Detroit Symphony Orchestra & Michigan Opera Theatre UNMASKED
SUNDAYS - NOON to 2 p.m. ET (occasional series) ON WRCJ 90.9 FM
Unmasked is an occasional series of "behind the music" visits with the men and women of two great Detroit organizations: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Opera Theatre. Hosted by 90.9 FM's Jimmy Rhoades, each episode begins with a nuts and bolts peek at the inner workings of classical music, Behind the Score. We follow that with myTunes, a chance to kick back with some of the best professional musicians in the business and their favorite CDs.
DSO Unmasked and MOT Unmasked are co-productions of WRCJ Detroit, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theatre and Detroit Public Schools, funded by The Kresge Foundation and Listeners Like You.
May 9, 2010 - Tosca
Learn more about one of the world's most popular operas - Giacomo Puccini's Tosca - as Dr. Wallace Peace explains it to WRCJ's Jimmy Rhoades.
Behind the Music
In the second hour, Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra bassist Derek Weller shares some of his favorite recordings.
MyTunes
April 11, 2010 - Don Giovanni
Michigan Opera Theatre musicologist Wallace Peace breaks down the tale of Don Juan in a very entertaining style, with a humorous assist from "Unmasked" host Jimmy Rhoades. You've got to hear this!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
February 28, 2010 - Sir Neville Marriner and Alexander Hanna
In the first hour, Sir Neville Marriner talks with Jimmy Rhoades about English Music and much more.
Hour One
In the second hour, Alexander Hanna, principal bassist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, shares his favorite recordings. Listen for excellent cello and bass performances!
Hour Two
January 24, 2010 - DSO Unmasked - Classical Roots
In the first hour, meet composer and musician Billy Childs. His Violin Concerto will be given its world premiere by the DSO with Detroit native and award-winning violinist Regina Carter. The work will be one of three compositions by contemporary African-American composers to be performed at the DSO’s “Classical Roots” concerts beginning Jan. 29
Hour One
In the second hour, host Jimmy Rhoades has an intimate conversation with legendary Detroit choral conductor (and former DPS music teacher) Brazeal Dennard. Mr. Dennard reflects on his career with musical selections featuring The Brazeal Dennard Chorale.
Hour Two
December 6, 2009 - Klezmer and More
Behind the Score: Clarinetist David Krakauer joins host Jimmy Rhoades to talk about his upcoming performance with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and share a brief history of Klezmer music. David Krakauer is a master of Eastern European Jewish klezmer music and a major voice in classical music. With his band, Klezmer Madness!, he has redefined the klezmer genre writing new music and employing many diverse influences including jazz, funk and hip-hop.
Behind the Score
James VanValkenburg, Assistant Principal Viola of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, shares his favorite recordings. As a founding member of the International String Quartet, he toured the world with concerts chamber music collaborations with many of his favorite musicians. He became a member of Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings in 2004. His recent recordings, all on the Koch International label, include a violin-viola duet by William Bolcom, piano quartets by Franz Waxman and the Stravinsky septet.
Behind the Score
November 8, 2009 - MOT Unmasked - A Little Night Music
Behind the Score: Conductor Suzanne Mallare Acton joins host Jimmy Rhoades for a revealing peek into Stephen Sondheim's score for A Little Night Music, to be performed by the Michigan Opera Theatre November 14 - 22.
Behind the Score
myTunes: TV, Film and Broadway legend Leslie Uggams shares her favorite tunes together with fascinating stories about her career, beginning at age 9 at the Apollo Theater with Duke Ellington. Talk about starting at the top!
myTunes
October 11, 2009 - MOT Unmasked
Behind the Score: Conductor Steven Mercurio in conversation with Jimmy Rhoades explores the formidable logistics of live grand opera, the evolution of Giuseppe Verdi’s first big hit, Nabucco, and why do opera singers sound the way they do anyway?
Behind the Score
In myTunes, Jimmy’s guest is MOT Principal Clarinetist Brian Bowman who’s brought everything from Glenn Gould’s Bach to Gerry Mulligan’s Baritone Sax.
