{"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"text":"","type":"text"}]}]}

Steve Seel is the host of YourClassical’s weekly SymphonyCast and the trailblazing music show Extra Eclectic. He possesses a broad knowledge of many musical genres, having hosted radio programs ranging from classical to jazz and even avant-garde music at radio stations around the country. Steve began his love affair with public radio at 24 working whatever shifts he could at his hometown station of WUSF-FM in Tampa, Florida, and from there worked his way to snowy Buffalo, New York, and its renowned classical station WNED-FM, where he hosted middays and the weekly experimental-music show Present Tense.  In 2005, Steve became one of the founding voices on Minnesota Public Radio's eclectic station, the Current. While there, he hosted afternoons and mornings, and conducted in-depth interviews with pop music luminaries ranging from Brian Eno to David Byrne to Tori Amos. Steve is a basement composer obsessed with all things both minimalist and slow, and might actually be incapable of writing anything that exceeds 75 beats-per-minute.


Steve Seel

On the latest episode of ‘SymphonyCast,’ the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is joined by Augustin Hadelich in Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto. Also on the program, Valerie Coleman’s ‘Umoja’ and Florence Price’s Symphony No. 3. Listen now with host Steve Seel!


SymphonyCast® 

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Where we turn up the voices of Black artists in the world of classical music, with host Vernon Neal.

Rhapsody in Black - Melanie DeMore

Vernon Neal is the host of the podcast ‘Rhapsody in Black,’ where we turn up the voices of Black artists in the world of classical music.


Host/Producer

Vernon Neal

Community leader and musician Melanie DeMore uses the power of her voice to bring people together and create meaningful connections in her community and beyond. Find out more in the 'Rhapsody in Black' podcast.


Rhapsody in Black - 20240606

WITNESS Stomp & Sing: Free Free Free

Rhapsody in Black

Melanie DeMore uses her voice as a 'weapon of mass connection'

New Classical Tracks (extended interview): Gao Hong

New Classical Tracks - Gao Hong

Julie Amacher's desire to introduce others to great music is what led her to radio. She began her professional broadcast career at a station in Sun Prairie, Wis. She went from rock 'n' roll to the Rocky Mountains, where she found her niche in public radio at KUNC in Greeley, Colo. Julie spent 13 years at KUNC, where she managed the announcers and their eclectic music format. During that time, she earned four national awards for best announcer. She joined Minnesota Public Radio in 1997 as an on-air host and also produces New Classical Tracks, a weekly podcast sharing behind-the-scenes stories about a new release each week. It airs locally at 7:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesdays and at 9 a.m. on Saturdays.


Julie Amacher

On the latest episode of ‘New Classical Tracks,’ pipa master Gao Hong teams up with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and ‘The President’s Own’ United States Marine Band to perform four original concertos she composed and orchestrated. Listen now with host Julie Amacher!


New Classical Tracks (Extended Interview) - February 18, 2026

New Classical Tracks (Extended Interview) - Gao Hong

Yue Xing: I. Following the Heart

New Classical Tracks® 

Gao Hong presents her four new concertos for pipa and orchestra

Spring Moon: A Musical Celebration of the Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year Greetings Pronunciations

Mindy Ratner is a host and producer on the Classical Music Service of Minnesota Public Radio, where she is heard on weekends. She began her career in public broadcasting following her graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working first for the local public television station and then for Wisconsin Public Radio. She moved on to stations in Cincinnati and Philadelphia before joining Minnesota Public Radio in 1983. In 1998 and '99, Ratner took a leave of absence to work as a music host and producer for China Radio International in Beijing. Her spare time is devoted to international travel; folk, ballroom and contradancing; singing in the Minnesota Chorale; her two cats, and trying to stay ahead of the weeds in her garden.


Mindy Ratner

Learn about the Lunar New Year and the significance of the zodiac signs as host Mindy Ratner presents ‘Spring Moon – A Musical Celebration of the Lunar New Year’ in conjunction with the Year of the Horse, which begins Feb. 17.


Holiday

Listen: 'Spring Moon – A Musical Celebration of the Lunar New Year'

Extra Eclectic - Feb. 16, 2026

The latest episode of ‘Extra Eclectic’ presents the first of two programs for Black History Month, with a wealth of fantastic modern classical music from Black composers and performers. Listen now with host Steve Seel!





Person in black dress with city street in the background

Extra Eclectic

Black classical musicians shine    

On the latest episode of ‘SymphonyCast,’ conductor Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic present an all-Shostakovich concert, featuring his Symphony No. 5 and Violin Concerto No. 1, with soloist Jiří Vodička. Listen now with host Steve Seel!


Portrait of a man in a white button-down in window lighting

Czech Philharmonic

Rhapsody in Black - Awadagin Pratt

Awadagin Pratt is a professor of piano at the University of Cincinnati and the recipient of multiple awards. He’s never shied away from talking about his experiences as a Black man in classical music, and he’s working to make it a more welcoming space. Find out more in the 'Rhapsody in Black' podcast.


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Pratt plays Chopin

Awadagin Pratt is opening doors for young Black classical artists

Extra Eclectic - Feb. 9, 2026

When we hear “percussion,” we often think of drums — but the world of percussion contains so much more, and we explore that world on the latest episode of ‘Extra Eclectic’ in works by Shelley Washington, Ayanna Woods, Andy Akiho and more. Listen now!





Percussive possibilities

On the latest episode of ‘SymphonyCast,’ Thomas Sondergard leads a program of Matre, Nielsen and Alfvén, all anchored by selections from Edvard Grieg’s beloved Peer Gynt in a concert from the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2025 Nordic Soundscapes Festival. Listen now with host Steve Seel!


Minnesota Orchestra

Rhapsody in Black: Gil Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-Heron was a self-described ‘bluesologist’ and a bold voice of social activism in music in the 1970s and ‘80s. Find out more in the ‘Rhapsody in Black’ podcast.


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