We're joined by two members of the cast and two of the creatives behind Toledo Opera's production of Ragtime. Soprano Raquel Suarez Groen (Mother) and baritone Derrick Davis (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.) sing their big showpieces in the WGTE studios (with pianist Kevin Bylsma). Also, we hear from director James Norman, and the conductor of Ragtime, J. Ernest Green ..read more

Grammy Award-winning organist Paul Jacobs is helping the King of Instruments retake its rightful place in classical music. The acclaimed musician joins Mary Claire Murphy and Brad Cresswell for a conversation about his return appearance at the Peristyle with the Toledo Symphony ..read more

Dr. Chaerin Kim joins us to talk about her substantial career as a multi-instrumentalist, composer, conductor and professor, and gives advice for young musicians hoping to find success in the many competitions she has judged. We also hear her piano version of "Rendezvous" - a piece by Dr. Kim which has 100 versions (including many different languages ..read more

In her sophomore album, "I Long and Seek After," violist and composer Jessica Meyer contemplates the question, "Am I doing all that I am supposed to be doing?" Themes of love, heartbreak, and self-discovery pervade the texts, which she set as intimate art songs. And on this, her 50th birthday year, she shares with Mary Claire Murphy her reflections on how to embrace the passage of time to age with utmost grace ..read more

Ballet Theater of Toledo's Artistic Director Nigel Burgoine and composer David Jex talk about their collaboration "The Great Pancake Escape" - which features BTT dancers, magician Andrew Martin and narrator Tony Geftos reading from the book by Toledo-area author Paul Many. https://ballettheatreoftoledo.org/performances ..read more

Composers Jamie Leigh Sampson and Andrew Martin Smith stop by the studio to talk about their composer collective ADJ•ective New Music and their project with the Toledo Symphony celebrating the full solar eclipse. Several of the composers represented by the group have composed a new suite of Planets, to be performed alongside Gustav Holst's famous Planets suite ..read more

Pianist and composer Marina Arsenijevic (arson-nee-vitch) offers a Valentine tribute to Frédéric Chopin with her album Chopin Obsession, and she speaks with Mary Claire Murphy on how, as someone who has lived through the turmoil of war, she deeply resonates with the music. Through Chopin Obsession, she gives us a window into the nuanced emotions of Chopin's waltzes, his Ballade No. 1, and more ..read more

Composer Peter Boyer speaks with Mary Claire Murphy on his celebratory "Rhapsody in Red, White, and Blue," commissioned by pianist Jeffrey Biegel for the centennial of George Gershwin's iconic "Rhapsody in Blue." He and Jeffrey are pursuing an ambitious "Rhapsody National Initiative" to perform the work in each of the 50 US states, and they're already on track for performances with more than 50 orchestras throughout the nation. They've also taken the rhapsody onto the international stage with a new recording by the London Symphony Orchestra ..read more

American born, Scotland based conductor Kellen Gray chats about the second album in his African American Voices series from Linn Records. Re-teaming with the Scottish National Orchestra, Kellen leads the first commercial recordings of landmark works by Margaret Bonds, Ulysses Kay, and Coleridge Taylor Perkinson ..read more

In his latest album, William Susman performs selections from his monumental piano series, Quiet Rhythms. The acclaimed pianist/composer speaks with Mary Claire Murphy about the recording, which was captured live at the music venue Spectrum in New York City ..read more