JoAnn Falletta is Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic.

She’s also one of the founding board members of the Claudette Sorel Organization. Sorel was a pianist, teacher and music philanthropist who advocated a higher profile for contemporary music – particularly by women composers. Falletta and WRCJ’s Peter Whorf speak about the remarkable life of Claudette Sorel – commemorated in the recent re-release of classic recordings: Claudette Sorel: Rediscovered.

Detroit’s Barry Harris was without argument the greatest teacher in jazz, a brilliant pianist and all-round musician. His house in Detroit was a salon where everybody went to learn and play in the 40’s and 50’s. He moved to NYC in the early 60’s and continued to teach around the world for the rest of his life. In 2007 the Arts League of Michigan, now https://thecarrcenter.org/ , brought Barry to Detroit for a performance at the Detroit Festival of the Arts. He also came to the WRCJ studios for an interview, hosted by Karen Dumas and produced by John Penney. He tells the story of jazz in Detroit, stories about the musicians, and reflects on his life.

Steven Jarvi, Music Director of the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra, stops by to speak with Dave Wagner about the symphony's holiday performance on December 17, 2021 at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center.

Each year organist James Kibbie has a tradition of creating an audio holiday card! Listen to this interview with Dave Wagner as he tells us more about it. This year’s recording is Karl Osterland’s Personent hodie, which you can listen to here: www.umich.edu/~jkibbie.

DSO Music Director Laureate Leonard Slatkin recently returned to Detroit to lead the ensemble at Orchestra Hall. WRCJ’s Peter Whorf spoke with the Maestro from his St. Louis home about his recent book "Classical Crossroads" and his DSO reunion performance…

Dave Wagner talks with Damien Crutcher, the Managing Director of Detroit Harmony at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He talks about getting instruments into the hands of young students in Detroit in a joint effort with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra and Band Directors.

Maybe you’ve experienced Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s beloved opera The Marriage of Figaro before – but probably never like this. This Saturday in downtown Detroit, Michigan Opera Theatre plays host to the Mozart masterpiece in a startling new way. WRCJ’s Dave Wagner speaks with MOT Artistic Director Yuval Sharon and new Director of Innovation, Matthew Principe about Bliss – the reimagining of one music’s most sublime moments.

In this interview from "Live With C#", cellist and music educator Cecelia Sharpe speaks with her special guest, the legendary bassist from Detroit Michigan, Ralphe Armstrong.

Peter Whorf speaks with Michigan native cellist and UT-Austin Professor Bion Tsang about his new release of Bach Cello Suites - performed on a very special instrument.

WRCJ’s John Penney spoke recently with Saxophonist and Artistic Director of the Detroit Jazz Festival, Chris Collins, about this year’s artist line-up and last year’s virtual event. The world’s largest free jazz festival returns to live audiences in downtown Detroit, September 3 – 6.