Live From FM 91

Graduate and Undergraduate winners of the 2026 Conrad Art Song Competition at Bowing Green State University introduce themselves and their music and perform in the WGTE studios.

We're joined by creatives from Toledo Opera for a discussion (and performance) of the opera "The Elixir of Love" by Gaetano Donizetti. We hear from cast members Marnie Breckenridge (Adina) and Jason Budd (Dr. Dulcamara), as well as conductor J. Ernest Green. Kevin Bylsma accompanies Marnie and Jason in selections from the opera.

Acoustic string duo Warren & Flick (Jacob Warren & Grant Flick) play music from their recent album "Cormorant" and chat about their multi-instrumental works and their mission. Musical works are as follows: 1. "Water and Soap" - composed by Grant Flick 2. "Elegy" - composed by Giovanni Bottesini, arranged by Warren & Flick 3. "Bässen" - composed by Jacob Warren 4. "Steak!" - traditional American Old-Time tune called "Streak O'lean, Streak O'fat", arranged by Warren & Flick

Members of Toledo's Junior Monday Musical join their teachers in performance, as a preview of their concert honoring mentors Frances Renzi and Bonnie Ward. Joining us are Junior Musicale advisor Rachel Schmitz, pianist Frances Renzi (pictured) and flutist Amy Heritage, and their students Molly Boyd, Rachel Mueller (both flutists), and pianist Henry Shao.

Winners of the Douglas Wayland Chamber Competition at BGSU appear in conversation and performance. Viola professor and organizer of the competition Hannah Levinson tells us about the competition and how winners were selected. The winners of the graduate division,The Big Su (saxophone quartet), perform music by William Albright, and the second-place winners of the undergrad division, The Vyšehrad Trio, perform music by Antonín Dvořák.

Cellist Juliana Soltis and pianist Robert Satterlee preview Juliana's new album American Woman, with conversation and performances of works by Amy Beach, Helen Crane, and Florence Price.

Singers Claire Leyden (Nellie Forbush) and Keith Phares (Emile de Becque) perform in our studio and join in conversation with conductor Ernest Green and director James Norman about Toledo Opera's production of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic South Pacific. Photo, from left: Claire Leyden, Kevin Bylsma, Keith Phares in our studio (credit: WGTE) (Please note that the musical selections have been truncated due to copyright concerns)

We do something a little different: a remote live show via zoom. Saxophone duo Lindsey Welp and Christopher Murphy provide commentary and perform Lost in Conversations by Corey Brodack, Deuce by Robert Lemay, and Eliza Brown's Apart Together.

Pianist Frances Renzi plays in studio and on recording in memory of her close colleague and friend, composer and pianist Paul Schoenfield, with whom she made several recordings.

We're joined in the studio by soprano Lindsey Anderson, tenor Brendan Boyle, baritone Corey Crider, and stage director Jeffrey Buchman for a discussion (with performance) of Puccini's "Tosca," which plays at the Valentine Theatre on October 18 and 20.

Join the host of Jazz Spectrum Fritz Byers, and hear the smooth vocal stylings of Toledo native, April Varner accompanied by her pianist Caelan Cardello.

We're joined by the cast and director of Toledo Rep's upcoming presentation of Peter Shaffer's play Amadeus: Joe Capucini (Salieri); Garrett Monasmith (Mozart); Leigh Yenrick (Costanze), and director Matthew Gretzinger. Amadeus runs April 19-28, 2024 at the Toledo Repertoire Theatre. More information at toledorep.org

We're joined by the stars of Toledo Opera's Romeo and Juliet, Kathryn Lewek and Zach Borechevsky, who in real life are a married couple — having discovered their love in - you guessed it - Toledo. Also joining in the lively discussion about this production is director James Mitchell and conductor Adam Turner, and we hear Toledo Opera's Kevin Bylsma at the piano with a love duet from our singers.

We're joined by singers Emma Clark, Finnleigh Klein, Matthew Steele, and Andrew Puschel for a preview of BGSU's production of "Brigadoon" by Lerner and Loewe. Also joining us are pianist/musical director Kevin Bylsma, and director Geoff Stephenson. Note: Due to copyright concerns, the music in this program has been truncated.

Toledo Symphony horn players Megan Amos and Emily Price Dietz join us in the studio for music by Telemann, Vaughan Williams, Rosetti (featuring pianist Jane Weber), Wilhelm Kopprasch, W. A. Mozart, and more! Megan Amos performs with the Perrysburg Symphony on December 1st, and both Megan and Emily will perform a Candlelight Concert with Jane Weber on December 21st at 7PM at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Maumee. You can also check out upcoming events from the Toledo Symphony at their website.

Saxophonist Joseph Lulloff (Professor from Michigan State University) and pianist Yu-Lien The (Professor from Western Michigan University) join us in the studio for selections from their album NEW STORIES from Blue Griffin Records. Also heard is Joe Lulloff's transcription of the Violin Sonata by César Franck (found on Joe's previous album, FOUR SHADES OF FRENCH).

