Piedmont Arts Podcast

JazzArts Charlotte has been around for 15 years, promoting jazz through education and concerts with top performers from around the world. On this episode, CEO and co-founder Lonnie Davis talks about the group's origins and how it's growing a new generation of jazz performers and fans through education and concerts. Learn more about JazzArts Charlotte .

The Charlotte Symphony welcomes guest conductor Vinay Parameswaran to the podium to lead a program of twentieth and twenty-first century music by Sibelius, Britten, Still, and up-and-coming American composer Gabriella Smith. He shares the story of how he became a conductor instead of a lawyer and gives in depth insights into all the works on the symphony program. Learn more about the Charlotte Symphony's Classical Series . Pictured: Vinay Parameswaran; credit Roger Mastroianni.

Guest conductor Erina Yashima leads the Charlotte Symphony in a program that includes Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique . Yashima recently finished her tenure as Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. And she recently started in her new position as First Kapellmeister at the Komische Oper Berlin. She talks about the works on the orchestra program, the differences between American and European orchestras, and the importance of music education in her native Germany. Pictured: Erina Yashima by Todd Rosenberg Photography/ Askonas Holt .

The Carolina Brass Quintet will present a fun and challenging virtuosic recital as part of Music at St. Alban's in Davidson, NC. The recital will celebrate the contributions and talents of trumpeter and quintet founder Bill Lawing who will retire from the quintet in December 2022. Besides his long service in Carolina Brass Quintet, Lawing is the Estes Millner Professor of Music Emeritus at Davidson College having retired after teaching there for 46 years. He talks about his long career and his many contributions to Davidson College, and the cultural life of our region. Learn more about Music at St. Alban's

As the Charlotte area grows, so does its cultural offerings. On this Piedmont Arts, we talk to representatives from two of the newer arts organizations in our area. The Cain Center for the Arts in Cornelius has a new exhibit called “Generations: Highlighting Indigenous Peoples, Cultures, and Artwork" which features creations by Catawba, Cherokee, Lumbee, and other artists. Cain Director of Visual Art & Education Simone El Bey gives us some background. We also hear from Matt Wetmore, artistic director and founder of Charlotte Chamber Choir, a semi-professional group now in its third year. Wetmore talks about their concert at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Charlotte. Learn more about “ Generations: Highlighting Indigenous Peoples, Cultures, and Artwork " Learn more about the Charlotte Chamber Choir