In this episode we talk about Elaine Mitchener's many projects, improvisation, music education, Jeanne Lee and much more. Elaine Mitchener is an experimental vocalist, movement artist and composer, whose work encompasses improvisation, contemporary music theatre and performance art. Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Elaine studied voice at Trinity College of Music, London and currently studies with Jacqueline Bremar. She has performed at numerous UK and European festivals, venues and gall...
Jul 16, 2020•57 min•Ep. 115
Ep. 114: Maria Seletskaja, conductor & former principal soloist with international ballet companies. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. In this podcast we talk about Maria's journey from a principal soloist with major ballet companies to a professional conducting career. She also talks about her family and work balance, passion for the violin, and much more! Estonian born Maria Seletskaja enjoyed 15 years on the international ballet stage as principal soloist with the Royal Bal...
Jul 11, 2020•45 min•Ep. 114
Ep. 113: Richard Stoltzman, “A Classical superstar.” - NY TIMES. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Two-time Grammy Award-winning clarinetist Richard Stoltzman is known as a captivating recitalist, chamber musician, and jazz performer, as well as a prolific recording artist. He gave the first clarinet recitals in the histories of both the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall. In 1986, Stoltzman became the first wind player to be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize. Recently he was awarded t...
Jul 06, 2020•58 min•Ep. 113
Ep. 112: Eugenia Forteza, opera singer and founder of 360 of Opera. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Eugenia currently resides in NYC, where she freelances as a vocalist, actor and model. She is the Founder and Lead Editor of 360° of Opera and serves as a Board Member of Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra & Frisson Films. In this podcast we talk about tennis, marketing of opera and classical music, and much more. Eugenia also talks about starting 360 of Opera and which has g...
Jul 03, 2020•41 min•Ep. 112
Ep. 111: Joe Deninzon, violinist. “The Jimi Hendrix of the Violin” Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Joe Deninzon has been hailed by critics as “The Jimi Hendrix of the Violin,” because of his innovative style on electric seven-string violin. Joe has worked with Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Phoebe Snow, Everclear, Ritchie Blackmore,, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Robert Bonfiglio, Les Paul, and as a soloist with the NY City Ballet and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Joe is the lead...
Jul 01, 2020•38 min•Ep. 111
Ep. 110: Sharon Isbin, guitarist. Grammy Award winner & founder of the Juilliard Guitar Dept. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Acclaimed for her extraordinary lyricism, technique and versatility, multiple Grammy Award winner Sharon Isbin was named the 2020 Musical America Worldwide Instrumentalist of the Year, the first guitarist ever to receive the coveted honor in its 59 year award history. Soloist with over 200 orchestras, Isbin has performed in the world’s finest halls. W...
Jun 30, 2020•47 min•Ep. 110
Ep. 109: Rachel Fine, Executive Director and CEO of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Rachel Fine is Executive Director & CEO of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Prior to joining The Wallis team in 2015, she worked as Senior Consultant for the DeVos Institute of Arts Management. Drawing upon a 22-year career in the arts as a versatile administrator, educator and fundraiser, as well as a professional class...
Jun 27, 2020•47 min•Ep. 109
Ep. 108: George Jackson, conductor. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Armed with insatiable artistic curiosity, a true performer’s instincts and the advantages of a rigorous central European training, George Jackson has earned critical acclaim for the authority and eloquence of his music-making. The British conductor’s career continues to gather momentum, propelled by landmark debuts with leading orchestras and opera companies and fuelled by his power to communicate compelling mus...
Jun 23, 2020•55 min•Ep. 108
Ep. 107: Michael Crusoe, timpanist. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Michael Crusoe is principal timpanist of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 1980. In addition, he also serves as principal timpanist of the Seattle Opera Association and the Mostly Mozart Summer Festival Orchestra at Lincoln Center in New York. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Washington, he served as percussion instructor at the Waterloo Music Festival in New Jersey an...
Jun 22, 2020•38 min•Ep. 107
Ep. 106: Yolanda Kondonassis, one of the world's premier solo harpists. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Yolanda Kondonassis is celebrated as one of the world’s premier solo harpists and is widely regarded as today’s most recorded classical harpist. Hailed as “viscerally exciting” (The Chicago Tribune) and a “brilliant and expressive player” (The Dallas Morning News), she has performed around the globe as a concerto soloist and in recital, bringing her unique brand of musicianshi...
