The Apollo Chamber Players in Houston, Texas, create concerts in response to book banning, the refugee crisis, the war in Gaza and other world events. Thousands of people attend their performances.


Classical ensemble Apollo Chamber Players is tuned in to today's headlines

Vijay Gupta was a 19-year-old violin prodigy when he joined the LA Philharmonic. Now he runs Street Symphony, an organization bringing music to clinics, jails and homeless shelters on Skid Row.


Street Symphony plays in harmony with Skid Row's 'sacred spaces' 

An old-fashioned steam calliope designed by luminaries in the worlds of art and jazz is on display at the National Sculpture Garden. 


A slavery-era instrument is on the National Mall, singing 'songs of liberation'

The conductor has announced his diagnosis with an aggressive form of brain cancer and plans to step down as the group's artistic director.


Michael Tilson Thomas discusses cancer and his scaled-back New World Symphony role

An evocative museum exhibition from a legendary electronic musician and naturalist encourages audiences to connect with nature through a "great animal orchestra."


The 'Great Animal Orchestra' brings the wild rumpus of nature to art museums 

The lautenwerck, an instrument like a lute and a harpsichord, almost went extinct in the 19th century, but forensic musicologists are bringing it back to life.


Bach's favorite instrument you've probably never heard of: The long-lost lautenwerck

The Italian director staged sumptuously visualized operas, which often resembled Renaissance paintings brought to life. On film, he brought Shakespearean and biblical tales to the big screen.


Neda Ulaby

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