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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

On this weekend's Performance Today, we've got a PT listener favorite: Cymbeline, by composer David Bruce. We'll hear it performed by mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital and the Dover Quartet in Savannah, Georgia.


Performance Today®

Uwe Arens

Avi Avital and the Dover Quartet

On Friday's Performance Today, we've got a PT listener favorite: Cymbeline, by composer David Bruce. We'll hear it performed by mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital and the Dover Quartet in Savannah, Georgia.


Jean-Baptiste Millot

David Bruce's Cymbeline

In 1930, composer Maurice Ravel wrote a special concerto for a pianist who had lost his right arm during the First World War. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll hear pianist Kirill Gerstein play that piece; Ravel's Piano Concerto for Left Hand.


Courtesy of the artist

Ravel's Piano Concerto for Left Hand

Every week on our Piano Puzzler, composer Bruce Adolphe re-writes a familiar tune in the style of a great composer. Then, one of our listeners calls in and tries to guess two things: the tune, and the composer whose style Bruce is mimicking. Play along with our weekly musical game, on Wednesday's Performance Today.


Nico Kaiser/Flickr

Our weekly musical game

Today is French composer Erik Satie's 150th birthday. In celebration, we'll hear pieces composed by Satie, and pieces that he inspired. Plus, pianist David Kadouch will share his take on Satie's legacy.


Wikimedia Commons

Happy Birthday, Satie!

For students at the Aspen Music Festival and School, the experience is not just about the music. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll hear cellist Alisa Weilerstein's take on the Aspen experience. Plus, we'll hear her play a cello solo by Osvaldo Golijov live from Aspen's Harris Hall.


Harald Hoffmann / Decca

Alisa Weilerstein on the Aspen experience

Julian Barnes' new novel, "The Noise of Time," is based on the story of composer Dmitri Shostakovich, and tackles the conflict between art and power. On this weekend's Performance Today, we'll hear more from both Barnes and Shostakovich.


Alan Edwards

The Noise of Time

Julian Barnes' new novel, "The Noise of Time," is based on the story of composer Dmitri Shostakovich, and tackles the conflict between art and power. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll hear more from both Barnes and Shostakovich.


Julian Barnes and 'The Noise of Time'

Listen to PT host Fred Child's interview with Julian Barnes

The path to becoming a Washington D.C. advisor on climate science and global warming is easy. First study piano and double bass. Then, get a degree in composition. Next thing you know, you're a climate scientist. At least, this is how it happened for Taylor Jordan.

Jordan records under the name The Greatest Hoax, a name he borrowed from Senator James Inhofe's (R-OK) 2012 book. The book is a shot across the bow of mainstream science and claims of global warming. So it's fair to say Jordan, a climate scientist who advises members of Congress on climate science, has a bit of a cheeky streak.

The name of his 2015 album, "Enso," has ties to Jordan's day job too. It's the acronym for El Nino Southern Oscillation, commonly shortened to El Nino.

Now that you've learned something, why not have a listen? Check out The Greatest Hoax on this episode of Music is Music. To find out more about what Taylor Jordan is up to, head over to his Bandcamp page.

https://vimeo.com/163992792 

Music is Music is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Music is Music: The Greatest Hoax

Acclaimed novelist Julian Barnes has published a new book about composer Dmitri Shostakovich, which explores the most turbulent years of Shostakovich's life under the regimes of Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev.
