Podcasts and Radio Programs

About Black composers:

Series:

• Melanated Moments in Classical Music:
  Beginner-accessible podcast that shines a spotlight on musical works composed by, for, and about Black people. Hosted by opera soprano Angela Brown and music sociologist Joshua Thompson. Topics thus far have included composers William Grant Still, Evelyn Simpson, and Thomas Wiggins.

Individual episodes:

• Anachronismo! Podcast:
  • Chevalier de Saint Georges (Joseph Bologne)
• Classics for Kids:
  • William Grant Still: About William Grant Still
  • William Grant Still: The Afro-American Symphony
  • William Grant Still: Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Poetry
  • William Grant Still: Black Composers of Classical Music
• Naxos:
  • “Introducing the Music of Florence Beatrice Price”
• Notes on Notes:
  Hosts Dr. Leah Broad and Simon Brackenborough
  • interview with pianist and scholar Samantha Ege about composer Florence Price
• NPR/WBUR’s Only A Game:
  A weekly sports magazine
  • composer and fencer Chevalier de Saint Georges (Joseph Bologne).
• NPR/Cut & Paste:
  • interview with composer Fred Onovwerosuoke
• Sticky Notes:
  Hosted by conductor Joshua Weilerstein
  • “Composers of Color” (interviews with composer Courtney Bryan and advocate William Zick of Africlassical)
  • “Florence Price: Symphony in E Minor”

About race and diversity in the classical music sphere:

Series:

• Classical Musicians in Color:
  pPodcast and blog dedicated to all things classical by or about Black classical musicians.
• Trilloquy:
  Hosts Garrett McQueen and Scott Blankenship bring you true and real stories “from the fringes of classical music” every week. They interview guests—many African American—with diverse perspectives on the world of classical music.

Individual episodes:

• Classical Classroom:
  • Interview with violinist Rachel Barton Pine about her album Blues Dialogues, the importance of classical music projects that highlight underrepresented composers, and the issues of advocacy vs. cultural appropriation
• Naxos:
  • “Black History Month. Some musical notes”: an interview with harpist Ashley Jackson, who gives “both an historical and a personal perspective on how the struggles of [Black] composers [in history], and those of her grandmother, helped make possible what she does today.”
• NPR’s Wade in the Water:
  Series from the 1990s on African-American sacred music
  • African American Composers & The Concert Spiritual Tradition
  • The Struggle For A New Classical Concert Tradition
• Sticky Notes:
  Hosted by conductor Joshua Weilerstein
  • “Classical Music Changemakers: Garrett McQueen,” about McQueen’s advocacy on behalf of diversity in classical music

About general classical music topics with Black hosts:

Series:

• Decomposed:
  In-depth discussion of well-known composers, breaking down stories that have shaped classical music, from secrets and scandals to acts of sheer genius. Hear these stories accompanied by the symphonies, operas and other masterpieces they inspired. Hosted by African-American classical pianist Jade Simmons.
• Across the Arts:
  Podcast with African-American music critic Patrick D. McCoy, who is committed to informing the community at large about “the joys of classical music.” In addition to discussions with and about musicians of various backgrounds, numerous episodes feature interviews with diverse Black musicians.