Dr. Kavanaugh is the author of several books that deal with faith and the arts, such as “Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers”. As a composer himself, he has a fascinating specialty that expands the musical language as most folks know it. Dr. Kavanaugh came to music relatively late, and his first exposure to the world of classical music will really surprise you!

In addition to his books and compositions, Dr. Kavanaugh is the founder and artistic director of the Masterworks Festival, an intensive four-week summer festival for advanced and passionate students of the classical performing arts with a Christian perspective. In this interview, we explore the question of "why" we make music, and the special role that faith can play in an artist's life.

The Masterworks Festival https://masterworksfestival.org/ 

Christian Performing Arts Fellowship http://www.christianperformingart.org/ 

Jennifer Higdon is one of the most performed living American composers today. She taught herself to play the flute at the age of 15, wrote her first composition when she was 21, then eventually went on to win the Pulitzer prize for her violin concerto in 2010. She recently completed her first opera, “Cold Mountain”, which was premiered by the Santa Fe Opera in 2015 and is being performed in Philadelphia this week.

Jennifer Higdon and I have known each other since we were classmates at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Over the years it’s been such an honor and a delight to perform so many of her works - in fact, I even helped her record her very first album, Rapid Fire, way back in 1995. Despite all the well-deserved accolades Jennifer has received for her incredible compositions, she remains one of the sweetest, most genuine and down-to-earth persons I know.

In this special interview, Jennifer tells the stories behind some of her most popular compositions, and shares some practical insights into what it takes to be able to make a full-time living as a composer today. 

Jennifer's Website: http://jenniferhigdon.com

Info on ordering Jennifer's music: http://jenniferhigdon.com/contact.html

French flautist Julien Beaudiment has enjoyed a remarkable career, having been appointed principal flute of the Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Lyon when he was still a student at age 22, as well as being the only French flautist to have held a principal position at a major British Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

This past November, I had the wonderful privilege of performing together with Julien Beaudiment at the Riverside Cathedrale in New York, presented by SKP Consulting and Management. Right after rehearsing for the concert, I had a chance to sit down with Julien for an intimate conversation. In 2013, Julien became the principal flute of the LA Philharmonic, but then left abruptly in 2015, citing personal reasons. In this special interview, Julien shares the reasons why he left LA and returned to his principal position at the Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Lyon.

Julien Beaudiment's website

Sankyo Flutes

SKP Musicians

Jeffrey Biegel is a pianist who truly thinks outside the box. Not only is he an incredible musician with astounding technique, but he also has an innovative approach to his career and is one of the most prolific recording artists and champions of new music from contemporary composers and even pop stars like Keith Emerson, Neil Sedaka, Billy Joel, and Peter Tork from the Monkees.

Ever since winning first prize in the 1985 William Kappell competition, pianist Jeffrey Biegel has been an unstoppable musical phenomenon. “Prolific” doesn’t even begin to describe his artistic output - Jeffrey plays everything, from traditional classical repertoire to brand new works from new and established composers. Jeffrey has pioneered the idea of creating consortiums of orchestras to help create and perform these new compositions.

Jeffrey Biegel's Website

Manhattan Intermezzo, featuring new concertos by Neil Sedaka, Keith Emerson, and "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin

Most folks can't wait for Friday's to get out of their day jobs and do something else. But for the musicians and music lovers of the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, music is a way of life, and you'll find them gathered together every Friday night reading through symphony orchestra works just for fun.

On a cold Friday night in winter, associate producer Allison Pokras and I visited Presser Hall on the campus of Temple University to sit in on one of the weekly reading sessions of the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, one of the oldest community orchestras of its kind in the USA. The Orchestra Society of Philadelphia was founded in 1964 by Morris Goldman and Sidney Rothstein as a place where professional musicians, teachers, students and a wide variety of folks with varying "day jobs" could get together to read through various symphonic orchestral music under the baton of a rotating roster of conductors.

