We welcome soprano Amanda Powell, a multi-faceted artist equally at home under the lights on the orchestral concert stage and in the intimate clubs of the jazz and folk scenes. She has performed with the Cleveland-based, Grammy award winning ensemble Apollo’s Fire, and has been featured as a soloist on a number of staples of the baroque repertoire. Additionally, she is the lead singer of the group Alla Boara, which performs modern jazz arrangements of traditional Italian folk songs. Amanda also teaches voice at Cleveland State University and serves as Community Arts Liason for the Cultural Arts Center at Disciples Church in Cleveland Heights. We are thrilled to welcome Amanda to the Canton Symphony Orchestra twice this season - as our soprano soloist for Mozart’s Requiem, and with Alla Boara as part of our Divergent Sounds Series. We are delighted to welcome her here, to our podcast! Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

Our guest today is Hip-hop artist Jéan Pierre Johnson. Known artistically as Jéan P The MC, he shares a body of music that reflects his environment, touching on topics such as fatherhood, childhood experiences, spirituality, relationships, and his outlook on Hip-Hop, locally and nationally. Once Jéan settled in Athens, Ohio, he began to record a slew of mixtapes and perform locally, even sharing the stage with major artists such as KRS-One, Curren$y, Stalley, Dom Kennedy & Ace Hood. The 33-year-old MC was also featured on MTV’s “Get In The Game” with Sway, Juelz Santana & Trinidad James. It wasn’t long before Jéan P The MC became a familiar name in Ohio’s rap scene. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

Our guest today is GRAMMY Award-winning horn player and composer Jeff Scott. He rose to prominence as the founding horn player and twenty-plus-year member of the Imani Winds, a nationally renowned woodwind quintet made up of musicians of color. His horn career has also taken him to the pit of The Lion King on Broadway and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, as well on tour alongside such luminaries as Barbara Streisand. Jeff is also a prolific composer, whose new piece "Song of the Uirapuru" was premiered by the Canton Symphony Orchestra with violin soloist Seohyun Kim. A native of New York City and a graduate of Manhattan School of Music and the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he now lives here in Northeast Ohio, where he is a professor at Oberlin College. Jeff Scott, welcome to Orchestrating Change! Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

We are joined today by Mario Lopez, Executive Director of the Billings Symphony in Montana. Prior to his appointment, he served in Education and Community Engagement roles with both the Knoxville Symphony and the Sarasota Orchestra. Originally a French horn player, he studied at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, then worked in the for-profit corporate world before returning to Classical music on the administrative side.  Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

This episode features Leni Boorstin, who spent over forty years working for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, most recently as Director of Government and Community Affairs. Her tenure included community engagement work surrounding the opening of the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the arrival of music director Gustavo Dudamel, as well as developing the expansive Youth Orchestra LA program from the ground up, a program that now serves over 1,000 young musicians each year. She also served as the Human Relations Commissioner for the city of Los Angeles under four different mayors, and founded Arts for LA, a non-profit which advocates for equitable access to the arts across all communities. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

Today we are joined by coloratura soprano Louise Toppin. She has performed all over the world at venues such as Carnegie Hall and with orchestras in such diverse places as Sweden, Uruguay, and Japan. She has conquered some of opera’s most beloved and challenging roles, including the famous Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, while also championing works by minority composers such as Scott Joplin and William Grant Still. Her career has brought her to Northeast Ohio several times, including a 1998 appearance here at the Canton Symphony Orchestra and this past November up the road with her hometown Akron Symphony. In addition to her performing career, Dr. Toppin is a Professor of Voice at the University of Michigan, and previously served as Chair of the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

Today we are joined by Blake-Anthony Johnson, CEO of the Chicago Sinfonietta. He became the first African American to hold such a position with a nationally renowned orchestra when he began his tenure in 2020. He also serves on a number of boards and committees, including the Sir Georg Solti Foundation, the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, and the EDI Orchestral Management Committee at the League of American Orchestras. He first became interested in orchestral management while a student at Vanderbilt University, from which he earned a Bachelor of Music in cello performance. He then completed his Masters degree right up the road at Cleveland State University, during which time he performed with the Canton Symphony! He went on to perform as a member of the New World Symphony, and also appeared with the Cincinnati and Nashville Symphonies before turning his focus to management. Blake-Anthony Johnson, thank you so much for joining us today. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

We are thrilled to have the rare opportunity for a fully in-person podcast recording, as we welcome composer Wang Jie to our studio here in Canton! A native of Shanghai, China, she moved to the United States to study at Manhattan School of Music and still resides in New York City to this day. She holds an Artist’s Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with noted American composer Richard Danielpour. She was in town to hear the Canton Symphony perform her Symphonic Overture “America, the Beautiful”, an absolute "barn-burner" of a piece based on the patriotic hymn featuring a fugue subject inspired by the silhouette of Pike’s Peak in Colorado. Unsurprisingly, when not composing, she is an avid hiker and rock climber. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

Today we are honored to welcome world-renowned violinist Rachel Barton Pine. A celebrated interpreter of a wide range of standard and contemporary repertoire, she has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony, with which she made her debut when she was only ten years old. She is also a prolific recording artist, whose discography includes the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and all five of Mozart’s Violin Concertos with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Outside of performing, she has published her own editions of numerous violin masterworks. She also works as a philanthropist with her own foundation, which focuses on increasing the awareness and accessibility of music by Black composers. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

