Toledo SymphonyLAB™

We welcome concert pianist, conductor, professor, food and wine aficionado and all-around bon vivant Awadagin Pratt for a backstage discussion about his appearance with the Toledo Symphony. Awadagin brings a new work by Jessie Montgomery to the Peristyle, alongside two works that pay tribute to Music Director Alain Trudel and his five years at the helm of the TSO: Beethoven's iconic Fifth Symphony and Schubert's miraculous Symphony No. 8, the "Unfinished" Symphony.

We celebrate Halloween as goblins, ghouls, and ghosts rise to haunt the stage of the Valentine Theatre! It's a full (haunted) house as we welcome Alain TROLL-dell, Zak-O-Lantern Vassar, Merwin BOO, and special guest Robert "Bobbing-for-Apples" Clemens. Lots of spooky "treats" await, including our list of Top Ten Phobias, a Halloween Password game, and a deep dive into the TSO's Psycho (film with orchestra) program. As a coup de grâce, we offer up our own SymphonyLAB version of the Henrik Ibsen/Edvard Grieg classic, In The Hall of the Mountain King. Are you scared yet?

In advance of her appearance with the TSO, the wonderful pianist Élisabeth Pion joins us on the program to talk about her career thus far and the piece she brings to the Valentine theater, Wolfgang Mozart's Piano Concerto #24. It's an all-Mozart program (and podcast) which includes works written at various stages during Mozart's all-too-brief lifetime. We know about Mozart, but what were we all doing at ages 8, 17, and 29? Tune in to find out, and play along with our "Music in the Minor Key" Quiz!

We welcome the man, the legend, the conductor Carl Topilow to the show as he prepares to face the Toledo Symphony once more in a special program of favorites far and wide. We hear testimonials about Carl from his colleagues, and Carl recounts his work with the TSO and others over the years. Also, we talk up Carl's book, The Orchestral Conductor's Career Handbook, which provides a truly behind-the-scenes look at the responsibilities of the symphonic conductor. AND don't forget our quiz of the day - it's a clarinet quiz in honor of Carl's alter-ego as a virtuoso of that instrument (as we learn, Carl's clarinets come in many different colors!).

We welcome the man, the legend, the conductor Carl Topilow to the show as he prepares to face the Toledo Symphony once more in a special program of favorites far and wide. We hear testimonials about Carl from his colleagues, and Carl recounts his work with the TSO and others over the years. Also, we talk up Carl's book, The Orchestral Conductor's Career Handbook, which provides a truly behind-the-scenes look at the responsibilities of the symphonic conductor. AND don't forget our quiz of the day - it's a clarinet quiz in honor of Carl's alter-ego as a virtuoso of that instrument (as we learn, Carl's clarinets come in many different colors!).

We welcome Eric Otto, the new Artistic Director of Toledo Ballet to the SymphonyLAB crew, along with TAPA Business Manager, repeat TSlabber (and former ballet dancer) Natalie Frushour. It's a getting-to-know-you episode, with games, quizzes and more!

We welcome Eric Otto, the new Artistic Director of Toledo Ballet to the SymphonyLAB crew, along with TAPA Business Manager, repeat TSlabber (and former ballet dancer) Natalie Frushour. It's a getting-to-know-you episode, with games, quizzes and more!

Toledo Symphony Principal Keyboardist Valrie Kantorski joins us for a look under the hood of the TSO's new Taskin/Hubbard harpsichord, which is the focus of this program at the Toledo Club. Also, the TSO's David Dyer takes us to harpsichord school for some interesting historical facts (guillotine, anyone?), and we make up some new harpsichord-ish instruments in our quiz of the day!

Toledo Symphony Principal Keyboardist Valrie Kantorski joins us for a look under the hood of the TSO's new Taskin/Hubbard harpsichord, which is the focus of this program at the Toledo Club. Also, the TSO's David Dyer takes us to harpsichord school for some interesting historical facts (guillotine, anyone?), and we make up some new harpsichord-ish instruments in our quiz of the day!

TSO Principal Horn Megan Amos is our guest for this episode, as she prepares to take the stage under the solo spotlight for Richard Strauss' first horn concerto. We hear the "helium-induced" version of Megan's story, and get the backstory on Strauss' horn concerto. Inspired by Strauss' relationship with his father (a famous horn player), we examine the parent/child relationship both in personal terms and in our quiz of the day. But wait, there's more – as we visit with the other composers on the program, J.S. Bach and Robert Schumann.