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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

Our December 20, 2022, episode featured several poems inspired by the winter season. Here is more information about the featured poems.


Performance Today Features

Jason Hollinger, via Wikimedia Commons

Poetry for a Winter's Day

Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote a set of English folk songs inspired by the seasons, and it just doesn't get played and sung very often. We think it's time to help fix that. Join us for glorious music for the winter season on this episode of Performance Today.



Performance Today®

Cristiana Bardeanu / Flickr

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Winter folk songs

There is a period when the moody darkness of winter transitions to the joyful light of spring. Composer Michael Torke followed that seasonal metamorphosis in a piece he published in 2014: Winter's Tale, for Cello and Orchestra.



Photo: Bryan Hainer

PT Weekend: Michael Torke

Ferde Grofe's Grand Canyon Suite doesn't seem like music for Christmas, at least not on its own, but then it was used in a crucial part of the 1983 movie "A Christmas Story." Join us today to hear iconic holiday movies: A Christmas Story, Home Alone, and Miracle on 34th Street.



via Wikimedia Commons

Music from holiday movies

In 1967, Nino Rota wrote what is like Mount Everest for double bass players. It's daunting, dangerous, and tempting. On today's show, hear double bassist Stanislau Anishchanka and the West German Radio Symphony Orchestra scale the Divertimento Concertante by Nino Rota.



Public Domain via Houston Public Media

Nino Rota's Divertimento Concertante

Photo by Bryan Hainer

Michael Torke: Winter's Tale

Quartet San Francisco is dedicated to advancing the traditional string quartet structure into a new world of vibrant music. On today’s show, hear Quartet San Francisco play their version of Rhapsody in Blue.



Hasain Rasheed

Rhapsody in Blue(grass)

Richard Stone is one of the directors of Philadelphia's great early music ensemble Tempesta di Mare. A few years ago, he went to Kroměříž, a small town in the Czech countryside, and found some music that may not have been seen or played for centuries. On today's show, we'll hear Tempesta di Mare perform one of those long-forgotten works and a sonata by Giovanni Valentini.


Tempesta di Mare - Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra

photocredit: Mary Marks, courtesy of artist website

Tempesta di Mare

Solo hornist and arranger Michael Atkinson was recently browsing YouTube and stumbled across some music he'd never heard before—Romanian Christmas Carols, piano music by Bela Bartok. He loved it so much that he arranged it for the orchestra he is part of, The Knights. And we get to hear it on today's show! 
