George Walker, the first black recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Music, worked tirelessly throughout his life, composing every day well into his 90’s.

When bandleader Duke Ellington made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1943, he had already enjoyed a career spanning 20 years as part of the Harlem Renaissance. But the Carnegie Hall concert presented an opportunity to branch out in a new direction, debuting his 45-minute symphonic work, called “Black, Brown and Beige.”

In 2022, Jessie Montgomery was named the Mead Composer in Residence for the Chicago Symphony, receiving commissions to write 3 new orchestral works, and curate the orchestra’s MusicNOW programs.

George Walker, the first black recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Music, worked tirelessly throughout his life, composing every day well into his 90’s.

This weekend the Detroit Symphony Orchestra performs Brahms, Coleridge-Taylor and Rachmaninoff. 90.9's Peter Whorf spoke with Music Director Jader Bignamini about the genius of Brahms composition as well as Rachmaninoff and what he was going through when he composed his second piano concerto.

"Swing Set" host Linda Yohn speaks with legendary jazz violinist Regina Carter who is the recipient of 2023 NEA Jazz Masters Honors award. They speak about the significance of three Detroiters being honored this year.

90.9's Cecelia Sharpe spoke with Na'Zir McFadden who is guest conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's "Classical Roots" concert March 3, 2023. In this interview, Na'Zir goes into more detail about the pieces that will be performed.

Cecelia Sharpe caught up with Detroit Native BLKBOK to talk about his upcoming concert, the value of arts education, the importance of Classical music, and what he hopes people will take away from his performance.

DSO Music Director Laureate Leonard Slatkin and his friend Garrick Ohlsson are back in town this weekend to performs Johannes Brahms’s mighty Piano Concerto No. 1. The DSO also plays music by Igor Stravinsky and Bela Bartok. 90.9’s Peter Whorf asked the Maestro about the concerto’s place in Brahms’s symphonic timeline…

The International Symphony Orchestra meets up with the Windsor-based band The Tea Party this Friday night at The Colosseum at Caesar’s Windsor. Then they’re back in Sarnia on Saturday to encore the show. Following the Tea Party gig, the ISO is in-concert for a “Night At The Movies” experience. 90.9's Peter Whorf joins ISO conductor Douglas Bianchi and Executive Director Anthony Wing to talk about the upcoming dates…and the multi-talented Wing’s Tea Party connection through his personal “metal memories”…