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

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
• 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“
• 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”

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.
• 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
• Sticky Notes: Hosted by conductor Joshua Weilerstein
  • “Classical Music Changemakers: Garrett McQueen,” about McQueen’s advocacy on behalf of diversity in classical music
• The Theory Club: Hosted by Lydia Bangura and Emily Zwijack
  • “Developing an Anti-Racist Performance Space”
  • “Music Theory and the White Racial Frame” (discussing Dr. Philip Ewell’s article on that topic in an interview with Dr. William Hussey of Roosevelt University)

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.”