Speaking Soundly

Canadian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson has led orchestras and opera companies around the globe to great acclaim for over two decades. Earlier this year, with her cousins on the battlefield of Ukraine, s…

Avery Fisher Prize winner and clarinetist Anthony McGill is the first African-American to hold a Principal chair in the New York Philharmonic’s 180-year history. He sees his high-profile position as …

Conductor Joshua Weilerstein catapulted to international attention at a young age when he won first prize of the world-famous Malko Competition for Young Conductors with hardly any formal training. H…

International violin virtuoso, Ray Chen is redefining the role of today’s classical soloist. Using social media, Ray aims to educate, enlighten, and entertain his audience before they get to the conc…

Longtime Principal Trombonist with the New York Philharmonic and Juilliard faculty member Joseph Alessi discusses his musical childhood, the key to inspiring his students, and a recent health scare t…

Juilliard freshman Spencer Rubin is either practicing the oboe, working on his oboe reeds, or making a TikTok video for his 1.5 million followers. The young oboist is taking the musical world by stor…

Wynton Marsalis is a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, nine-time Grammy Award winner, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the greatest trumpeter of his generation, but to our host, David,…

Scottish percussionist and Grammy Award winner Dame Evelyn Glennie became profoundly deaf at the age of twelve. Her unique journey to open up her entire body to sound led her to become the first pers…

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra trombonist Denson Paul Pollard had an unconventional path to the stage and credits his grit, determination, and humble roots for taking him from a small town in rural Geo…

Eight-time Grammy Award-winning pianist Emanuel “Manny” Ax has performed in the world’s greatest concert halls, playing on a different piano in each city, and enjoys the challenge of adjusting to eac…

From the age of seventeen, Christian McBride has been playing with jazz legends and, over the past 30 years, has become one himself. The eight-time Grammy Award-winning bassist recalls a brief stint …

Three-time Grammy Award-winning American mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard describes how she navigates the occasional chaos of backstage as she prepares to sing in the world’s greatest opera houses. She e…