Performance Today®

All summer long, we're featuring great American music inspired by great American places on our 2015 Summer Road Trip. This weekend's Performance Today takes us to Rochester, NY, the longtime hometown of American composer David Diamond. Once there, we'll hear his Rounds for String Orchestra.

All summer long, we're featuring great American music inspired by great American places. On Friday, our Performance Today Summer Road Trip takes us to Rochester, NY, the longtime hometown of American composer David Diamond. Plus, we'll head to another great American site -- Fort Sumter National Historic Monument in Charleston Harbor, SC.

In our final segment, we journey to Fort Sumter, the National historic monument which saw the first shots of the American Civil War.

We toured Charleston's famous Historic Dock Street Theatre with Managing Director Christopher Parham, who spoke with us about the history of the space, its ghostly inhabitants, and the building's recent renovations.

Cabbage Row is a place in Charleston, South Carolina, with a remarkable history. And, it was the inspiration for Catfish Row -- the setting of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. On Thursday's Performance Today, we'll take a trip to Cabbage Row to hear more about its history; plus, we'll hear selections from the opera that it inspired.

In part four of our exploration of the city, we head to Cabbage Row to take a look at the street that inspired Catfish Row, the setting of Gershwin's opera "Porgy and Bess."

On Wednesday's Performance Today, we have more highlights from the Spoleto Festival USA, including the story of pirates in and around Charleston. Plus, we'll hear a partita by Heinrich Biber which features violins in wacky tunings -- on purpose.

In part three of our tour, we join Eric Lavender and Captain Bob of Charleston Pirate Tours for -- what else? -- a look at Charleston's swashbuckling past.

On Tuesday's Performance Today, we'll take a tour of historic Charleston, South Carolina, the old fashioned way -- by horse and carriage. Plus, we'll hear musical highlights from the Spoleto Festival USA.