Cara Lieurance

Sound is one of the senses Matthew Whitaker uses to navigate the world, and in him, that sense is refined to the nth degree. He has perfect pitch, is able to play back complex music heard once, and has mastered a century of styles at the age of 20. 

The Western Michigan University Symphony Orchestra will offer a live concert called "Taking Flight" in Miller Auditorium for the first time in two years at 8 pm Saturday, Oct 9.

Planets, a journey of sound and concept from Mercury to Pluto, is the creation of Stratøs, the producer name for multidisciplinary artist Eddie Codrington. He tells Cara Lieurance about the process of writing and finishing the album in four months, with creative input from guest artists like Julia Moffa, David Binney, John Hébert, and Alex Mansour. 

Longtime contributor Lynn Houghton researched a series of interesting local cemeteries for the latest issue of Encore Magazine. She's one of the writers editor Marie Lee depends on to uncover new corners of Southwest Michigan, Lee tells Cara Lieurance as they go behind the stories in the latest issue.

Violist Ellen Rose, who served as principal violist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for 37 years, will perform works of Bloch, Ravel, Messaien, Albeniz and others in a concert presented by the Bullock Series at 7:30 pm Wednesday, Oct 6. She spoke with Cara Lieurance about the music and her experience as a symphonic musician.