Beautiful Music

Today is the 95th birthday of the magnificent soprano Leontyne Price. She was born Mary Violet Leontyne Price in Laurel, Mississippi on February 10, 1927, and grew up singing in her church choir. Her studies at the College of Education and Industrial Arts (now Central State College) in Wilberforce, Ohio, and at The Juilliard School […]

Chineke! Orchestra is the flagship ensemble of Chineke! Foundation, which was created was created in 2015 by Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE to provide career opportunities to established and up-and-coming Black and ethnically diverse classical musicians in the UK and Europe. There’s a link to their website where you can read more about their mission and their

Ann Hobson Pilot’s first instrument was the piano, and she received her first lessons on it from her mother. As a teenager, Ms. Pilot began playing harp and graduated from Cleveland Institute of Music. She joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1969, and became its Principal Harp in 1980. Ann Hobson Pilot provides today’s Beautiful

Anthony McGill grew up in Chicago, where he began playing clarinet as a young boy and grew up to graduate from the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. McGill is Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic — that orchestra’s first African-American principal player — and previously served as the principal clarinet of the Metropolitan

The terrific flutist Demarre McGill provides today’s Beautiful Music. He plays American composer William Grant Still’s  SONGS FOR FLUTE AND PIANO with Orion Weiss. Mr. McGill is a Chicago native who began studying the flute at age 7, and went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree from The Curtis Institute of Music and a Master’s

Soprano Michele Kennedy has such lovely musicality. Today’s Beautiful Music offering features Ms. Kennedy singing the aria REJOICE, GREATLY from George Frideric Handel’s oratorio MESSIAH from a 2018 performance in New York City. She is a graduate of Yale University and NYU, and has a broad repertory encompassing music from the baroque era, through the

Seattle Opera presented today’s Beautiful Music in a recital from October 2020 featuring tenor Frederick Ballentine with pianist David McDade. Mr. Ballentine is a Norfolk, Virginia native who has refined his craft in Washington National Opera‘s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, and the Los Angeles Opera’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program. You can read more about him using the

Violist Eliesha Nelson has been a member of the prestigious Cleveland Orchestra since the 2000-2001 season. She is the first former member of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra to be appointed a member of The Cleveland Orchestra. The Alaska native was previously acting principal viola of both the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra and the Florida Grand

Violinist Leslie Nero is a member of Washington [DC] Bach Consort. She and her colleague, flutist Katy Roth, have a chat about the importance of music in their lives, and in the lives of kids. You can also see the Washington Bach Consort’s school outreach in action providing Beautiful Music for some 4th graders in

Wade Davis began studying cello at age 7, and quickly showed exceptional talent. As a teenager in South Carolina he began winning competitions and distinguishing himself as an overall outstanding musician, eventually earning his Master’s Degree in Baroque Cello Performance and a Graduate Performance Degree in Historical Cello from Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.