Arts Features

If you pay attention to science news, you might be concerned by recent reports from both The United Nations and the U.S. Federal Government warning of the effects of climate change. Skeptics abound, however, and there seems to be little political will to make large-scale changes to the way we live. That's why, in part, the National Science Foundation is sending artists and musicians to far-flung places all over the planet. That's how composer Glenn McClure found himself sleeping in a tent in Antarctica. “It was fascinating,” he says. “We were tenting on the Ross Ice Shelf, which is a kilometer thick and about the size of France.” McClure was there as a kind of translator in 2016, to look, listen, and write music in response to the place. There wasn't much to see, he says. No birds. No rocks. No plants. The horizon simply blended into the sky, and he found it disorienting, like being on an ocean of white. But it was noisy, he says, full of sounds like wind and the crunch of different

Mitzie Collins might be excused for resting on her laurels. She's not. For her contributions Rochester's musical life, she earned the 2007 Artist Award from the Arts and Cultural Council of Greater Rochester, and she was honored as 2014 Musician of the Year by the Rochester Alumnae of the Mu Phi Epsilon Music Fraternity. Hammered dulcimer expert. Shape-note singer. Organist. Recording artist. For decades Mitzie has performed, taught, and delighted audiences in a wide range of musical styles. In some ways, she says, she's enjoying the fruits of her labor. Many, many years ago (like 47 years ago) I was one of the Founding Mothers and Parents of the Golden Link Folk Singing Society. Now I make a point of getting to many of those Tuesday night sing-arounds. The Founding Parents didn't run it for the last 47 years, so we have somthing that's viable that other people take part in, and I'm really proud of that. Now I want to take advantage of the music-making that's in Rochester. Occasionally

A descendant of Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington says Rochester should be the permanent home of an organization dedicated to their legacies. Kenneth Morris is the great-great-great grandson of Frederick Douglass and the great-great grandson of Booker T. Washington. His non-profit organization, the Douglass Family Initiatives, provides educational programming about modern day slavery and the prevention of human trafficking. Morris says his team is looking at properties in Rochester that could be the organization's new headquarters, and he will consider feedback from the community about the possible move. "We started looking at cities that were significant in the life of Frederick Douglass. Rochester, to me, seems like it should be the epicenter of everything Douglass, not only locally, but nationally and internationally. Morris was a guest on WXXI's Connections with Evan Dawson on Monday. Morris says there isn't a timeline for the move, but he's optimistic it will happen. The

He was a piano man in a bar. Now he's shaping the future as the dean of a conservatory. Brazilian-born musician Armenio Suzano, Jr. got an unconventional start as the youngest member of the Rio de Janeiro Opera House Symphony Orchestra (Orquestra do Teatro Municipal) at the age of sixteen. Faith and passion moved him from that orchestra pit in Brazil to a small town in Massachusets, serving a Portuguese-speaking community of immigrants. How Suzano came to lead the Greatbatch School of Music in Houghton College is a fascinating story. His favorite part of being a musician? All of it. I love performing the clarinet and the saxophone. I love performing the piano. I love the administrative part of things because you get to create, almost shape up the future with your colleagues. You look at circumstances and possibilities. You look at this donor and you look at that program and you put those two things together, and the next thing you know, magic is happening! So there's a certain beauty

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Veronica passed away suddenly on October 9, 2019 from Malaria, after being bitten by a mosquito while attending her father's funeral in Nigeria. She had accomplished so much for the classical music and the arts in the short time she was in Ghana, and we hope that her passion will inspire others to carry on her legacy. Learn more about her life, her mission and her passing here .

Christmas Eve, during the first year of World War I, soldiers from opposite sides put aside their differences and the war they were fighting to spend time together, sharing their provisions and stories with each other, to celebrate Christmas. This beautiful, true story was told in the movie Joyeux Noël in 2005, and then adapted into an opera, Silent Night , in 2011 by librettist Mark Campbell and composer Kevin Puts, who as an alum of the Eastman School of Music. Silent Night played to sold out houses in its first production at Minnesota Opera, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2012, and continues to be performed – including in a production at Glimmerglass for just a few more performances this summer. I was able to catch up with Kevin Puts over the phone to talk about the opera, as well as his love of film music, and his plans to expand a work that he wrote for Renee Fleming based on a commission from the Eastman School of Music, “ Letters from Georgia .” You can hear a short feature

One of the operas on stage at the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, NY this year is the Pulitizer Prize-winning Silent Night – based on a true story of a legendary cease-fire during World War I. Composer Kevin Puts spoke with WXXI's Mona Seghatoleslami for a preview of this moving opera. You can hear an extended interview with Kevin Puts here . Musical examples in the feature are courtesy of Minnesota Opera . Thanks also to Unision Media for helping to make this story happen.

His cello has floated to islands and scaled mountains. Its sound has echoed across remote lakes and dense pine forests. Brian Donat is The Adirondack Cellist , and he's performed on wild peaks, in hunting cabins, and on lakeside docks. Brian performed and taught across the Adirondack region for nearly a decade before moving to Webster, NY in November of 2017. He has performed abroad in Italy and Australia, as well as with the Glens Falls Symphony, the Orchestra of Northern NY (Potsdam), the Battenkill Chorale (Saratoga Springs), Hubbard Hall Opera (Cambridge), the MostArts Festival (Alfred), and just about everywhere in between. He currently plays with the Southern Tier Symphony in Olean, and the Penfield Symphony Orchestra in Penfield. As the Adirondack Cellist, he has won the WeddingWire Couples' Choice award for five years in a row for his wedding services; he's played for countless local events and productions and collaborated with soprano Holly McCormack as the duo Cello Voce.

Guest conductor Christopher Warren-Green led the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Rochester Oratorio Society in a performance of Handel's Messiah in December of 2016. The maestro is no stranger to the British royal family. In an interview with WXXI's Julia Figueras, Warren-Green tells stories from his concerts for the Queen of England, including one tale of a harpsichord discovered in the bowels of Kew Palace he thought must have been played by George Friedrich Handel himself. See more about the upcoming wedding on WXXI-TV. The Royal Wedding Live will replay on Sunday, May 20 at 11 a.m. on WXXI-TV.

To hear a concert by pianist Tony Caramia is to hear beautiful and unexpected music. He follows his intuition, chance, a ravenous curiosity and a good ear into some wonderful musical discoveries, that open up new worlds for listeners – as well as for the students he teaches at Eastman. On Live from Hochstein this afternoon , Caramia is playing music that stands out for its lovely harmonies – and playful energy - in a program called “Syncopated Sounds from Germany.” Listen above to hear him introduce you to Ernest Fischer, Erwin Schulhoff, Lothar Perl, and others.