Composer and Conductor Victoria Bond worked with the Pittsburgh Symphony as Composer in Residence with Music Director Andre Previn. Victoria speaks with Jim Cunningham about her warm memories of Pittsburgh making music with the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony run by Marie Maazel and her Previn collaborations. She conducted numerous concerts as a trailblazer in the world of women and the arts. She has formed her own company in Chicago worked a lot New York with a home in Greenwich Village and several albums of her music have been released. The most recent from fall 2022 The centerpiece of her newest album is the world premiere recording of Blue and Green Music, commissioned by the Cassatt Quartet through a Chamber Music America commissioning grant. She is principal guest conductor of Chamber Opera Chicago, and has held conducting positions with Pittsburgh Symphony, New York City Opera, Roanoke Symphony, and Bel Canto and Harrisburg Operas. Ms. Bond is Artistic Director of Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival in New York, which she founded in 1998, and is a frequent lecturer at the Metropolitan Opera Guild. 

Matthew Rygelski interviewed the VennDuo Clarinet Duo made up of clarinetists Hannah Weller and Alexandra Chea. The duo met at Messiah University in Harrisburg Pennsylvania and have become a popular collaboration posting new clarinet duets and have been invited to perform live at numerous events. Matthew Rygelski interviewed them about their success and their upcoming projects. 

Celebrate Christmas with Shadyside Brass Sunday December 18 4:30pm at Heinz Chapel in a free will offering concert. It’s all holiday hits with Hark the herald Angels Sing, Carol of the Bells, Coventry Carol. I Saw Three Ships, White Christmas, Santa baby, The Christmas Song, O Christmas Tree and Silent Night. Jim Cunningham will have poetry from Maya Angelou and Anne Bronte plus Dr. Seuss How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The offering benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Trumpet Joseph Figliulo and the Foundation’s volunteer Justin Davis stopped by the QED Morning Show with the details.

Two time Tony award winner Michael Cerveris appears as Scrooge in the 31 year tradition of presenting A Music Christmas Carol by Pittsburgh CLO at the Byham Theater through the 23^rd. Cerveris has recently appeared in The Gilded Age for HBO, Mindhunter for Netfliz and many other film and tv productions. On stage he worked with Stephen Sondheim in Sweeney Todd and several other Sondheim classics. Michael’s father—also Michael Cerveris is a Pittsburgher who has concertized for the Tuesday Musical Club playing a recital of Debussy. Cerveris the younger plays in a highly regarded band Loose Cattle after getting to know members of the Who including Pete Townsend while he starred in the rock opera Tommy but does not pay the piano as much as he’d like. He told Jim Cunningham the second season of the Gilded Age created written and executive produced  by Julian Fellowes of  Downton Abbey fame will make Pittsburghers happy with the story line of the railroad tycoon who shows up in Pittsburgh to meet with union workers this even though New York and Rhode Island was where most of the filming took place. Cerveris says he’s seen all the filmed productions of Dickens Christmas Carol, his favorite is Alistair Sims and he knows his immediate past Scrooge colleague at CLO in recent seasons, Richard Thomas and is not surprised that it was wonderful. In his Pittsburgh debut as Scrooge Michael Cerveris says the production is first rate and an essential holiday treat with special pleasure that the production will be seen by thousands of area students along with the evening performances. 

Resonance Works presents "Amahl and the Night Visitors" December 16th through the 18th at the New Hazlett Theater. Also on the program is Margaret Bonds' "Ballad of the Brown King" and a new work by Nancy Galbraith. Maria Sensi Sellner, Victory Brinker and Jonathan Stuckey stopped by to chat with Anna Singer about the concert.

Conductor Brian Burns and mezzo-soprano Kara Cornell spoke with Anna Singer about the Messiah Sing-Along taking place at Calvary United Methodist Church December 17th and 18th.  

Chatham Baroque's Andrew Fouts stopped by the QED Morning Show with Anna Singer to talk about their upcoming "Art of the Trio" concerts Friday December 16th at St. Nicholas Church, Saturday December 17th at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Sunday December 18th at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.