Cara Lieurance

Ludwig van Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony is a testament to hope and personal expression, yet he wrote it at the worst time of the composer's life, says conductor Julian Kuerti, who will conduct the symphony at 8 pm on Saturday, Nov 23 in Chenery Auditorium. Joining Kuerti in an interview with Cara Lieurance are soloists Jun-Ching Lin, the KSO's principal violinist/concertmaster, and Igor Cetkovic, KSO principal cellist, who will perform the Concerto for Violin and Cello, "Double," by Johannes Brahms. Cetkovic says their solo parts seem equal to each other, like two friends having a conversation. The third work on the program, Oliver Knussen's Music for a Puppet Court, is a piece that will delight puzzle lovers - a reference that will be explained by Kuerti during the concert.

Jack Pinto ("Buddy the Elf"), director Tony Humrichouser, choreographer Lesa Denklau, actress Kathleen Weissert ("Deb") and marketing director Janet Gover each contribute behind-the-scenes stories about the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre's production of Elf The Musical, in a live interview with Cara Lieurance. This stage adaptation of the 2003 film starring Will Ferrell will run from Friday, Nov 22 - Sunday, Dec 8.

Jon Schmidt grew up in a music-loving family, he tells Cara Lieurance, citing two older siblings who nurtured his talent at a pianist. Hearing Mannheim Steamroller's creative pop-classical crossover arrangements inspired him to continue his path of bridging his classical training and popular entertainment. As the pianist in The Piano Guys, he and cellist Steven Sharp Nelson are featured in instrumental videos that have been viewed over 1.6 billion times.  

The Piano Guys will perform at 7:30 pm Wednesday, Nov 20 in Miller Auditorium. 

Weiyin Chen, a Juilliard-trained pianist and longtime friend of conductor Andrew Koehler, makes her third appearance with the Kalamazoo Philharmonia at 7:30 pm Saturday, Nov 16 by giving her first performance of Tchaikovsky's monumental Piano Concerto No. 1 . Chen and Koehler join Cara Lieurance to preview the concert and highlight the other works on the program: Overture by Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz and Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations.

The original music and improvisations of both Rob Clearfield and alto saxophonist Caroline Davis is the starting point for the jazz quartet Persona, which is bringing its new album, Anthems, on tour to Western Michigan University at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, Nov 12 in the Dalton Center Recital Hall. Joining them on the album, and on tour, are bassist Sam Weber and drummer Jay Sawyer, both Western Michigan University jazz alumni. All four Persona members and WMU professor of jazz drums Keith Hall joined Cara Lieurance in the studio to talk about their work and listen to some of the new tracks.