Voice of the Arts

Little Lake Theatre is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary this year with its ongoing season. Artistic Director, Patrick Cannon, discusses their last two upcoming plays, Mr. Burns A Post Electric Play and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. Patrick also discusses the robust community in Canonsburg that continues to support Little Lake into its 76th season and beyond. Visit https://www.littlelake.org/ to learn more and find dates and tickets!

Director of Music and Organist at Holy Name Cathedral Chicago , David Jonies visits St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland to play Bach, Widor, Cabanilles, Artur Piechler, Hindemith and more in a 7:30pm free concert. Jim Cunningham joined St Paul Director of Music Brian Gurley and David to discuss the music scene in Chicago, the Bavarian mood in Wuerzburg,  David’s birthplace, the pride of South Germans as described in Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain to mention only a few topics.

You know him as the Host of “From the Top” Saturday mornings at 9 on WQED-FM.  But he’s also a talented pianist.  You can see him perform with the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra this Saturday night, 7:30, at the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center in Johnstown. He’ll play the Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue.   He spoke to Jim Cunningham about the upcoming concert, the latest on From the Top and more.

Wheeling Symphony’s Executive Director, Sonja Thoms and Music Director John Devlin, discusses with Anna Singer about their upcoming concert on Thursday, October 19th at 7:30pm, featuring the Violins of Hope Pittsburgh and a world premiere of Walter Bricht’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Minor. Visit https://wheelingsymphony.com to learn more.

WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham was joined by David Allen Wehr, Dean of the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University, and Mary Ellena, head of the Kosciuszko Foundation Pittsburgh Chapter, to discuss “An Afternoon with Chopin” – a concert at the PNC Recital Hall on Sunday October 22nd at 3pm.

Lenny Young is the Director of Music at Third Presbyterian Church.  He stopped by the QED Morning Show with soprano Lara Lynn McGill, who will be singing a program titled “Bach to Broadway” at the church on Friday October 20th, 7:30pm.

New York Times Bestselling author and PBS regular Brad Meltzer talks with Jim Cunningham about his new book “I Am Mister Rogers” with illustrations by Christopher Eliopoulos.  His series “Ordinary People Change the World” has profiled 31  amazing figures including Frida Kahlo and Walt Disney having started with Amelia Earhart. Brad talks about Fred Rogers and his start in Latrobe, his interest in music, the Mister Rogers neighborhood programs produced for PBS at WQED and his message that we should slow down, be kind, be a good neighbor and look for the helpers when times get tough. Brad explains how he has had a huge career with writing thrillers and a non fiction book, “The Nazi Conspiracy,” looking into the plot to do in Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt at once which was recently covered on CBS Sunday Morning. Brad says that he is proud to have family in Western PA and looks forward to visiting the Riverstone Books store in McCandless Crossing on October 26th at 7pm for a book signing and meet the author event.

Pittsburgh Opera General Director Christopher Hahn joined Jim Cunningham on the QED Morning Show to talk about Pittsburgh Opera’s Season Opening production of Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.”   Plus, they talk about the opera “Bon Appetite” featuring WQED-FM’s Anna Singer, taking place Friday October 27th at the Hyeholde Restaurant.

Senior at Slippery Rock University and songwriter Brett McCutcheon discusses with WQED about his newest album, The Ocean – five years. This collection of pop songs with symphonic orchestration from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra takes an emotional journey through the stages of grief as experienced by Brett in 2017 when he lost his older brother Ryan. With vocals by June Bracken and The Voice Finalist Chris Jamison, and recorded at The Vault in Pittsburgh, this new album hopes to continue the dialogue around helping young people navigate loss. Visit https://thevaultrecording.com to learn more. Find this album on Spotify or Apple Music.

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Executive Director of Quantum Theatre, Julie DeSeyn, discusses Quantum’s upcoming two free RAD days on October 15th and October 17th at Rodef Shalom. Both RAD days feature an inside look into their upcoming show, “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk,” a klezmer musical about artist Marc Chagall and his poet wife Bella. Get a backstage tour on the 15th, and hear a symposium about Marc Chagall by Sandy Rosen (Chair, Violins of Hope), Kathy Keinholz (Docent Coordinator, the Carnegie Museum of Art), and Barbara Burstin (History, University of Pittsburgh). “The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk” opens on October 28th and includes a collaboration with the Violins of Hope Pittsburgh. Visit https://www.quantumtheatre.com to learn more about the show, and https://www.radworkshere.org to learn more about RAD Days.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theater’s new Artistic Director, Adam McKinney, talks about PBT’s upcoming free RAD days from September 29th to October 1st at Hazelwood Green, as a part of the Open Air performance series, co-presented with the August Wilson Cultural Center. These three free RAD days feature various performances from dance organizations across Pittsburgh, free classes, food, kids activities and much more. Adam also discusses PBT’s season opener, “Light in the Dark” from October 27th to the 29th, featuring a world premiere of Jennifer Archibald’s Sounds of the Sun. This performance also exhibits an instrument from Violins of Hope played live onstage by a PBT Orchestra musician, as Pittsburgh grapples with the 5th Anniversary of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting. Visit https://www.pbt.org/performances to learn more.