We welcome members of Toledo Opera's production of Gioachino Rossini's Cinderella, with conversation and performance from mezzo Sarah Coit (Angelina/Cinderella); tenor David Walton (Prince Ramiro); conductor Michelle Rofrano, and director Marc Verzatt. PC: James Norman

Singers from Toledo Opera's final production of the season "Celebrazione del Coro" join us for conversation and performance in the WGTE Dana performance studio. Photo, L-R: Kevin Bylsma, conductor/pianist; Sara Mortensen, soprano; Matthew Payne, baritone; Brendan Boyle, Tenor; Brad Cresswell, WGTE Host. (PC Rachael Cammarn, Toledo Opera)

We're joined by two members of the Toledo Symphony Youth Orchestras, violinist Adam Major and flutist Hannah Schultz. Both are students at Clay High School, and both perform in our Dana studio and share stories and insights into their respective musical journeys. Also in the studio with us are Adam and Hannah's teachers, Sonsoles Llodrá and Amy Heritage, who talk about their work as teachers and the upcoming Side by Side concert with the TSO on March 19 at 4:00 p.m. in the Peristyle (special thanks also to TSO cellist Amy Chang, who accompanied Adam on piano). Picture: Adam Major in WGTE's Dana Performance Studio (credit: Amy Heritage)

The leading cast members of Toledo Opera's production of The Merry Widow by Franz Lehar stop by the WGTE studios for conversation and performance. Joining us in this audio preview are (pictured) Co-Artistic Directors Kevin Bylsma and James Norman, baritone Keith Phares, WGTE's Brad Cresswell, soprano Alyson Cambridge, and Co-Director Jamie Offenbach. We also hear a musical selection from tenor Drake Dantzler and soprano Caroline Miller (not pictured).

We're joined in the studio by the husband and wife team of Douglas and Megan Amos for a wide-ranging program of duets, from Mozart to Debussy and more. Megan is principal horn of the Toledo Symphony, while Doug has played trumpet in a number of orchestras, including the Toledo Symphony, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and the Detroit Symphony. Check out the duo's website at this link: https://dougamosmusic.com/the-amos-duo/

Our new classical host Mary Claire Murphy brings her musical talents to the Dana performance studio, playing her own music at the piano and providing the backstory to those works.

It's Live from FM 91, as we welcome star singers from Toledo Opera's double bill of Puccini's Suor Angelica and Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. It's a singers' roundtable, with discussion and performance from soprano Jill Gardner, contralto Lauren Decker, and tenor Brian Cheney. We're also joined by conductor Geoffrey McDonald and Co-Artistic Director Kevin Bylsma, who accompanies our singers on piano.

The star string trio Time for Three performs for us (with composer Kevin Puts on the piano). In this session, we talk about their new album Letters for the Future, which contains concertos written for them by Kevin Puts and Jennifer Higdon.

Our old friends the Tower Brass Quintet (with three new members) return to the FM 91 studios to perform a program of Christmas favorites!

Four star singers from Toledo Opera's production of Il Trovatore join us for conversation and performance: soprano Leah Crocetto; tenor Carl Tanner; mezzo Deborah Nansteel, and baritone Kyle Pfortmiller. Also joining us are Co-Artistic Directors Kevin Bylsma (also the pianist) and James Norman.

In this virtual edition of Live from FM 91, we welcome two members of The Sylvan Trio: flutist (and Sunday Baroque host) Suzanne Bona, and pianist (and former WGTE host) Greg Kostraba. Suzanne and Greg talk about and share tracks from their latest album, Music for Flute, Cello & Piano by Women Composers, which you can find here: https://www.amazon.com/Music-Flute-Cello-Piano-Composers/dp/B08L22XY5C. The Sylvan Trio Website: http://www.sylvantrio.com/Sylvan_Trio/Home.html Sunday Baroque's "Beautiful Music in Difficult Times" blog: https://sundaybaroque.org/category/blog/ Please note: due to copyright restrictions, some musical selections have been truncated for this podcast.

For this episode of Live From FM 91, we connect virtually with composers Evan Ziporyn and Christine Southworth as they introduce their own music. On the program: Christine's Sharktooth Frenzy (from pianist Yevgeny Yontov) and Evan's Tunggal (from New Music Detroit and vibraphonist Ian Ding). Both performances come from last year's New Music Festival at Bowling Green State University, when Evan was the featured composer. https://www.ziporyn.com/ http://www.christinesouthworth.com/ https://www.bgsu.edu/festival

Baroque cellist Juliana Soltis stops by the studio for a conversation about (and performances from) her new album Going Off Script: The Ornamented Suites for Cello. Juliana brings a fresh approach to the solo cello suites of Johann Sebastian Bach by looking to the past for inspiration: specifically, the ornamental, improvisatory performance style of the baroque era. Photo by Teresa Tam Studio.

Graduate and undergrad winners of the annual Conrad Art Song Competition at BGSU perform live in our Dana Performance Studio. Nick Kottman, baritone | Emily Morin, piano "In the silence of the secret night" by Sergei Rachmaninoff Mickey Miller, soprano | Humay Gasimzade, piano “Dans un bois solitaire” by Mozart “La petite servant” by Poulenc (from Cinq poemes du Max Jacob) Nick Kottman, baritone | Emily Morin, piano "Nude at the Piano" by John Musto "Mattinata" by Ruggero Leoncavallo Mickey Miller, soprano | Humay Gasimzade, piano “Skogen Sover” by Hugo Alfven “Canto di Primavera” by Pietro Cimara