Suzanne Bona

Especially given the extreme weather and storms that have been affecting so many parts of the US, January seems like a good time to reflect on steamy, summer days. Today’s Beautiful Music is by Libby Larsen. The Minnesota native composed her DEEP SUMMER MUSIC in 1982, and this performance is from a 2016 concert given […]

Flutist Jonathan Borja and pianist Lindsay Garritson provide today’s Beautiful Music. They’re playing Dr. Borja’s arrangement of Danzón #5 by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez. This should put a nice spring in your step!

Juilliard-trained violinist Njioma Chinyere Grevious is an award-winning soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. She collaborated with West Michigan Symphony and its conductor, Scott Speck, in March 2023 on this concert . Today’s Beautiful Music is their performance of the 2019 violin concerto, GLORY, by Dr. Marcus Norris. Use the links below to learn more about

The American pop group Toto released their hit AFRICA in 1982. Today’s Beautiful Music is a vibrant, imaginative, and joyful performance of the song by Angel City Chorale. You’ll want to WATCH as you listen, too, so you can see how they produce some of the non-vocal effects. And (I hope) you’ll want to sing

Today’s Beautiful Music is a varied program of renaissance era music performed by Ensemble Anonymous & Strada. It’s from the Canadian musicians’ program A LA VIA! – STREET MUSIC FROM XIII to XVI CENTURY. They use a variety of wonderful, raucous, unusual early instruments including bagpipes, bouzouki, crumhorn, and hurdy gurdy.

Musician Christian Giuseppe Lidarti lived from 1730 until the 1790s, so he was born at the end of the baroque era, and lived through the transitional years into the classical era. Today’s Beautiful Music was commissioned of Lidarti for the anniversary of the inauguration of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. Boij besalom and Col anesama

There is nothing quite like performing a musical composition under the guidance of the person who composed it! Today’s Beautiful Music is a 2016 concert performance in London by Christopher Tin conducting his choral work WALOYO YAMONI — We Overcome the Wind — which is the finale to his song cycle THE DROP THAT CONTAINED

Today’s Beautiful Music is an introduction to a musical instrument that may be new to you: Adungu, aka bow harp. These Ugandan musicians play African melodies on a variety of adungus and drum. Adungu is a string instrument commonly used by the Acholi and Alur people of Uganda. Use the link below to learn more about the

After Pallade Musica won the Grand Prize in Early Music America’s Baroque Performance Competition in 2012, they made their debut recording, Verso Venezia. The Canadian period instrument group focuses on presenting music for violin, cello and continuo, and today’s Beautiful Music is a selection from Verso Venezia. You can not only listen to but look

Today’s Beautiful Music is a peppy, fun piece by American composer Gwyneth Walker. Writing about her 1987 work for brass quintet, Gwyneth Walker explained, “Commissioned by the Chandler Cultural Foundation, Randolph, Vermont in 1987 to celebrate the restoration of Chandler Hall — a community concert hall and theater. Much local pride and effort was given