Beautiful Music

Contralto Marian Anderson: extraordinary musician … extraordinary American … extraordinary woman. The late singer was born on February 27, 1897 in Philadelphia, PA and her exceptional talent was evident even in childhood. She became one of the finest contraltos of her time, and of all time. Ms. Anderson had a wide range of musical interests […]

Dr. Joyce Chen is a musician and music scholar who specializes in historical keyboard instruments. The award-winning harpsichordist performs actively in the Greater Philadelphia and New York areas, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Historical Musicology at Princeton University. She also earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley and

Elisabeth Claude Jacquet de la Guerre was born in Paris in March 1665, and was a gifted harpsichordist, and organist. She was also the first woman to compose an opera in France. You can read more about her life and career using the link below. And today’s Beautiful Music is Elisabeth Claude Jacquet de la

American bass-baritone Joe Damon Chappel earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Voice and Opera from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. He has a varied repertory, from early music to opera and musical theater. And as principal bass soloist with Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity (New York City), he further cultivated his

Naima Burrs is a multi-talented musician — an award winning violinist who performs with a variety of orchestras, and an accomplished conductor who was recently named Music Director of the Petersburg (Virginia) Symphony Orchestra! Today’s Beautiful Music features the rising star leading the CUA Chamber Orchestra playing the first movement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s EINE

The gorgeous artistry of bass-baritone Jonathan Woody has been featured before on this blog. Today’s Beautiful Music features Mr. Woody from a Handel Aria 2019 competition singing the aria “Oh memory, still bitter to my soul!… Opprest with never-ceasing grief” from George Frideric Handel’s 1744 oratorio BELSHAZZAR. In addition to being a sought-after singer, Jonathan

Melika Fitzhugh has an extraordinary range of musical interests. She is a Harvard-trained composer who enjoys teaching and playing a variety of instruments for folk dance ensembles, including: violin/viola/violoncello/double bass, acoustic guitar/bass, recorders, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, and hand percussion including dumbek/djembe/kahoun. She takes special delight in composing contemporary music for ancient instruments. I had

George Frideric Handel was born on this date — February 23 — in 1685. So today’s Beautiful Music features the phenomenal countertenor Reginald Mobley singing arias from Handel’s 1707 oratorio Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno. (The Triumph of Time and Disillusion) with Pacific Baroque Orchestra. You can read more about Mr. Mobley’s busy

Full disclosure: I’m a HUGE fan of Andre Watts. The pianist impressed me not only for his remarkable musical artistry but also for his kindness and graciousness in a memorable personal encounter many years ago. I took my parents — who were also big fans — to one of his recitals. Afterwards, we went back

Warning: you may find yourself humming this captivating tune for the rest of the day! Today’s Beautiful Music is a toe-tapping Sephardic folk song: La Komida la Manyana. The performance features singers Alfreda Burke, Elizabeth Norman, and Rodrick Dixon, with Apollo’s Fire. They’re joined by the dancers and choir of Southland College Prep Charter High