I made a video about navigating personal narratives with music. It's so meta... you can actually hear me playing music on this video too!

Armenian ethnomusicology pioneer Komitas Vardapet has been gone 90 years but his legacy still offers us fresh lessons. Listen to a performance video and learn about him in this post.

I had a super nerdy chat with Colorado Symphony Chorus Director Taylor Martin about the difference between a chorus, a chorale, and a choir, and whether Mendelssohn should've used an ampersand to better market his "Lobgesang" Symphony Cantata. For more info, check out the Complete Concert Guide: Mozart and Mendelssohn! Head back to the Backstage Pass subscriber page! →

All of Living and Dying in one symphonic work? Must be Mahler! His "cursed" 9th symphony really is all that and a bag of chips.

I chatted with violinist Megan Prokes about preparing to rehearse and perform the music of Gustav Mahler.

Beethoven - The Haunting! 3 works relative to Beethoven's music: Unsuk Chin's subito con forza, Mozart's 24th Piano Concerto, and Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony!

I chatted with Carolyn Kunicki about the french horn and performing Tchaikovsky's 4th symphony.

Powerfully expressive music from Joan Tower, Max Bruch, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Ottorino Respighi.

I chatted with percussionist John Kinzie about Respighi's Pines of Rome and all the cool percussion stuff in it, plus got some fun stories from past performances!

The Romantic era was one of wearing emotions on sleeves. The music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Hector Berlioz sets those sleeves on fire!