MyTunes
September 27, 2009 - DSO Unmasked
Behind the Score: In celebration of the centennial of one of America’s greatest composers, Detroit Symphony Music Director Leonard Slatkin discusses the music of Samuel Barber and its place among 20th century classical music. Musical examples include Barber’s Adagio for Strings and his Piano Concerto.
In myTunes, DSO principal cellist Robert DeMaine takes host Jimmy Rhoades on a tour of Robert’s favorite recordings and artists, including the one cellist who, above all, inspired him as a young boy to take up the cello. Listen Below.
Our Behind the Score segment features DSO Music Director Leonard Slatkin examining Mahler’s First Symphony, including the discarded Blumine movement. Our myTunes guest is veteran DSO oboist Don Baker.
Part 1
Part 2
March 22, 2009 "Bizet, Ravel and More"
In this edition, Finnish conductor Susanna Malkki explores French music from Bizet to Ravel to Messiaen and veteran DSO cellist Mario DiFiore shares some of his favorite recordings, including a beautiful rendition of The Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 written by Johannes Brahms. Hosted by Jimmy Rhoades.
January 4, 2009 "Fleck, Meyer, Hussain and Monroe"
Jimmy Rhoades welcomes two legendary virtuosos, Edgar Meyer and Bela Fleck who, along with Zakir Hussain, were preparing their Triple Concerto for Bass, Banjo and Tabla to be performed with Leonard Slatkin and the DSO in January 2009. In the "myTunes" segment, retiring DSO principal flutist Ervin Monroe, shares stories about recording with the DSO.
December 7, 2008 "War. What is it good for?"
Normally, absolutely nothing. But the world's conficts have inspired some interesting music. Join Detroit Symphony Orchestra Music Director Leonard Slatkin and host Jimmy Rhoades for a sampling of tunes related to war. In the "My Tunes" segment, DSO principal bassoonist Bob Williams shares why you must be "all thumbs" to play a bassoon as well as some of this favorite recordings.
November 16, 2008: "Elgar and Dame Evelyn Glennie"
The "Behind the Score" segment lives up to its name as DSO Conducting Assistant Charles Greenwell provides a track-by-track explanation of Sir Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations. Secret meanings, character sketches, private allusions and wordplay have made the Enigma Variations an alluring topic in classical music, and Charles Greenwell's vivid explanations welcome listeners inside the inside jokes.
For the "My Tunes" segment, Jimmy welcomes Dame Evelyn Glennie, the world's first and only classical solo percussionist. Not surprisingly, Dame Glennie presents a playlist full of passion, a few quirks, and lots and lots of percussive fireworks.
October 12, 2008: "Breaking Out as a Composer," with Peter Oundjian & Stacy Garrop
A dynamic presence in the orchestral world, Peter Oundjian continues to make his mark as one of today's most exciting faces on the conducting scene. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra's new Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor is known for his probing musicality, spirit of collaboration, and engaging personality, which have earned him accolades and frequent re-engagements. Stunning performances and cheering audiences prompted appointments at the Caramoor International Music Festival (NY), the Colorado Symphony, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where he is currently in his second season as Music Director.
Stacy Garrop has received several awards and grants including the 2006/2007 Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble's 2006/2007 Harvey Gaul Composition Competition, the 2005 Raymond and Beverly Sackler Music Composition Prize, 2005, and 2001 Barlow Endowment commissions, Chicago Symphony Orchestra's 1999-2000 First Hearing Composition Competition, Omaha Symphony Guild's 2000 International New Music Competition, and the New England Philharmonic's 2000 Call for Scores Competition. She was selected to participate in reading session programs sponsored by the American Composers Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Dale Warland Singers. She received a 2002 Artists Fellowship Award from the Illinois Arts Council and was a finalist for the 2001 Rome Prize.
October 5, 2008: "Pitfalls of the Violin Concerto," with Hilary Hahn
At the age of 27, Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn is one of the most compelling artists on the international concert circuit. Renowned for her intellectual and emotional maturity, she was named "America's Best" young classical musician by Time Magazine in 2001, and appears on a regular basis with the world's great orchestras in Europe, Asia, and North America.