Jun 18, 2020•39 min•Ep. 106
Ransom Wilson has long been recognized internationally as one of the greatest flutists of his generation. Flutist/conductor Ransom Wilson has performed in concert with major orchestras the world over. As a flutist, he has recently launched an ongoing series of solo recordings on the Nimbus label in Europe. As a conductor, he is starting his third season as Music Director of the Redlands Symphony in Southern California, and he continues his positions with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and Le Tr...
Jun 15, 2020•52 min•Ep. 105
Ep. 104: Kirsten Agresta Copely, harpist. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. KIRSTEN AGRESTA COPELY is a harpist, composer, and arranger. Known for her unusual command of genres like hip-hop in addition to classical music, her prolific career has taken her throughout the United States, Europe, South America, Israel, Japan, and the South Pacific; she has performed for heads of state, in blockbuster movie soundtracks, alongside Billboard 100 artists, on late night television, and wit...
Jun 08, 2020•38 min•Ep. 104
Ep. 103: Angel Velez, conductor. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Angel Velez enjoys a career balanced between the studios of Los Angeles, guest conducting and teaching. Velez has extensive experience as an orchestral conductor working with orchestras such as the Augsburger Philharmoniker (Germany), Berlin Sinfonietta (Germany), Budapest Symphony (Hungary), Cape Cod Symphony (USA), Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rhineland-Pfalz (Germany), Boca del Rio Philharmonic (Mexico), Illinois...
Jun 08, 2020•36 min•Ep. 103
Ep. 102: Ludovic Morlot, conductor. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Following eight years as Music Director, Ludovic Morlot is now Conductor Emeritus of the Seattle Symphony. His tenure in Seattle formed a hugely significant period in the musical journey of the orchestra. Ludovic’s innovative programming encompassed not only his choice of repertoire, but theatrical productions and performances outside the traditional concert hall space. There were numerous collaborations with mu...
Jun 04, 2020•39 min•Ep. 102
Ep. 101: Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Celebrating more than 30 years of professional conducting, Miguel Harth-Bedoya is a master of color, drawing idiomatic interpretations from a wide range of repertoire in concerts across the globe. He has amassed considerable experience at the helm of orchestras, including seven seasons as Chief Conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and twenty seasons as Music Director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchest...
May 30, 2020•40 min•Ep. 101
Ep. 100: Robert Dick, revolutionary composer and flutist. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. World renowned as the leader in contemporary music for flute, Robert Dick embodies the ideal of the Renaissance artist. With equally deep roots in classical music old and new and in free improvisation and new jazz, he has established himself as an artist who has not only mastered, but redefined the instrument. In 2014, the National Flute Association honored Robert Dick with its Lifetime Ach...
May 25, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 100
Ep. 99: Wadada Leo Smith. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Wadada Leo Smith, trumpeter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser is one of the most acclaimed creative artists of his times, both for his music and his writings. For the last five decades, Mr. Smith has been a member of the historical and legendary AACM collective. He distinctly defines his music as “Creative Music.” Mr. Smith’s diverse discography reveals a recorded history centered around important issues th...
May 21, 2020•48 min•Ep. 99
Ep. 98: Diane Schuur, Grammy winning jazz vocalist Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan Schuur’s much-laureled career includes two Grammy Awards---each for Best Jazz Vocal Performance---on Timeless (1986) and Diane Schuur and The Count Basie Orchestra (1987). Both were released by GRP Records, the label that had launched her recording career. Schuur scored three additional Grammy nominations for subsequent albums Pure Schuur and Love Songs, as well as for the individual track “The Chr...
May 15, 2020•27 min•Ep. 98
Ep. 97: Martin Kuuskmann, Estonian-born bassoon virtuoso Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan Grammy nominated Estonian-born bassoon virtuoso, Martin Kuuskmann’s charismatic and commanding performances throughout the world have earned him repute as one of the leading solo instrumentalists of his generation. Kuuskmann has appeared with conductors Neeme, Paavo and Kristjan Järvi, Robert Spano, Tõnu Kaljuste, Risto Joost, Nikolay Aleksejev, Anu Tali, Mihhail Gerts, Kirk Trevor, Leonid Gr...
May 12, 2020•46 min•Ep. 97
Ep. 96: Øystein Baadsvik, international soloist and chamber musician. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan Øystein Baadsvik is voted one of the top ten brass players in history by the listeners on Classic FM. He did the first TED talk on the topic tuba and is one of the most popular classical musicians on YouTube with more than six million views. His multi-faceted musical career as a soloist and recording artist has taken him all over the world. He regularly gives master classes and c...
