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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at 

Hosted by Valerie Kahler, Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country.

Shows

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Valerie Kahler

Kathryn Slusher is the senior producer of Performance Today, where she leads programming and production for the show. In her spare time, she enjoys the vibrant Twin Cities music and theater scene, and loves to read, hike and spend time with her family.


Senior Producer

Kathryn Slusher

As a Producer for Performance Today, Meghann chooses music to broadcast on the show, writes web articles and scripts, facilitates, conducts and edits interviews, creates video content and manages PT’s social media pages. She created Performance Today’s Black History Spotlight Series and the My Name is Series to highlight Black classical musicians. Meghann is also the producer for the PT Young Artist in Residence Series. In her free time, she is a mom, a part-time actress and fashion lover.

Meghann also created and hosted “Wondrous Strange”, a national radio program about uncommon musical instruments, she is the official underwriting voice for ‘The New York Times’ The Daily, and she can occasionally be heard guest-hosting Performance Today.


Producer

Meghann Oglesby

As an Associate Producer for Performance Today, Kathleen Bradbury writes scripts and assists with external communications. In her spare time, she likes to read fiction, lift heavy weights at the gym, and frolic about in nature. But above all else, Kathleen loves to sing Broadway showtunes--much to the delight of her wife, her infant son, and her rescue dog.


Kathleen Bradbury

Jon Gohman is an associate producer for Performance Today. He is responsible for various behind-the-scenes functions, including liaising with artists and creating materials for national distribution. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, playing the guitar, and thinking about Langrange points.


Associate Producer

Jon Gohman

Craig Thorson is the Technical Director for Performance Today. In addition to mastering the live music recordings that are programmed for each daily program, he records guest performances and interviews. Craig enjoys skiing, tennis, and bicycling, and boating.


Technical Director

Craig Thorson

Jeanne Barron is the technical producer of Performance Today.


Technical Producer

YourClassical MPR

Jeanne Barron

American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution. 


Dani Werner

Composer Fanny Hensel is considered to be one of the most important composers of the romantic era.


Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel Piano Trio in D minor

Fanny Hensel Melody op.4 n.2 Fotis Matzaridis

Performance Today Features

Women in Classical Music Weekly Highlight: Fanny Hensel

Scholar Paul Harris found a note about a lost wind quintet by composer Malcolm Arnold, and was saddened at the thought of not being able to hear it. But then, the lost manuscript was found! The story and the music... Malcolm Arnold's Wind Quintet on Thursday's Performance Today.


Performance Today®

Lost and Found

The Cincinnati Symphony recently celebrated the grand re-opening of their Music Hall with "Stories from Home," a world premiere work by Jonathan Bailey Holland. On Wednesday's Performance Today, hear Jonathan Bailey Holland's musical exploration of Music Hall's location in Cincinnati.


Stories from Home

In 2006, Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov wrote a cello concerto for Yo-Yo Ma. A few years ago, we aired a much-loved performance of the piece, and it became a PT listener favorite; however, a recording of the concerto wasn't commercially available until 2016. On Tuesday's Performance Today, hear the anticipated recording of Osvaldo Golijov's "Azul", performed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and The Knights.


Osvaldo Golijov: Azul

Composer and pianist Aldo Lopez-Gavilan has twin daughters. He wrote a little tune for their birthday, inspired by a beautiful place. Now he's expanded that tune into a full concerto. On Monday's Performance Today, hear Emporium by Aldo Lopez-Gavilan, in a performance from the Classical Tahoe festival.


Aldo Lopez-Gavilan, Cuban composer and pianist

Aldo Lopez-Gavilan

On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll go to a concert in Warsaw to hear Leonard Slatkin conduct a vibrant performance of the Double Concerto by Johannes Brahms. Also featured: an exhilarating piece called Gumboots by David Bruce, from a concert in Charleston, South Carolina.


Brahms double concerto

Yuko Uebayashi wrote Misericordia for flute soloist Carol Wincenc. Wincenc loves it... she says it creates a sense of "wonder, charm, and serenity" all at the same time. On Friday's Performance Today, hear Carol Wincenc and the Escher Quartet perform Misericordia, by Yuko Uebayashi.


Composer Yuko Uebayashi

On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll go to a concert in Warsaw to hear Leonard Slatkin conduct a vibrant performance of the Double Concerto by Johannes Brahms. Also featured: an exhilarating piece called Gumboots by David Bruce, from a concert in Charleston, South Carolina.


Slatkin conducts Brahms

We recently started tracking how many pieces of music on our program were composed by, performed by or conducted by women. The numbers made it clear: women are underrepresented. Performance Today wants to change that.
