"It’s music that is this mixture of contemporary classical music, with jazz, with R&B, with hip hop, with fusion," says Kevin Day, describing his Pulitzer Prize-nominated Concerto for Wind Ensemble. "It’s just telling a narrative about how fun this music is -  It’s meant to be fun, it’s meant to be enjoyable." The Dallas Winds are bringing the work to DFW audiences on April 25 at the Meyerson Symphony Center. In this feature, Day visits with WRR's Amy Bishop about his meteoric path to success as a composer still in his 20s.

WRR 101 Focus on the Arts: The 27-year-old composer from Arlington and his Dallas Winds debut

The Plano Symphony will perform in the Meyerson with Bernadette Peters on August 30. Here's Kurt Rongey in conversation with the Broadway star to give you a preview. She discusses what it’s like to sing with a large orchestra, her experiences working with Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim, and more.

WRR101 Focus on the Arts: Chatting with Bernadette Peters ahead of her Plano Symphony concert

The Waco Symphony Orchestra opens their season with GRAMMY Award-winning violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, who will perform Barber's Violin Concerto in a program that also includes Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances and Dvorak's Carnival Overture. Ahead of Meyers' visit, she chatted with WRR's Brooke Scholl for a deeper dive into the music.
Photo by Dina Douglass

WRR101 Focus on the Arts: Chatting with Anne Akiko Meyers ahead of her Texas visit

Now in its fourth year, the Art Worth Festival has established itself as an annual arts and music destination for North Texas. In this conversation with the festival's founder Greg Belz, he talks about how Art Worth differs from the rest of the arts festivals in the region. 

WRR101 Focus on the Arts: This Fort Worth art fest continues to broaden its reach

Fort Worth Opera opens its 80th anniversary season with a rare stateside appearance by internationally acclaimed tenor Jonathan Tetelman. A Deutsche Grammophon recording artist and jet-setting leading man, Tetelman has captivated audiences with his warm, full-bodied tenor and ardent stage presence. On October 10, he takes the stage at Van Cliburn Concert Hall for a one-night-only event. Kurt Rongey spoke with Jonathan Tetelman about the early development of his voice, the challenges of opera singing and his links to Texas

WRR101 Focus on the Arts: Tenor Jonathan Tetelman previews his Fort Worth concert

Trinidad-born trumpeter Etienne Charles fuses Caribbean melodies with jazz to create his own distinct sound. He'll bring his Creole Soul group to Windmills Craftworks in The Colony October 11-12, 2025. In this feature, WRR's Amy Bishop speaks with the venue's Kira Goidel about the unique concert and dinner experience.

WRR101 Focus on the Arts: Windmills welcomes Caribbean jazz trumpeter Etienne Charles

Cellist Matt Haimovitz has earned a reputation as a musical pioneer in today's classical music sphere. Two albums by the internationally renowned musician were recently nominated for GRAMMYs: "Schnittke Cello Concerto No.1" with the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, and  "Jacqueline," Luna Pearl Woolf's opera with soprano Marnie Breckenridge. In this interview with WRR's Brooke Scholl, Haimovitz discusses the joys of playing these works, his special friendship with the late Jaqueline du Pre, and more.

WRR101 Focus on the Arts: This cellist has two albums up for a GRAMMY this year

In November 1957, the Dallas Civic Opera (now The Dallas Opera) officially opened with a headlining concert starring Maria Callas at the State Fair Music Hall (now Music Hall at Fair Park).  Audiences have a chance to see Maria Callas once again via a hologram concert at the Music Hall in Fair Park, featuring The Dallas Opera Orchestra on Friday, October 31st, 2025. The event commemorates the 100th anniversary of the venue and is co-presented by Broadway Dallas. Amy Bishop recently spoke with Ian Derrer, TDO's Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO, about what to expect in this very unique event.

WRR101 Focus on the Arts: Maria Callas makes her Dallas return (sort of)

Hailed as the "Monet of the classical guitar" by Atlanta Journal, Sharon Isbin is a longtime fixture in the genre with multiple GRAMMY awards and an ever-growing list of accolades. WRR's Brooke Scholl recently sat down with Isbin to talk about the artist's latest release, "Romantico," featuring world premiere recordings of joyous Latin dance-inspired music for guitar by Karen LeFrak.

WRR101 Focus on the Arts: Guitarist Sharon Isbin and her latest release, 'Romantico'

Wilhelmina Smith is regarded as a cellist whose artistic mission embraces a conversation through music, one that enthusiastically encompasses the music of the present placed within the context of a living past. In this podcast with WRR's Brooke Scholl, she talks about her new album, "Sweetgrass," which features music by Indigenous composer/cellist Dawn Avery.

WRR101 Focus on the Arts: Wilhelmina Smith's new release featuring works by Indigenous composer/cellist Dawn Avery

Arsentiy Kharitonov, a composer and pianist based here in North Texas, has just had his impressive and dramatic Concerto for Piano and Orchestra recorded with the Kandinsky Symphony Orchestra and released by the Sound Atlas label. WRR's Kurt Rongey spoke with Arsentiy about the genesis of the concerto, his musical development and how his studies and experiences here in Texas influenced his music-making.

WRR 101 Focus on the Arts: The 27-year-old composer from Arlington and his Dallas Winds debut

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