The Orchestra Society of Philadelphia Website

Pictures from The Orchestra Society of Philadelphia's reading of Sibelius' Symphony No. 2 with conductor Jay Krush

At the end of my interview with classical music radio host Jill Pasternak, we decided to have a bit of fun and turn the tables where Jill interviewed - me! How strange to have a show where I'm my own guest!

So - here's my "official" bio:

Pianist Hugh Sung started to learn to play the piano with his mother at the age of 3. At the age of 13, Hugh entered The Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Eleanor Sokoloff, Jorge Bolet, and Seymour Lipkin. Hugh teaches piano to hundreds of students online through ArtistWorks, a website that features video lessons from some of the world's leading musicians. His passion for technology led to him co-founding AirTurn, a company that creates digital accessories for musicians like the DUO page turning pedals for tablets and computers.

Hugh's Website (www.hughsung.com)

Hugh's Online Popular Piano School at ArtistWorks (www.artistworks.com/hugh-sung)

How to play "Clair de lune" from Scratch https://youtu.be/QczTcXvEC7o?list=PL23BA4D8592904FB0 

AirTurn

Listen to my interview with Jill Pasternak 

For 23 years, Jill Pasternak has been the voice of classical music on radio stations such as WHMT in Schenectady, NY, and WFLN and WRTI in Philadelphia, PA. Jill has also been the host and executive producer for the award winning show, “Crossover”, where for 18 years she interviewed legendary musicians from a wide range of musical genres.

In this interview, Jill shares the story of her early studies on the harp with legendary teacher/composer Marcel Grandjany and at the Juilliard School; her serendipitous start in radio; and the legacy of her interviews from her show, "Crossover". 

Jill has been a Classical Music announcer and host at the following radio stations:

WMHT in Schenectady, NY

WFLN in Philadelphia (WFLN was sold and stopped Classical Music broadcasts in 1997)

WRTI in Philadelphia 

Daron Hagen and Gilda Lyons are versatile composers, musicians, and artists. They’re also husband and wife, and frequently collaborate together. Daron has written symphonies, operas, art songs and chamber works, and is also a contributing writer to the Huffington Post. Gilda is a vocalist and visual artist in addition to being a prolific and incredibly creative composer.

Daron Hagen's website

Gilda Lyons' website

David William Hearn is an English composer and music producer based in London. He’s worked on scores for TV shows such as American Idol and The Voice, as well as film scores for Les Miserables, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Ron Howard’s upcoming film, In The Heart Of The Sea. He’s also the developer of StaffPad, a fascinating app for Windows tablet computers that lets composers create handwritten scores that get transformed into digital music. In fact, Microsoft was so impressed with StaffPad that they invited David to share the stage with Satya Nadella for the 2015 Microsoft Build conference keynote address.

David William Hearn's Website

StaffPad Website

Video of StaffPad Demo at the 2015 Microsoft Build Conference Keynote Address

Violinist David Kim was one of the prizewinners of the 1986 International Tchaikovsky Competition, one of the most prestigious events in the international music community held once every four years. Even with this extraordinary achievement, he had a difficult time getting a job in an orchestra. Now, as Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, David has partnered with Cairn University to create a unique institute to help aspiring violinists master what it takes to not only win an orchestra position, but also to survive and thrive musically, emotionally, and spiritually.

If you haven’t had a chance, I’d like to invite you to listen to my interview with David Kim in episode 2. What makes getting a job in an orchestra unique is that a musician’s resume doesn’t really matter much - it all depends on how a musician plays in an audition, behind a screen for a panel of musicians from the orchestra. The screen is designed to ensure anonymity, but playing for an impersonal audience you can’t see or hear and having your career depend on a performance lasting anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes can be one of the most frustrating and terrifying experiences for any musician. Despite David Kim’s incredible talent, he soon found that playing auditions required a completely different skill set when he lost the first 5 orchestra auditions he attempted. Now, as Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, David has collaborated with Cairn University to create a special program to give musicians the critical professional as well as life skills they will need but - surprisingly - are not taught in most music schools.

David Kim Orchestral Institute at Cairn University

David Kim's Website

School of Music at Cairn University

The Philadelphia Orchestra