Part-Time Composers

In 1937, African-American composer William Grant Still wrote Dismal Swamp, inspired by a poem by his wife and frequent collaborator, Verna Arvey. The music paints a portrait of enslaved people navigating a swamp’s darkness—only to discover that the harrowing journey is a path to liberation and a new life. In today’s episode, pianist Leah Claiborne joins conductor Kenneth Woods and the Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra for a concert performance of William Grant Still’s Dismal Swamp.

When Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate first heard the 1994 album Mahk Jchi by the Native women’s trio Ulali, he felt he was witnessing a revolution in Native music. Decades later, Tate has transformed one of his favorite tracks from that album—Pura Fé’s "Rattle Songs"—into a work for string quartet. On today's show, the Dover Quartet performs Tate's arrangement of Pura Fé's 'Rattle Song' at a recent concert in Baltimore.

In 2025, an unforgettable double-billed concert at Spivey Hall in Morrow, Georgia, brought the Isidore Quartet and the Miro Quartet together. On today’s show, we’ll hear the two acclaimed ensembles join forces for the ultimate classical jam session: Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet for Strings.

We're thrilled to introduce our next 2026 Performance Today Young Artist in Residence: pianist Clayton Stephenson. Listeners may already know this charismatic artist; he was a 2022 Cliburn finalist and has since toured extensively while pursuing a dual-degree program at Harvard and the New England Conservatory. In today's episode, Clayton joins host Valerie Kahler for a special hour of music and conversation in our recording studio in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Composer Salina Fisher is drawn to music that is subtle, fragile, and indirect. She favors music that gives listeners space to experience it in their own way. Join us today to hear the Jupiter Quartet give a live performance of Heal by Salina Fisher.

Away from the unrelenting logistics of travel and performance, Belgian cellist Camille Thomas found sanctuary in Montana’s open skies. During a 2024 residency at the Tippet Rise Art Center, she and pianist Julien Brocal were given the rare freedom to create without the pressure of a production schedule—an experience Thomas described as being on "a planet of its own." On today’s show, we’ll take you to Tippet Rise to hear their intimate arrangement of the Larghetto from Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

When Finnish composer Jean Sibelius turned 50 in 1915, his birthday was declared a national holiday, culminating in the triumphant premiere of his Symphony No. 5. The work’s finale was inspired by a flock of sixteen swans and is set to a seamlessly continuous horn melody that sounds as if it never pauses to breathe. Kenneth Woods conducts the English Symphony Orchestra in a live performance of Jean Sibelius's Symphony No. 5.

After thirty years of performing in the United States, Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto announced a hiatus from all American engagements due to ethical objections to the country's current political leadership. Citing a commitment to peace and equal rights, Kuusisto no longer feels comfortable paying federal taxes that fund government actions he does not support. For now, he remains connected to audiences abroad. In today's episode, we'll take you to a concert in Switzerland to hear Kuusisto and the Basel Sinfonietta perform "The Lark Ascending" by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Pianist Clayton Stephenson is the next member of our 2026 cohort of PT Young Artists-in-Residence. Clayton recently joined Valerie Kahler in our St. Paul studio. Listen to the music and the entire interview here.

We're thrilled to introduce our next 2026 Performance Today Young Artist in Residence: pianist Clayton Stephenson. Listeners may already know this charismatic artist; he was a 2022 Cliburn finalist and has since toured extensively while pursuing a dual-degree program at Harvard and the New England Conservatory. In today's episode, Clayton joins host Valerie Kahler for a special hour of music and conversation in our recording studio in Saint Paul, Minnesota.