We are thrilled to be joined today by pianist extraordinaire Michelle Cann! She has performed as a soloist with many of this country’s finest orchestras, including the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, and the Cincinnati, New Jersey, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Detroit Symphonies, among many others. We are beyond fortunate that she has managed to fit the Canton Symphony Orchestra into her busy schedule this year, joining us for our Masterworks concert on October 30th! A champion of the composer Florence Price, she gave both the New York and Philadelphia premieres of Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement, and also recorded the work in a remarkable COVID-era recording session with the New York Youth Symphony. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees right up the road from us at the Cleveland Institute of Music, then went on to pursue an Artist’s Diploma at Curtis, where she is now a member of the faculty. Michelle Cann, it is truly an honor to talk to you today! Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

To open season four, we are thrilled to be joined by Anwar Nasir, Executive Director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Prior to his arrival in the Big Easy in the summer of 2021, he served as Chief Revenue and Advancement Officer at the Omaha Symphony, in addition to previous positions with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hollywood Bowl, and Atlanta Ballet. He is a Philadelphia native and a graduate of Syracuse University, who had a career as a professional dancer before pursuing arts management. He is also passionate about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Arts, serving on DEI committees with the League of American Orchestras and Tessitura Network and co-founding the Black Arts Leadership Alliance. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

Today, we are joined by three members of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Beth Kellar-Long is the Vice President of the Orchestra Administration, Sam Bergman is a violist in the orchestra, and Yvonne Cheek is a board member. Their committee was formed in 2015 after the orchestra went on a transformative tour to Cuba, and their work has led to impactful change in the organization. We are overjoyed to have them join us today for this conversation. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

Our guest today is composer Angélica Negrón. Her works range from traditional orchestral and chamber pieces to compositions for accordion, toys, and electronics, and have been performed by such prestigious ensembles as the Dallas Symphony, the National Symphony, and the Kronos Quartet, among many others. She was an artist in residence at National Sawdust in Brooklyn and is currently a teaching artist for the New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program. Originally from Puerto Rico, she grew up playing piano and violin before coming to New York City for studies at New York University and the CUNY Graduate Center. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

Our guest today is Tiffany Kinnard-Payton, Dean of Students at Walsh University here in Canton. She is an alumna of Walsh and has spent nearly fifteen years working serving her alma mater in the offices of residential life, student conduct, and multicultural affairs in addition to her current position. She is also a graduate of Project Blueprint, the United Way program started by Season 2 guest Flo Ginanni, which seeks to train people of color for membership on non-profit boards and is one of our newest board members here at the Canton Symphony Orchestra. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

We are joined today by Quinn Mason, a conductor and composer based in Dallas, Texas. Writing for orchestra, wind ensemble, chamber ensembles, and more, Quinn has had his compositions played all over the world by ensembles such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony. As a conductor, Quinn has worked with Orchestra Seattle, MusicaNova Orchestra and the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra. At only 25 years of age, he is already making a huge impact on the industry. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

Today we welcome conductor Tiffany Chang to our podcast. Originally trained in the world of music education, Chang holds positions at both Oberlin Conservatory and Berklee College of Music, and previously served as interim director of orchestras at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and Boston University. Lately, her focus has been geared more toward the professional realm, particularly the world of opera, where she serves as director of the North End Music and Performing Arts Center’s Opera Project in Boston and has major engagements this season with Opera Columbus here in Ohio, as well as the Portland Opera in Oregon. She also runs the blog Conductor as CEO, which examines job satisfaction issues in the orchestral industry, and the role of the conductor in creating a healthy workplace culture. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

We are joined today by Joshua Thomas, Vice President of External Affairs at the Philly POPS. He joined the Philly POPS in 2019 as their Senior Manager of Development, having previously worked in administrative roles at the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. He is also active with The League of American Orchestras and served as a consultant and mentor for The Tessitura Network’s Early Career Development Program. He is a graduate of Temple University, where he studied voice with a concentration in opera. Joshua Thomas, welcome to Orchestrating Change! Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

Today is the first time in our podcast’s history that we welcome two guests: Jules Biber and Kallie Sugatski from ChamberQUEER, an LGBTQ+ chamber music organization in New York City dedicated to presenting and performing queer composers and musicians and highlighting historical queer figures in Classical music. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org. https://orchestratingchange.com/3-4-chamberqueer/

Today, we are joined by Jazmin Morales, Assistant Director of the Center for Innovation and Community Impact at the Colburn School, a prestigious conservatory in Los Angeles. She is the founder of Fortissima, an artistic leadership development program for women of color in classical music. She is also an adjunct faculty member in the Arts Leadership Program at the University of Southern California, a consultant for NPR’s From the Top and the Smithsonian Latino Center and serves on the board of both the City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and the Little Village Foundation.   Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.

We are joined today by Jeri Lynne Johnson, founder and artistic director of the Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra in Philadelphia. For over a decade, Black Pearl has been a model for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the orchestral industry as a racially diverse ensemble performing for a racially diverse audience - something that the rest of the industry has only recently begun to talk about. Jeri’s career has taken her all over the world, where she has become the first Black woman to ever conduct some of the world’s leading orchestras. She is also the founder of DEI Arts Consulting, which helps arts organizations to better serve the diverse communities in which we exist. Orchestrating Change is available wherever you get your podcasts. We also have a new website! Go to www.orchestratingchange.com to sign-up for email reminders, view past episodes, and see the various channels where you can view our content. For more information about everything else we are offering at this time, please visit www.cantonsymphony.org.