Podcasts and Radio Programs

This list is a work in progress! If you know of other podcasts or radio programs we should add, please let us know at editor@musicbyblackcomposers.org  

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. In addition to discussions of composers, the podcast also features diverse topics concerning Black musicians, scholars, activists, etc. Composers featured in seasons:
  • Season Seven: Nkeiru Okoye, William Levi Dawson, Oswald Russell, Nathaniel Dett
  • Season Six: Scott Joplin (and his opera Treemonisha), Joseph Bologne, Amanda Ira Aldridge
  • Season Five: Jessie Montgomery, Tania Leon, George Bridgetower
  • Season Four: Francis Johnson, Julia Perry, James Lee III, Mikhail Johnson
  • Season Three: Rosephanye Powell, Harry T. Burleigh, Margaret Bonds, David Baker, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Undine Smith Moore, Florence Price
  • Season Two: Anthony Davis, Ignatius Sancho, Moses Hogan, Robert Nathaniel Dett
  • Season One: William Grant Still, Evelyn Simpson Curenton, Thomas Wiggins, William Banfield

Individual episodes:

• Anachronismo! Podcast:
  • Chevalier de Saint Georges (Joseph Bologne)
• Classically Speaking:
  • Leila Adu and the Fierce Guardian of Compassion
  • Wide Awake with Pianist Lara Downes (includes music by William Grant Still and Florence Price)
  • Hannibal Lokumbe and the Sacred Covenant of Music
  • Not a Moment Too Soon—Joel Thompson and “The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed
• 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
• Let’s Talk Off the Podium:
  • An interview with “Legendary Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer George Walker“
  • An interview with “Wadada Leo Smith, trumpeter and composer“
• Live in Studio C:
  • Paired with a Spiritual (music by Dave Ragland)
  • Inversion Vocal Ensemble (music by Scott Joplin, Dave Ragland, and Raymond Wise)
  • Gwendolyn Brown (music by Florence Price, Leslie Adams, William Levi Dawson, and Jacqueline Hairston)
  • Maya Stone (music by Mark Lomax II and Raymond Wise)
• Naxos:
  • “Introducing the Music of Florence Beatrice Price”
• Notes on Notes: Hosted by 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”
• The Theory Club: Hosted by Lydia Bangura and Emily Zwijack
  • “The Black American Sound”
• WPLN News Radio Special:
  • Three Castles and the Music City—150 Years of the Fisk Jubilee Singers

Programs about race and diversity in the classical music sphere:

Series:

• Classically Black: Dalanie and Katie talk all things classical music and being Black in the profession.
• Classical Musicians in Color: Podcast and blog dedicated to all things classical by or about Black classical musicians.
• Every Voice with Terrance McKnight: There are many different kinds of classical music, depending on where you are in the world. While this music typically preserves the traditions of a given society, classical music in America remains wedded to its Western European roots. On this show, we want to know why — and what America’s classical music really sounds like. Through interviews, historical investigation, and personal storytelling, Terrance McKnight unearths the hidden voices that have been shaping our musical traditions all along.
• 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
• Let’s Talk Off the Podium:
  • “Legendary Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer George Walker”
• 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
• q with Tom Power: Arts and entertainment series featuring artist interviews on CBC Listen
  • How pianist Lara Downes is shining a light on overlooked or forgotten Black composers
• Sticky Notes: Hosted by conductor Joshua Weilerstein
  • “Classical Music Changemakers: Garrett McQueen,” about McQueen’s advocacy on behalf of diversity in classical music
• WPLN News Radio Special:

Programs 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.
• The Score: “An Urban Music Education Podcast hosted by Eric and Justin. They provide tips and strategies through honest discussions about their experience teaching music in an Urban setting. The goal is to provide a positive and solution-based narrative to create more effective, compassionate and culturally relevant music educators.”
• The Theory Club: “The Theory Club is a podcast centered around topics in music theory, musicology, performance, analysis, and research, from the perspective of two students. The Theory Club is hosted by your fellow theory nerds, Lydia Bangura & Emily Zwijack.

Current radio programs only available to hear/stream live:

• Gateways Radio: The Gateways Music Festival Orchestra is a 125+ member ensemble of musicians of African descent under the leadership of conductor Anthony Parnther. Gateways Radio features exceptional compositions and exquisite performances, celebrating the Gateways Music Festival’s mission of connecting and supporting classical musicians of African descent and serving as a source of inspiration, enlightenment, and engagement for communities—especially communities underrepresented in classical music.
  • Listen at wfmt.com at 8:00pm Central on Tuesdays (FM 98.7 WFMT in Chicago)
• Unmute The Voices: Unmute The Voices celebrates BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) artistry in classical music by highlighting compositions and performances by BIPOC artists. Unmute The Voices exists to accelerate the development of equity in classical music by increasing the visibility of the BIPOC community in classical music and to encourage their inclusion in the art form. The program includes classical music composed by people from BIPOC communities, performances by artists of color, and interviews with artists. Unmute The Voices is a radio show and video series hosted by Dr. Quinton Morris.
  • Listen at king.org 3pm Pacific on the third Saturday of every month (FM 98.1 Classical KING in Seattle)