Cara Lieurance

At 4 pm on Sunday, Dec 4, the Kalamazoo Bach Festival will release its annual holiday concert online, in a year when the COVID-19 pandemic has put a stop to live concerts. Director Chris Ludwa and featured soloist Ben Gulley give Cara Lieurance a preview of the production.

Longtime fans and patrons of Farmers Alley Theatre picked their favorite scenes and songs from the past 12 seasons at Farmers Alley Theatre for By Request, streaming now through Nov 29 on Broadway On Demand. Cara Lieurance talked to founders Rob Weiner and Jeremy Koch about some of the highlights.

At 10:30 am on Saturday, Nov 21, the Kalamazoo-based Stulberg International String Competition will conclude a series of three online concerts this month. This week, the featured artist is violinist Charlotte Marckx, the 2018 gold medalist.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 -- the "apotheosis of the dance," according to Richard Wagner - is the centerpiece of a virtual concert by the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 pm on Saturday, Nov 21. It's her favorite Beethoven symphony, admits conductor Anne Harrigan, who conducted the performance to film for this release. Harrigan previewed the music and talked about her commitment to keeping audiences engaged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The online concert is free; register here.

At 7:30 pm on Friday, Nov 20, Fontana will showcase the innovative American quartet Brooklyn Rider in an online concert.  Known for its commitment to the music of today and its collaborations with a surprising range of artists, from banjoist Bela Fleck to Celtic fiddler Martin Hayes, Friday's program will be based on Brooklyn Rider's newest release, Healing Modes. It is centered around one of the greatest works in the string quartet repertoire: Beethoven's String Quartet No. 15, which includes the "Song of Thanksgiving." Cara Lieurance talks to founding member and violist Nicholas Cords to find out more.