Category Archives: Interview
KGW’s Hello, Rose City: All Classical Radio celebrates 40 Years on the air
Thank you to KGW and host Lacey Evans, for having All Classical Radio’s President & CEO Suzanne Nance on Hello, Rose City! View the segment below or on the All Classical YouTube channel, to hear Suzanne discuss the station’s 40th anniversary, the upcoming move to KOIN Tower in Summer 2024, and the ground-breaking Artist Anthology. …
John Pitman Review: Carlos Simon’s ‘Together’
Composer Carlos Simon has received numerous awards and nominations for works such as 2021’s Requiem for the Enslaved. He recently spoke to All Classical Radio host John Pitman about his latest album Together, a 10-track project that came about from the desire to simply make music with friends and colleagues, after the long period of …
John Pitman Review: Eric Whitacre & Voces8 ‘Home’
All Classical Portland’s Program Director John Pitman recently spoke with American choral composer Eric Whitacre, who has a career now spanning over three decades, is one of the world’s most popular composers among audiences and choirs alike. Several of his works have been recorded multiple times, but even then, the composer sees opportunities when one special …
John Pitman Review: Mao Fujita Takes On Mozart
Pianist Mao Fujita was born in Japan and now lives in Europe, where he is studying with Kirill Gerstein. Mao was invited to the renowned Verbier Festival in Switzerland a couple of years ago, on the strength of having a number of Mozart’s piano sonatas in his fingers. The Festival asked Mao if he could get …
Black Renaissance Woman: Meet Musicologist-Pianist Samantha Ege
It is part of All Classical Portland’s mission to expand and advance knowledge of and appreciation for classical music. If you’re just starting to discover music outside the traditional classical canon, there’s no better composer to start with than that African American 20th-century composer Florence Price, whose music has been enjoying a recent resurgence in …
Soprano Karen Slack and RII Advisor Mara Miller: A Conversation
As part of All Classical Portland’s Recording Inclusivity Initiative, five pieces were recorded, including “Taking Names” by Jasmine Barnes. Soprano Karen Slack and pianist Yoko Greeney tackled this moving work for the official recording. Enjoy the conversation below as RII Executive Advisor Mara Miller and Slack speak about the importance of this piece, the inspiration …
John Pitman Review: Berlin-based Seong-Jin Cho Returns to Chopin
John Pitman, All Classical Portland’s Director of Music and Programming, interviews pianist Seong-Jin Cho about the sixth and latest album. Returning to the music of Frédéric Chopin with Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2, Cho’s CD was recorded in April of 2021, in Hamburg and London. Seong-Jin shares with John the process, and the special challenges, …
John Pitman Review: Roots: Debut recording by violinist Randall Goosby
John interviews Randall Goosby, whose debut on the Decca label, “Roots,” was released this summer (and is being played on All Classical Portland regularly). The disc is an exploration of music written by Black composers and of composers inspired by Black American culture. Randall tells John Pitman about the importance and responsibility of bringing underrepresented …
Get to know Composer in Residence Lauren McCall
This summer, All Classical Portland welcomes three new Composers in Residence: Lauren McCall, Jasmine Barnes, and Keyla Orozco! These residencies are co-hosted by N M Bodecker Foundation as part of the Recording Inclusivity Initiative, a program designed to change America’s playlist by recording classical works by composers from historically excluded communities. The station’s three resident composers and their musical …
John Pitman Review: Kenji Bunch debuts “Lost Freedom” with George Takei
John Pitman, director of Music and Programming at All Classical Portland interviews Portland composer Kenji Bunch about an important world premiere happening a few states away, at the Moab Music Festival in Utah, on September 4. Inspired by the autobiographical accounts of the incarceration of United States citizens – Japanese-Americans, in World War II – …
