HearTOGETHER Podcast

Which stories are worth repeating? This question has driven storyteller, narrator, and longtime Philadelphia Orchestra collaborator Charlotte Blake Alston throughout her more than 30-year career. 

On this episode of the HearTOGETHER Podcast, American griot Charlotte Blake Alston joins host Tori Marchiony for a candid conversation about her transition from being a teacher to a full-time creative, the pillars of her craft, and her responsibility to honesty as a steward of both African-American and African folktales and lived histories.

MUSIC: 

DVORAK, Symphony No.9

The Philadelphia Orchestra

BERNSTEIN, Symphony No.3 (Kaddish)

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor

Charlotte Blake Alston Speaker

BARBER, Adagio for Strings

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor

Charlotte Blake Alston Speaker

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

What does “home” sound like to you? For composer Reena Esmail, this was a question of invention, not recollection. Today, she is celebrated for the seamless interplay between her Western and Hindustani influences in her music, but her journey through craft, culture, and creativity was winding and often treacherous. 

In this episode of HearTOGETHER, composer Reena Esmail joins host Tori Marchiony for a heartfelt conversation about growing up between two cultures and two religions, the toxicity of competition, and the importance of constantly challenging her own worldview. 

Music in this episode:

• ESMAIL, Piano Trio - Suzana Bartal - piano, Peter Myers - cello, Vijay Gupta - violin
• ESMAIL, This Love Between Us: Yale Schola Cantorum and Juilliard415, David Hill, conductor -- with Rabindra Goswami, sitar and Ramu Pandit, tabla
• ESMAIL, Take What You Need  - Street Symphony and Street Symphony Chamber Singers -- Shelley Fox, soprano
• ESMAIL, Interglow: Salastina Music Society - Maia Jasper White - violin  Kevin Kumar - violin Meredith Crawford - viola   Yoshika Masuda - cello HyeJin Kim - piano  Benjamin Smolen - flute
• ESMAIL, Zeher - Brooklyn Rider - Johnny Gandelsman, violin, Colin Jacobsen, violin, Nicholas Cords, viola, Michael Nicolas, cello

Thanks to 
Noel Dior & Tim German, Editorial Council 
Teng Chen, Audio Engineer 

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

How do you honor the multitudes you contain?  The Honorable Elizabeth A. Baker makes space for all that she is by eschewing conventional categorizations and creating art that follows her own curiosities, not the latest trends.

In this episode of HearTOGETHER, new renaissance artist The Honorable Elizabeth A. Baker joins host Tori Marchiony for a candid conversation about self-definition, collaborating with nature, what it takes to truly improvise, and more.

Music in this episode:

Three Compositions for Piano and Electronics, I. Out of Season,  {a series of strange narratives}
Field Studies 20HPX, Field Studies 
Blips, Beeps, Breeze, Tweet, Field Studies
Command Voices, Quadrivium 
Remain Calm, REMAIN CALM. This is just a test.

Thanks to 
Noel Dior & Tim German, Editorial Council 
Teng Chen, Audio Engineer 

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

Do you think of "doing the right thing" as fun and joyful? Lara Downes does.

In this episode of HearTOGETHER, pianist and podcast host (NPR's Amplify) Lara Downes joins host Tori Marchiony for an intimate conversation about growing up as an American abroad, exploring her identity through music, and expanding the cannon to create a more inclusive and vibrant future for concert music. You'll hear about her youth mentorship series, My Promise Project, her ambitious venture to create new recordings of works by Black composers, Rising Sun, and more. 

Music in this episode: 

• HOLIDAY, I Cover The Waterfront, Lara Downes (A Billie Holiday Songbook)
• GOLSON, On Gossamer Wings, Lara Downes (American Ballads)
• PRICE, Some of These Days, Lara Downes (Lara Downes And Friends)
•  STILL, Summerland, Lara Downes (The Bedtime Sessions)
• HOLT, Nora’s Dance, Lara Downes
• BLAKE, Love Will Find a Way, Lara Downes
  
  

Thanks to 
Noel Dior & Tim German, Editorial Council 
Teng Chen, Audio Engineer 

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

What does it take for a 120-year old institution to change? President and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Matías Tarnopolsky, is determined to find out.

In this episode,  hear the veteran arts administrator reflect on the hectic year that saw concert halls close, but made hearts and minds open in new ways. In this candid conversation with host Tori Marchiony, Matías talks about why institutions like his can't sidestep social issues, what blind auditions miss, and the "universal values" that drive him.

Music in this episode: 

• PRICE Piano Concerto in One Movement, Michelle Cann & The Philadelphia Orchestra
• MONTGOMERY Starburst—First Philadelphia Orchestra Performance
• Various Sermon, Davóne Tines
•   III. “You Want the Truth, but You Don’t Want to Know,” from X: The Life and
•   Times of Malcolm X, by Anthony Davis 
• MARSALIS Improvisation

Thanks to 
Noel Dior & Tim German, Editorial Council 
Teng Chen, Audio Engineer 

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

On the season finale of HearTOGETHER, PA State Representative and Philly native Joanna McClinton (D)  speaks with host Tori Marchiony about the importance of music, the politics of hair, and how her faith moves her forward and keeps her focused. 

MUSIC:

• WARD, America the Beautiful, The Philadelphia Orchestra
• TRADITIONAL, Amazing Grace, Jeffrey Lang, Anthony Prisk, & Matthew Vaughn
• TRADITIONAL, Great Day, Julia Li, Chay-Hung Chen & Yumi Kendall  
• WARREN, Joyful, Joyful, CAPA Choir w/ The Philadelphia Orchestra

Thanks to consulting producer Sofiya Ballin and audio engineer Teng Chen.

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

Gabriela Lena Frank, The Philadelphia Orchestra’s composer-in-residence is widely celebrated for exploring her multicultural heritage through her work. On this episode, you'll hear about her path, her position on "identity politics", and how she pays it forward.

Learn more about the Gabriela Frank Creative Academy of Music here

MUSIC: 

• FRANK, Leyendas; An Andean Walkabout, Mvt.3  (Philadelphia Orchestra)
• FRANK, Concertino Cusequeño  (Philadelphia Orchestra)
• HUNT, Climb  (Philadelphia Orchestra)
• FRANK, Leyendas; An Andean Walkabout, Mvt.4  (Philadelphia Orchestra)

Hosted by Tori Marchiony. Thanks to Consulting Producer, Sofiya Ballin and Audio Engineer, Teng Chen. 

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.

Sheryl Lee Ralph didn't always see a therapist. But from a young age, she was encouraged to speak her struggles aloud. "You go to church, you find the right minister and you talk about it."
In this special HearTOGETHER Bonus Clip, Ralph and her husband, PA State Senator Vincent Hughes, talk about their own mental health journeys, and their fight to end the stigma around mental health care. Mental Health Resources

MUSIC: Dvořák Symphony No.9, “from The New World,”  The Philadelphia Orchestra

Hosted by Tori Marchiony. Mixed by Teng Chen

The Philadelphia Orchestra’s HearTOGETHER series is generously supported by lead corporate sponsor Accordant Advisors. Additional major support has been provided by the Otto Haas Charitable Trust.