Voice of the Arts

Lenny Young stopped by the QED Morning Show to talk to Jim Cunningham about the next Music at Third concert featuring Brian Kay on Lute and Guitar. The concert takes place at Third Presbyterian Church on Friday November 15th at 7:30pm.

In this episode, Women of Song discuss their upcoming Fall concert on Saturday, November 23rd at 7 pm at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

Director of the group, Emily Tiberi talks about the program of the concert, that revolves around the title of the concert, Sky Wide Open. A night of uplifting songs, Emily also highlights the growth of Treble choir music in recent years, and how this group is a community more than a choir.

Members of the group, Carolyn Hampson and Elizabeth Foley, detail how they joined the group, why they like singing, and what their favorite part of the group is. It is an uplifting interview about a group of women who get together to sing every week, but who also uplift each other throughout their lives.

Visit https://pittsburghgirlschoir.com/event/women-of-song-fall-concert/ to learn more about their concert and find tickets.

Organ Artists Series of Pittsburgh presents Chelsea Chen at Mount Lebanon’s St. Bernard Church Friday November 8 at 7:30 pm.

She and Adjunct Faculty Member at Franciscan University, Vin Rone, talked about her program of Bach, Vierne, Alain, Chen, Durufle and Rone. Born in San Diego, Chelsea studied on a Fulbright scholarship to Taiwan, received a degree at Yale, worked with Paul Jacobs at Juilliard, worked in Fort Lauderdale and started her recording career at Heinz Chapel in Pittsburgh.

Visit https://organseries.com/ to learn more about the Organ Series of Pittsburgh, and find Chelsea at https://chelseachen.com/.

Tuesday Musical Club will be presenting The Composers Workshop concert on Tuesday, November 12th at 1 pm at Rodef Shalom’s Levy Hall.

Organizer of the concert and composer, George Pearsall, and Program Chair of TMC, Catherine Crotty, spoke with Anna Singer live on WQED-FM’s afternoon show to talk about the program. George discusses his newest composition in the program, “Fanfare and Canticle”, and Catherine discusses her role within TMC. Both talk about the growth of TMC, the number of composers in this program, and about TMC member Roy Xiong’s recent concert with the Pittsburgh Concert Society.

You will also hear a Brass Quintet play Pearsall’s “Fanfare and Canticle”! The group consists of Christopher Cox on trumpet, Ty Lewis on trumpet, Alex Daiker on French horn, Tim Roehrich on trombone, and Brennan Paulsen on tuba.

Visit https://www.tuesdaymusicalclub.org/events/public/article/the-composers-workshop/5860/c15/ to learn more about the program, Tuesday Musical Club, and find the live-stream link!

Pittsburgh Opera presents “Pagliacci” and “Cavalleria Rusticana” at the Benedum Center November 9th through the 17th. Sebastian Catana is the only singer who performs in both operas – Alfio in “Cavalleria Rusticana” and Tonio in “Pagliacci.” He spoke with WQED-FM’s Anna Singer about singing in both operas, how the characters are different and more.

Pittsburgh Opera presents “Pagliacci” and “Cavalleria Rusticana” at the Benedum Center November 9th through the 17th. WQED-FM’s Anna Singer spoke with Pittsburgh Opera Music Director Antony Walker about the music in both operas, the famous intermezzi, and favorite moments.

Pittsburgh Opera presents “Pagliacci” and “Cavalleria Rusticana” at the Benedum Center November 9th through the 17th. Caitlin Gotimer sings the role of Nedda in “Pagliacci”. She spoke with Anna Singer about this being a role debut, how she is approaching the character, and more.

Pittsburgh Opera presents “Pagliacci” and “Cavalleria Rusticana” at the Benedum Center November 9th through the 17th. Marianne Cornetti sings the role of Mamma Lucia in “Cavalleria Rusticana”. She spoke with Anna Singer about the role, her favorite moments in the opera and more.

University of Pittsburgh Alumni and RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Alaska 5000 talks about their Off-Broadway musical, Drag: The Musical and their upcoming Q&A talk with University of Pittsburgh students.

Alaska highlights Drag: The Musical’s story about two rival drag houses realizing they probably have a lot more in common than they think. They also talk about their excitement to see their alma-mater again, and why University of Pittsburgh was instrumental in helping them find their expression in drag. Alaska reminisces about RuPaul’s Drag Race, and how the craziness of the show prepared them for Off-Broadway and the world of drag.

You can see Alaska at the New World Stages Theater until April 2025, or in Pittsburgh on November 19th. Visit https://dragthemusical.com/tickets to find tickets for Drag: The Musical.

Attack Theatre has been collaborating with Christian Warner for close to a year, and is now ready to show Pittsburgh the culmination!

Co-founder of Attack Theatre, Michele de la Reza, spoke live with Jim Cunningham about their upcoming performance called Locating Lucidity from November 15th to 17th at Attack Theatre Studios. The event features three distinct pieces that starts with an opening piece when people walk into the space, a reimagined piece from Attack Theatre’s repertory called Beginnings, and a new work called White Hot Room.

Michele hopes people can experience this collaborative event that investigates the power of neuroplasticity and one’s body to rewrite the trajectory of personal narratives. The night also features work by composer Andrew Bocher, and a company of seven dancers. Michele describes the Artist Residency Program at Attack Theatre called Artist in Exchange, and the importance of artistic research for artists around the country.

Visit https://www.attacktheatre.com/locating-lucidity to learn more about the performance and to find tickets.

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, we kick off the month of November with a look at the Fort Pitt Museum’s new exhibit, Homelands: Native Nations in Allegheny.

Assistant Director of Fort Pitt, Mike Burke, and educator and member of Seneca-Cayuga Nation, Shideezhi Emarthla, spoke in this episode about their work on the exhibit. They talk about the different artifacts throughout the exhibit that were curated with input from the Delaware, Seneca, Seneca-Cayuga, and Shawnee tribes to illuminate the past, present, and future of Pittsburgh’s tribes. Highlights include a 14,000 year-old stone point called The Miller Point, a pair of 1930s beaded moccasins, and dance outfits handmade by the Seneca-Cayuga tribe.

Both talk about the importance of telling these histories, as many assume these tribes and traditions are gone, when that is the farthest thing from the truth. Shideezhi also talks about playing stick-ball (now known as lacrosse), with other tribes growing up, and her hope of passing down their history to the next generation.

Visit https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/whats-on/fort-pitt/exhibits/homelands-native-nations-of-allegheny/ to learn more about the exhibit. Fort Pitt is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm.

The Founder of the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, Robert Boudreau, sailed to the eternal sea on July 4, 2024 at age 97 having launched a thousand young musicians and commissioned dozens of new compositions for wind orchestra from famous composers.

Jim Cunningham spoke with Kathleen Boudreau about her late husband and the new music they launched on their boat Point Counterpoint II. The First Mate of the Point Counterpoint II floating concert venue and arts center had a central role in the organization since she went to work there more than fifty years ago.

Jim and Kathleen discuss the status of the Louis Kahn designed Point Counterpoint II, the Highcroft Arts Center, the memorial gathering and concert, and raising a family while sailing to London and Leningrad. The story of Kathleen and Robert can be read in two books: Point Counterpoint II: Arts Afloat on the Waterways of the World, and American Wind Symphony Orchestra: The Messengers and the Music.