Photo by R. Vega Photography This week’s Classical Californian is conductor Sonia Marie De León de Vega, who founded the Santa Cecilia Orchestra more than 30 years ago in L.A. She named it in honor of her father, who was a guitarist and singer, and regularly prayed to the patron saint of music. In addition to their concerts, the orchestra is also committed to an educational outreach program meant to introduce young people to the world of classical music. The selections she’s chosen show her love of music for piano, full orchestra, and the operatic stage. We’ll hear selections from some of her ..read more

Drumroll please! It’s a new year, which is the perfect time to march to the beat of your own drum. It’s hard to beat, but don’t get too ensnared in this episode. Tune in Saturday at 8:15 or 3:15 to hear the feature on the radio – and you can come back here to listen again! And you can listen to more CarTunes episodes here! Listen to the feature! The post Saturday Morning CarTunes: The Snare Drum appeared first on Classical KUSC ..read more

Photo of Varun Soni courtesy of the University of Southern California Our first Classical Californian of the new year is Varun Soni, who is the Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at the University of Southern California. He’s assembled an “East Meets West” program that resonates with his life experiences as an Indian-American. We’ll hear music that Ravi Shankar wrote for solo sitar and symphony orchestra; a work by composer Reena Esmail that celebrates the various religious traditions of India; a performance from Beethoven’s Fifth symphony by members of the cross-cultural West-Eastern Divan ..read more

Ding dong! Don’t be an idiophone… unless you’re a bell. Just in time for Christmas, we’re gonna get jingly with it. Tune in Saturday at 8:15 or 3:15 to hear the feature on the radio – and you can come back here to listen again! And you can listen to more CarTunes episodes here! Listen to the feature! The post Saturday Morning CarTunes: The Bells appeared first on Classical KUSC ..read more

Photo of Anna Schubert by JD Renes  This week’s Classical Californian, Anna Schubert, is a soprano vocalist based in L.A., who is comfortable with repertoire both new and old – having performed widely as a soloist in traditional concert repertoire, as well as creating the role of Bibi in the world premiere of Ellen Reid’s opera p r i s m, which won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in music. She’s also sung with the innovative L.A. based company The Industry, as well as being a member of the LA Master Chorale. Her selections show that range: a medieval choral work by Guillaume de Machaut, and an a ..read more

“Carol of the Bells” as we know it today was converted into a popular Christmas carol popularized by NBC Radio in 1922, but did you know it began its life as a Ukrainian folk tune? Remarkably, Ukrainians were actually involved all along the way in its journey from folk song to Christmas radio staple. Around 1916, Oleksander Koshyts, the conductor of a major Ukrainian choir, commissioned Mykola Leontovych to produce a choral work based on traditional Ukrainian folksong. The song Leontovych chose, “Shchedryk,” was connected to the arrival of the New Year. Traditionally celebrated in April with ..read more

This week’s Classical Californian is Tim Keeler, Artistic Director for the San Francisco-based vocal ensemble Chanticleer. He’s selected a line up of seasonally appropriate works for voices, with songs for Winter, Advent and Christmas. The ensemble is returning to the West Coast this week as they finish their national tour of their “A Chanticleer Christmas” program, beginning their popular series of concerts in LA and the Bay Area. We’ll hear early music of Josquin des Prez, a piece by contemporary British composer Joanna Marsh, and much more, with works by Bach, Poulenc, Arvo Pärt, George Wa ..read more

We’ll post a trio of upcoming events here each Monday that we think you’ll enjoy, and one will be free! Welcome to Trio! Trio is taking a break – we’ll be back in January! The post Introducing “Trio”: Three Upcoming Events We Think You’ll Enjoy Each Week appeared first on Classical KUSC ..read more

According to my research… it’s the main squeeze! The accordion expands (and contracts) across genres including classical, tango, polka, and klezmer. This episode might get a little Weird Al. Photo by Helene Sarrow Tune in Saturday at 8:15 or 3:15 to hear the feature on the radio – and you can come back here to listen again! And you can listen to more CarTunes episodes here! Listen to the feature! The post Saturday Morning CarTunes: The Accordion appeared first on Classical KUSC ..read more

Hanukkah, the eight-day festival of lights, commemorates the liberation of Jerusalem during the Maccabean Revolt. Under the reign of Antiochus IV, the Seleucid king of Syria, Jews were forbidden from practicing their religion and ordered to worship the Greek gods instead. In 164 BCE, Judas Maccabeus and his followers, known as the Maccabees, led a successful campaign to capture Jerusalem, after which the Temple was ritually cleansed and the altar rededicated. The Temple menorah had only enough oil to last one day but miraculously burned for eight days and nights. In today’s Hanukkah celebratio ..read more