May 11, 2020•43 min•Ep. 96
Ep. 95: Holly Mathieson, conductor Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan New Zealand-born Holly Mathieson is an award-winning conductor, regularly working with opera houses, ballet companies and orchestras in Europe, Australasia and North America. She is the Music Director Designate of Symphony Nova Scotia, Co-Artistic Director of the Nevis Ensemble with Jon Hargreaves, and founder and artistic director of Rata Music Collective. She frequently records for BBC Radio, and her first major...
May 10, 2020•38 min•Ep. 95
Ep. 94: Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Children's Chorus Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, internationally regarded choral conductor, clinician and educator, began his tenure as Artistic Director of Los Angeles Children’s Chorus in the 2018-19 season. He has worked with children’s and youth choirs his entire career. From 2004 to July 2017, Malvar-Ruiz was the Music Director of The American Boychoir, leading some 150 performances and...
May 07, 2020•33 min•Ep. 94
Ep. 93: Evelyn Glennie, virtuoso percussionist Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan Performing worldwide with the greatest orchestras, conductors and artists, Dame Evelyn Glennie’s solo recordings, which now exceed 30 CDs, are as diverse as her career on-stage. A double GRAMMY award winner and BAFTA nominee Evelyn is a composer for film, television and music library companies. Evelyn was awarded an OBE in 1993 and now has over 100 international awards to date, including the Polar Musi...
May 06, 2020•46 min•Ep. 93
Mark O'Connor began his creative journey at the feet of American fiddling legend Benny Thomasson, and the iconic French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. Now, at age 55, he has melded these influences into a new American classical music, and is perpetuating his vision of an American School of String Playing. Mr. O’Connor has won three Grammys, seven CMA awards as well as several national fiddle, guitar and mandolin champion titles. His distinguished career includes representing the United State...
May 03, 2020•42 min•Ep. 92
John Daversa is a multi-Grammy winning artist, composer, arranger, producer, bandleader, educator, and Chair of Studio Music and Jazz at The Frost School of Music, University of Miami. Daversa’s celebrated and distinctive musical perspective has been a passport to performances on world stages such as The Today Show, Late Nite with David Letterman, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Live 8 (Berlin), Hamburg Music Festival, Java Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Montreux Festiv...
May 02, 2020•33 min•Ep. 91
Ep. 90: Jaime Martín, conductor Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan In September 2019 Jaime Martín became Chief Conductor of the RTE National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He has been Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Gävle Symphony Orchestra since 2013, and his time there has brought the orchestra a new level of international recognition through highly acclaimed recordings and touring performances. Having spent many years as a highly reg...
Apr 28, 2020•45 min•Ep. 90
Ep. 89: Shiva Shafii, Director of Communications at Seattle Symphony Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan My guest is a young and dynamic Director of Communications for the Seattle Symphony, Shiva Shafii. In this episode we talk about the orchestral world during the pandemic and the future. Shiva talks about an injury in her early 20's and how she continued to be involved in music as an arts leader. We also talk about diversity in programming, connecting with audiences and much more! Follow Shiv...
Apr 26, 2020•29 min•Ep. 89
Ep. 88: Robert Aldridge, composer Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan GRAMMY®-winning composer Robert Livingston Aldridge (1954, Richmond,VA) has written over sixty works for orchestra, opera, music-theater, voice, dance, string quartet, solo and chamber ensembles. His music has been performed throughout the United States, Europe and Japan and Australia. He has received numerous fellowships and awards for his music from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Guggenheim Foundat...
Apr 25, 2020•49 min•Ep. 88
Ep. 87: Ran Blake, pianist/composer/educator Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan In a career that now spans five decades, pianist Ran Blake has created a unique niche in improvised music as an artist and educator. With a characteristic mix of spontaneous solos, modern classical tonalities, the great American blues and gospel traditions, and themes from classic Film Noir, Blake’s singular sound has earned a dedicated following all over the world. His dual musical legacy includes more than 40 alb...
Apr 23, 2020•45 min•Ep. 87
Ep. 86: Stephen Hartke, composer. Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. Winner of the 2013 GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition, Stephen Hartke is widely recognized as one of the leading composers of his generation, whose work has been hailed for both its singularity of voice and the inclusive breadth of its inspiration. From 1987 to 2015, he taught at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, retiring as Distinguished Professor Emeritus. He now s...
Apr 21, 2020•35 min•Ep. 86
