’s next for the New Hazlett. The screening will be preceded by a VIP cocktail hour starting at 6:00pm, featuring live music and speakers, and will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by Jim Cunningham.
Please join WQED and the New Hazlett Theater to watch Making Space on Thursday, July 30th at 7:30pm. The screening is free to attend—guests are encouraged to RSVP on the New Hazlett’s website. You can also stream the documentary on WQED+ starting on Friday, July 31st.
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, for which he joined 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 remembered his time as a trombonist in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1969-1975 and told stories about working with William Steinberg and touring with the orchestra in Japan.
Bill went on to conduct and host Michigan Public Radio’s Saint Paul Sunday program and began hosting WFMT’s Exploring Music in 2003. He and Jim discussed the current state of classical music—Bill believed there are more people listening to classical music today than at any time in history.
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 challenges for women in the modern Catholic church. The sisters also discuss religious trends in Catholicism and the importance of music in education.
More information about the Sisters of Divine Providence is available on their website.
The 2026 Flood City Music Festival returns to Johnstown this weekend! The festival begins with a free concert on Thursday night, with the main festival happening on Friday July 24th and Saturday July 25th.
WQED-FM’s Bryan Sejvar spoke with Festival Director of Marketing Shelley Johansson about this year’s festival including the headliners Greensky Bluegrass featuring Holly Bowling and the Disco Biscuits. She also talks about some of the other acts she’s looking forward to; the importance of the festival to include local acts; information on camping for the weekend (which includes tubing on the river!); the ease of getting around People’s Natural Gas Park; and how the festival benefits Heritage Johnstown. Shelley says people from Johnstown head to Pittsburgh all the time, so take the easy drive for the festival.
For tickets and information, visit www.floodcitymusic.com.