April is Autism Acceptance Month, a recognition created by and for people on the autism spectrum. This movement aims to de-stigmatize conversations about autism by promoting a cultural shift towards true inclusion.  It is important we center autistic voices every month of the year, especially in the arts. Our creative spaces are often sanctuaries for those seeking welcoming, accepting environments.  People on the spectrum have profoundly influenced all art forms, and classical music is no exception. One of those influential people is Tim Arnold.  A London-born artist known for ..read more

By Lawrence Toppman Kwamé Ryan and fans of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (CSO) both got a taste of the future last weekend at Belk Theater. Concertgoers who may have missed his two audition concerts saw him lead his first performance as music director designate. And Ryan took on Brahms and Tchaikovsky, the kind of mainstream composers we’ll hear frequently in the 2024-25 season, now that the CSO has opted for more conservative programming. (Ryan will conduct Brahms’ Requiem in November, in one of only two appearances next season.) Saturday’s concert began with waves of applause. Symph ..read more

Guest Article: Charlotte SHOUT! by Rick Thurmond On now through April 14 in Uptown Charlotte, Charlotte SHOUT! is the region’s largest arts festival. There’s so much to see and do that it’s hard to know where to start – so, we made this handy guide just for WDAV listeners! Charlotte SHOUT! Printable Map First Ward Park (Zone 1) This area is home to the Ally Main Stage and several interactive art installations. It is in close proximity to the stage at the amazing art-filled Victoria Yards, the Market at 7th Street food hall, and ImaginOn. You could spend the entire day here and still wan ..read more

By Michelle Medina Villalon Today, WDAV celebrates National Walking Day with a specially curated playlist for our classical community. Whether you take this 50 minute playlist along on a sunny trail or the treadmill, we hope it brings you a moment of joy, reflection, and encouragement for your Wednesday! All pieces were chosen to be specifically “walkable” with approximately 90-110 BPM. You may notice the playlist picks up along the midway mark to put some pep in your step as well.  Check out our playlist below, also available on Spotify. “Serenade for Wind in D Minor Op. 44 III Andante ..read more

By Michelle Medina Villalon There are warm breezes blowing by the WDAV building on Davidson College’s campus as of late. The flowers outside are blooming and buzzing with bumbling bees. It’s starting to look like spring in our neck of the woods! We hope the joy of a new season is with you in these final days of winter. As we look forward to brighter, temperate days, we also prepare for the bounty of local music offerings sprouting up all around us. So, if you’re looking to celebrate the vernal equinox and all its splendor, check out this list of upcoming performances from our community’s cult ..read more

by Michelle Medina Villalon Whether you threw an annual Academy Awards soiree or passively engaged with one of the most important nights in Hollywood by scrolling through a list of winners, another Oscars season has come and gone. It was of little surprise that Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer was the biggest winner with a total of seven wins out of thirteen nominations, including Best Original Score. But beyond the film’s atomic success, the night featured many great moments where classical music shined bright, perhaps even more than Ryan Gosling’s sparkly pink suit. American Symphony Matthew ..read more

By Lawrence Toppman When I started going to concerts back in the LP era, a college friend could offer no higher praise than this afterward: “Man, I would buy a record of that!” I thought of him Saturday at Belk Theater after listening to pianist Michelle Cann with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. I would absolutely have bought a recording of her three-part performance, which she’ll never repeat exactly – and, I’m sure, wouldn’t want to. Her renditions of Florence Price’s Concerto in One Movement and George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” alternately pyrotechnic and introspective, wo ..read more

By Lawrence Toppman How does the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra find these whizbangs? Almost all the youngish music director candidates of the last two years impressed me, and the trend has continued since the naming of Kwamé Ryan. The latest guest conductor, Savannah Philharmonic music director Keitaro Harada, sailed into Knight Theater one week short of his 39th birthday and lit up the podium. Last things first. Any review of Saturday’s concert should begin with Mozart’s Symphony No. 41. For once, it earned its nickname of “Jupiter,” applied in 1788 because of musical thunderbolts ..read more

Seiji Ozawa, the conductor who led the Boston Symphony Orchestra longer than any other music director, has died at age 88. The conductor died Feb. 6 in Tokyo due to heart failure, according to a spokesperson for the Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland. Read full article from NPR Pictured: Seiji Ozawa (1963); Photo by Don Hunstein, New York, Public Domain ..read more

Each week throughout the month of February, WDAV’s First and The Future blog series highlights two Black composers or musicians who have shaped the course of classical music: one who shattered a historical barrier, and one whose extraordinary achievements in the same field continue today. Check back here every Thursday at noon for the next pair of classical artists! Conductors: Eva Jessye and Jeri Lynne Johnson Eva Jessye Eva Jessye Revered as the first Black woman to achieve international recognition as a choral conductor, Eva Jessye began her career as a music teacher in 1914 after earning ..read more