Violinist Curtis Stewart, conductor James Blachly, and the Experiential Orchestra invite us into a musical dialogue with Julia Perry and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson. Both Curtis and James join Mary Claire Murphy in a discussion of the works on this new album, American Counterpoints, and they introduce us to Curtis' own composition "We Who Seek."

Composer Peter Boyer speaks with Mary Claire Murphy on his celebratory "Rhapsody in Red, White, and Blue," commissioned by pianist Jeffrey Biegel for the centennial of George Gershwin's iconic "Rhapsody in Blue." He and Jeffrey are pursuing an ambitious "Rhapsody National Initiative" to perform the work in each of the 50 US states, and they're already on track for performances with more than 50 orchestras throughout the nation. They've also taken the rhapsody onto the international stage with a new recording by the London Symphony Orchestra.

American born, Scotland based conductor Kellen Gray chats about the second album in his African American Voices series from Linn Records. Re-teaming with the Scottish National Orchestra, Kellen leads the first commercial recordings of landmark works by Margaret Bonds, Ulysses Kay, and Coleridge Taylor Perkinson.

In his latest album, William Susman performs selections from his monumental piano series, Quiet Rhythms. The acclaimed pianist/composer speaks with Mary Claire Murphy about the recording, which was captured live at the music venue Spectrum in New York City.

Toledo Ballet's Artistic Director Eric Otto and Wardrobe Supervisor Heather Pooley talk about the 83rd annual Nutcracker happening December 9th and 10th at the Stranahan Theatre. We hear what's new for this year with costumes, choreography, and music, and we even include a little throwback to Toledo SymphonyLAB with a Nutcracker Quiz (minus the special sound effects).

Superstar Classical Guitarist Miloš Karadaglić talks about his new album Baroque, and how the music on the album is intimately intertwined with his musical and personal philosophy.

Nigel Burgoine and David Jex discuss their new ballet (scenario by Nigel, music by David) which receives its world premiere from Ballet Theatre of Toledo on November 10th and 11th at the Valentine Theatre. Inspired by artworks in the Toledo Museum of Art, the ballet follows the adventures of a young girl as follows: It’s the holiday season and Florence and her mother are visiting the museum. Florence discovers a gift bag on a bench with a statue of Degas’ "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.” She tries to find the owner when suddenly something magical happens; the statue comes to life and dances for her! The Degas Dancer takes Florence on a fantasy journey throughout the museum as she is entertained by masterpieces from around the world. One by one the sculptures and paintings fade away and Florence finds herself alone, holding the Degas statue. A little girl appears and is searching for the treasured gift she lost. Florence kindly returns the statue, and she begins dreaming of her next adventure in the museum!

In this Zoom conversation with WGTE's Mary Claire Murphy, Grammy®-nominated flutist Brandon Patrick George talks about his new album TWOFOLD from In a Circle Records. A pairing of canonical works for solo flute with new compositions, TWOFOLD represents a fascinating dialogue between composers of the past and composers of the present.

Plínio Fernandes explores the enduring genius of J.S. Bach in his latest album from Orchid Classics, Bacheando. The Brazilian guitarist joins WGTE's Mary Claire Murphy for a conversation about the recording, which not only contains some Bach favorites, but Brazilian works that are directly influenced by J.S. Bach.

Classical violinist Rachel Barton Pine has a secret. Well, not really a secret, especially after her recently-recorded collaboration with heavy metal and hardcore punk composer Earl Maneein. Together, they chat about their album Dependent Arising, which brilliantly pairs the classical/heavy metal violin concerto by Maneein with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1.