Even though composer William Grant Still wrote nearly 200 compositions, many of not most of them have never been recorded. That changed with the new album “William Grant Still” performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra on the Naxos label. Conductor Avlana Eisenberg was encouraged to record this album by her mother – a violinist. Still’s granddaughter Celeste Headlee provided insight into Still's struggles.

If you don’t know who wrote the libretto to your favorite opera, perhaps it’s time you did. Acclaimed librettist Mark Campbell feels so strongly about that, he created and funded the Opera America Campbell Opera Librettist Prize. This year, it went to Stephanie Fleischmann who’s written the words to at least 20 musical pieces over her long career.

When we think of Black people in the 19th century, violin music doesn’t often come to mind. David McCormick, the Executive Director of Early Music America researched the “Fiddlers of Monticello” and found a tome of research on them which included the Black male children of our third president, Thomas Jefferson with their enslaved mother Sally Hemmings. There is even a documentary about it. Also on the show, pianist and producer Lara Downes talking about her difficulty in coming up with a Juneteenth playlist. Your Classical also posted one for the nation’s latest federal holiday.

The Austin Chamber Music Center Festival continues this week with a little jazz mixed in with the classical performances. Andre Hayward of Austin is a trombonist with a stellar career with some of the nation’s most revered jazz and classical performers. He and his friends perform new works focusing on African-American composers.

Summer festivals are underway all over the country. In Austin, the Austin Chamber Music Festival starts July 8th. The festival will feature a performance of scenes from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale with music curated by the Austin Chamber Music Center’s Artistic Director Michelle Schumann and directed by Austin Shakespeare’s Artistic Director Ann Ciccolella. One of the actors, Babs George says it’s a real treat.

The recently concluded Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth had many moving parts. To keep things running smoothly and an eager audience informed, they hired a classical pianist with Austin roots. Dr. Artina McCain, now a Professor of Piano at the University of Memphis, stepped in as the Mistress of Ceremonies. She says it’s tougher than it looks.

The New York Times called composer Jessie Montgomery the “future of classical music”. She was gobsmacked by that, even though orchestras all over the country are clamoring to play her works. The Austin Symphony will perform one of her pieces in November. In addition she’s on a three year assignment with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as their Mead Composer in Residence. This makes her one of the busiest classical composers in America.

New Music USA, a group advocating for new music discoveries in the United States is upping the ante for the nation’s orchestras. Their program Amplifying Voices has 30 orchestras collaborating to co-commission works by 9 composers of color. Vanessa Reed, the President and CEO of New Music USA says they’re trying to expand the canon of classical music.

After the pandemic halted the quadrennial Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2021 it has returned. The 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition is now underway in Fort Worth, Texas. Jacques Marquis, President and CEO of The Cliburn says this year is fitting, in a way, because it’s the 60th anniversary of the competition.

10 years is a long time but it seems like it was just yesterday for Ashleigh Gordon of Castle of Our Skins. The organization is celebrating its first decade with a fundraiser for the National Negro Opera Company House and other events. There’s also tributes to George Floyd from the Colour Of Music Festival and Memorial Day remembrances from the Air Force.