PT Weekend: Jessie Montgomery and the science of light

Grammy-winning wind quintet Imani Winds joined forces with the low-voice ensemble Cantus for a special collaboration at the Ordway Concert Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota—just blocks from Performance Today’s (APM) studios. Join us today to hear Left by Angelica Negron, followed by Three American Spirituals arranged by former Imani Winds hornist Jeff Scott, plus an in-studio interview with Imani Winds.

On today's show, we're highlighting Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World." Conductor Cristian Măcelaru explains how the composer's work captures an American soundscape while also beautifully reflecting his own Czech heritage. The result, Măcelaru says, is a powerful contribution from an immigrant artist to American culture.

In 2022, Navajo pianist and composer Connor Chee wrote a piece inspired by the Navajo Code Talkers. Chee’s new work traces the Code Talkers' brave journey through eleven minutes of music. Join us today to hear 'Unbroken' by Connor Chee.

Pianist Aristo Sham believes a music competition's true measure is how it treats its musicians. He praises the Cliburn Competition for making contestants feel less like rivals and more like respected artists at a festival. Today, we'll hear Aristo Sham perform music by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Gabriella Montero, recorded live at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

Growing up in Soviet-ruled Estonia, conductor Paavo Järvi found that highly drilled Tchaikovsky performances left him cold. But hearing a live Leonard Bernstein performance in 1988 completely transformed his view. The performance revealed the music's living, breathing emotion and inspired Järvi to make Tchaikovsky central to his career. In today's program, Paavo Järvi leads the North German Radio Elbphilharmonie in the final movements of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 3.

Francis Malka balances a remarkable career across multiple disciplines: he composes music, writes award-winning science fiction, and develops software. On today's show, we'll hear a quartet of rising Canadian stars perform the world premiere of Francis Malka's String Quartet No. 1, recorded at the Montreal Chamber Music Festival.

The all-star London brass ensemble Septura brings George Gershwin's classic piano preludes to life in a vibrant new way. Without a single piano in sight, the seven-piece group uses distinctive articulation and brass textures to highlight Gershwin's harmonies. We'll hear Septura perform an inventive arrangement of Gershwin's preludes live at a concert presented by the renowned Lillian and Robert Utsey Chamber Music Series.

While many musicians follow a strict, lifelong path to the conservatory, Joaquin Valdepeñas took a winding route. He didn't pick up a clarinet until seventh grade and treated it as a hobby for the school year. He didn't take his first formal lessons until college. He eventually earned a Master’s from Yale and has spent the last 22 years as principal clarinetist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. In today's program, Valdepeñas shares that wealth of experience as a conductor and educator. We'll hear him lead the Aspen Wind Orchestra in Charles Gounod's Petite Symphonie, recorded live at the Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado.

Raised by a jazz-musician father, horn player David Byrd-Marrow originally set his sights on the trumpet and Juilliard before discovering a passion for contemporary music in New York. He now embraces every musical style, from jazz and Broadway to contemporary chamber music. In today's program, we'll hear Byrd-Marrow perform Carl Czerny's ‘Andante e Polacca’ with pianist Michael Stephen Brown, from a concert presented by the Lillian & Robert Utsey Chamber Music Series in Clemson, South Carolina.

Meet one of our 2026 PT Young Artists in Residence: Soprano Claudia Diaz. In today's episode, Claudia joins Valerie Kahler for music and conversation in our Saint Paul studio.