American Stories

Today on American Stories, photographer and long-haul trucker Ry Shorosky tells us how he survives fifteen-hour days on the interstate and reflects on how life on the road sharpened his eye as a photographer. Adventurer and father of four Nathan Swartz gives us a peek at what it's like to be on a non-stop family vacation and what it takes to commit to a one-of-a-kind lifestyle.

And we take you through Road Movies for violin and piano, written by composer John Adams in 1995.

Learn more about our featured guests here:

https://ryshorosky.com/

https://wandrlymagazine.com/

About us:

Sophia Stoyanovich is a violinist originally from Bainbridge Island, Washington. Born into a family of artists, Sophia seeks to develop projects that cultivate empathy through exploring identities. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she has performed internationally, including soloing with the Seattle Symphony. In 2014 she traveled throughout Vietnam with the About Face Foundation, teaching at schools and orphanages. She is also communications director and violinist of The Versoi Ensemble, an international chamber ensemble dedicated to cultural diplomacy through chamber music. Derek Wang is a New York-based pianist and communicator who is guided by the value of committed listening in musical and social spaces. He is a graduate student at The Juilliard School and member of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival and School. He appeared on an NPR Tiny Desk episode in 2018 as emcee for From the Top. He has played family concerts alongside the animated short film collection Magic Piano and the Chopin Shorts in the U.S., Mexico, and on tour in China.

Visit www.american-stories.org, where this episode is available for download in an MP3 format.

Check out our Facebook page and Instagram!

Write to us at [email protected] - we'd love to hear from you!

A meditation on the role of art in envisioning and enacting peace in our communities, featuring music that traces the struggle for peace throughout our country's history, including a stirring arrangement of a spiritual, a new work written during the pandemic, and a pair of peace-themed jazz arrangements. Our guests are three extraordinary creative thinkers who tell stories through their art: composer Jessie Montgomery and poets Keno Evol and Lester Batiste, who introduce their Minneapolis-based organization BlackTableArts.

Musical selections in order of performance [timestamp]:

• Jessie Montgomery – "Peace" (2020) [4:25]
• "Nobody Knows the Trouble I See" arr. J. Rosamond Johnson and Maud Powell [26:26]
• Bill Evans – "Peace Piece" arr. American Stories [43:19]
• Horace Silver – "Peace" arr. American Stories [1:00:55]

Learn more about BlackTableArts at https://www.blacktablearts.com/.

About us:

Sophia Stoyanovich is a violinist originally from Bainbridge Island, Washington. Born into a family of artists, Sophia seeks to develop projects that cultivate empathy through exploring identities. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she has performed internationally, including soloing with the Seattle Symphony. In 2014 she traveled throughout Vietnam with the About Face Foundation, teaching at schools and orphanages. She is also communications director and violinist of The Versoi Ensemble, an international chamber ensemble dedicated to cultural diplomacy through chamber music. Derek Wang is a New York-based pianist and communicator who is guided by the value of committed listening in musical and social spaces. He is a graduate student at The Juilliard School and member of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival and School. He appeared on an NPR Tiny Desk episode in 2018 as emcee for From the Top. He has played family concerts alongside the animated short film collection Magic Piano and the Chopin Shorts in the U.S., Mexico, and on tour in China.

Visit www.american-stories.org, where this episode is available for download in an MP3 format.

Check out our Facebook page and Instagram!

Write to us at [email protected] - we'd love to hear from you!

Honoring both Mother's Day and International Nurses Day this week, our first episode is a tribute to moms on the front lines of COVID-19. American Stories brings you storytelling through conversation and through music. In socially-distanced times, we’re connecting as musicians through remote performance: this episode features “Mother and Child” for violin and piano by William Grant Still, recorded from our homes across the country. We begin by sharing the stories of two heroic New York City health care workers and mothers. Agnes Garfield, a nurse practitioner and new mom, tells us about the sacrifices made by hospital workers, the surprises of being a new mom, and the challenges of raising her little boy during the pandemic. Mari Pascoe, a midwife, talks us through her process of recovery from the coronavirus, and shares stories from the delivery room.

Timestamps:

• [3:18] – Conversation with Agnes Garfield
• [16:00] – Conversation with Mari Pascoe
• [28:23] – The life and legacy of William Grant Still (1895 - 1978)
• [31:26] – Our discussion of “Mother and Child”
• [37:55] – Our performance of “Mother and Child”

See Sargent Johnson's chalk drawing Mother and Child: https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/36.5991/

American Stories in general, and this first episode in particular, would not have been possible without our beloved mentors, Ms. Catherine Cho and Ms. Natasha Brofsky; we were fortunate to have their guidance, encouragement, and expertise at every turn.

About us:

Sophia Stoyanovich is a violinist originally from Bainbridge Island, Washington. Born into a family of artists, Sophia seeks to develop projects that cultivate empathy through exploring identities. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she has performed internationally, including soloing with the Seattle Symphony. In 2014 she traveled throughout Vietnam with the About Face Foundation, teaching at schools and orphanages. She is also communications director and violinist of The Versoi Ensemble, an international chamber ensemble dedicated to cultural diplomacy through chamber music. Derek Wang is a New York-based pianist and communicator who is guided by the value of committed listening in musical and social spaces. He is a Juilliard graduate and member of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival and School. He appeared on an NPR Tiny Desk episode in 2018 as emcee for From the Top. He has played family concerts alongside the animated short film collection Magic Piano and the Chopin Shorts in the U.S., Mexico, and on tour in China.

Visit www.american-stories.org, where this episode is available for download in an MP3 format.

Write to us at [email protected] - we'd love to hear from you!