Black History Month

It’s President’s Day in the U.S. and music has had a long history at the White House. I was looking at the online resource WhiteHouseHistory.org and saw that President Herbert Hoover and his wife were trailblazers in hosting musicians during his time in office. Use the link below to learn more about some of their […]

Are you familiar with Black Violin? They are an two classically trained musicians — Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste – who perform as a hip hop duo. Today’s Beautiful Music is one of their exciting, innovative performances. Use the link below to learn more about these talented musicians. And remember to check their tour schedule,

Today’s Beautiful Music features a significant singer in opera history: soprano Camilla Williams. She lived from 1919-2012, and ClassicFM described a few of her noteworthy accomplishments: “In 1946, soprano Camilla Williams became the first Black woman to secure a contract with a major US opera company, making her debut as Cio-Cio-San in New York City

Montague Ring was the pen name of musician Amanda Aldridge, who lived from 1866-1956. She was an opera singer and teacher, and when she composed she used her pen name. Use the link below to learn more about her life and career. Today’s Beautiful Music features Dr. Rochelle Sennet playing Montague Ring’s 1924 composition, CARNIVAL

The extraordinary violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins is featured in today’s Beautiful Music. She has teamed up with Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Cunningham. They’re performing Florence Price’s exciting Violin Concerto #2. Make sure you read the program notes on the concert video, which give some important context about the composer. You can also use

Today’s Beautiful Music is a fantastic concert performance of George Gershwin’s opera PORGY AND BESS. The 2019 performance features soprano Adina Aaron, and bass-baritone Musa Ngqungwana, with the Cape Town Opera Chorus, and Frankfurt Radio Symphony, conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada. You can use the Metropolitan Opera’s synopsis of PORGY AND BESS using the link below.

Bass-baritone Jonathan Woody’s powerful, expressive artistry provides today’s Beautiful Music. This concert performance is from a March 2023 of George Frideric Handel’s oratorio MESSIAH with Washington Bach Consort. Mr. Woody is the soloist performing “Why do the nations so furiously rage together,” followed by the chorus, “Let us break their bonds asunder.” Jonathan Woody is

I’ve had the great fortune to interview flutist Brandon Patrick George twice. You can hear our conversations by clicking on the links below. Brandon Patrick George trained at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the Conservatoire de Paris, and the Manhattan School of Music. He is flutist with Imani Winds, and a busy soloist whose repertory ranges

Today’s Beautiful Music is a captivating, jazzy improvisation featuring the rising star violinist Randall Goosby and double bassist/composer Xavier Dubois Foley. Randall Goosby is a graduate of The Juilliard School, and Xavier Dubois Foley is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music. Both musicians also attended The Perlman Music Program located on Shelter Island,

Rochester, NY-born musician Adolphus Hailstork is a Professor of Music and Eminent Scholar at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Dr. Hailstork trained at Manhattan School of Music, at the American Institute at Fontainebleau with Nadia Boulanger, and at Howard University, and earned his doctorate in composition from Michigan State University. A prolific composer, his expansive