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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

David Bruce wrote Cymbeline in 2013 for mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital, and it's a PT listener favorite.  On Friday's Performance Today, hear Avi Avital and the Dover Quartet play Cymbeline at a concert in Chattanooga, Tennessee.


Performance Today®

Jean-Baptiste Millot

Cymbeline

Hey diddle diddle, a section of fiddles; the horn jumped over the moon. The audience cheered to hear such sport, and the flute ran away with the tune. On Thursday's Performance Today, Louis Langree conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in a performance of the Mother Goose Suite by Maurice Ravel.


Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Ravel's Mother Goose Suite

The story of Don Juan taps a deep territory in the human psyche: love, betrayal, excess, and death. On Wednesday's Performance Today, we'll hear Richard Strauss's explosive tone poem Don Juan, performed by the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic.


Manuel Lopez-Gomez / National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic

photo by Geoff Sheil

Richard Strauss's Don Juan

Claude Debussy offered his friend Erik Satie a little advice - he said "Your music needs structure and shape." On Tuesday's Performance Today, hear Erik Satie's humorous response to his friend's advice.


Wikimedia Commons

Eric Satie

Pianist Charlie Albright likes to make room for what he calls "the fun stuff." He dabbles in jazz and performs on-the-spot improvisations at most of his concerts. On Monday's Performance Today, hear Charlie Albright have some fun performing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," from a concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.


Courtesy of the artist

Charlie Albright plays 'the fun stuff'

It's one of the first exercises you learn to play on an instrument, one of the basic ways to build technique... and, it's awfully tempting to skip while practicing. Alexander Sitkovetsky shares his most valuable practice tip, on this weekend's Performance Today.


courtesy of artist

Alexander Sitkovetsky

Is it a tree? Is it a silk cloth? Is it a whip? It's music inspired by a famous parable about perspective. On Friday's Performance Today, we'll take you to a concert in Portland, Oregon, to hear "Aspects of an Elephant" by American composer Kenji Bunch.


Rembrandt, via wikimedia commons

The elephant in the room

On Thursday's Performance Today, hear a small herd of contented cellos perform Joseph Jongen's "Two Pieces for Four Cellos," from a concert at the Grand Teton Music Festival.


Georg Feitscher, GNU FDL

Cellos unite

It's one of the first exercises you learn to play on an instrument, one of the basic ways to build technique... and, it's awfully tempting to skip while practicing. Alexander Sitkovetsky shares his most valuable practice tip, on Wednesday's Performance Today.


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