Admitted to Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music in 1990 at the age of ten, Hilary Hahn made her major orchestra debut a year and a half later with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In March 1995, at age 15, Ms. Hahn made her German debut playing the Beethoven concerto with Lorin Maazel and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in a concert broadcast on radio and television throughout Europe. In May of 1999, at the age of 19, Ms. Hahn graduated from Curtis with a bachelor of music degree.
September 28, 2008: "Dressing up the Tarantella," with Leonard Slatkin
Mr. Slatkin has made regular appearances over the last two decades with virtually all the major international orchestras and opera companies. He has been praised by critics and audiences around the world for his imaginative programming and interpretations of a vast range of repertoire. His current tenure with the NSO has included highly lauded European, Asian, and US tours; numerous national broadcasts; and intriguing themed festivals - among them "Soundtracks" and "Journey to America." Other distinctions include a White House celebration honoring the Orchestra and Mr. Slatkin for advocacy of America's artistic heritage; a Grammy for Best Classical Recording, awards for programming, and the National Medal of the Arts, the nation's highest honor for a performing artist.
September 21, 2008: "The Concertmaster," with Emmanuelle Boisvert
One of the most versatile artists on the concert stage today, Detroit Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Emmanuelle Boisvert has won the hearts of audiences, critics and musicians alike with an undeniable finesse and charismatic presence befitting her prestigious position.
No stranger to trailblazing, Boisvert was just twenty-five-years old when she became the first woman to win the post of concertmaster in the United States. That year, she also made her first solo appearance with the DSO, and has given annual solo performances ever since. Lawrence B. Johnson of The Detroit News has called Boisvert's solo offerings "brilliant, endlessly imaginative, daring..." As the Orchestra's leader, she is no less inspiring to her colleagues. Mark Stryker of the Detroit Free Press has remarked that, "Boisvert's musicianship takes a back seat to no one." As a collaborator, her work in chamber music is equally impressive, and her performances with the St. Clair Trio have earned widespread attention and critical acclaim.
September 14, 2008: "Classical Roots," with Thomas Wilkins
A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Thomas Wilkins is currently in his fourth season as Resident Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In the past, he has served as Resident Conductor of The Florida Orchestra (Tampa Bay), Associate Conductor of the Richmond (Va.) Symphony, as well as on the music faculties of North Park University (Chicago), the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Committed to promoting a life-long enthusiasm for music, Wilkins brings energy and commitment to audiences of all ages. Wilkins seeks to cultivate a "vibrant, creative imagination" in today's youth, noting, "Successful education is not that which teaches our children how to get a job. Education is a success when we teach our children to love learning."
September 14, 2008: "myTunes," with Denyce Graves
Recognized worldwide as one of today's most exciting vocal stars, Denyce Graves continues to gather unparalleled popular and critical acclaim in performances on four continents. Her career has taken her to the world's great opera houses and concert halls. She has become particularly well-known to operatic audiences for her portrayals of the title roles in Carmen and Samson et Delila. These signature roles have brought Ms. Graves to the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera - Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Washington Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opernhaus Zürich, Teatro Real in Madrid, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Los Angeles Opera, and the Festival Maggio Musicale in Florence.
September 7, 2008: Charles Greenwell
Charles Greenwell was born into a musical family in New York and has had a long and varied career in the performing arts as a conductor, singer, pianist, oboist, composer, actor and stage director. Greenwell is the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Conducting Assistant and serves as host of Ford ConcerTalks, lively musical discussions taking place one hour prior to all classical series performances. He has also served as a producer for the recordings of the DSO for Chandos Records and as host of the DSO’s national radio broadcast series from 1978 to 1987.
Greenwell is currently Music Director of the Southern Great Lakes Symphony, Downriver Detroit’s premier classical musical organization. In September 2005, Greenwell became the Music Director of Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra, after serving as Pops Conductor for 14 seasons. He succeeds Felix Resnick, conductor and Detroit Symphony Orchestra violinist, who has held this post since 1975.
September 7, 2008: "myTunes," with Sharon Sparrow
Flutist Sharon Sparrow is one of the most highly regarded flutists in our area. Equally at ease in her position in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, in solo recital, as concerto soloist and as masterclass clinician, Ms. Sparrow brings warmth, personality, flare and impeccable skills to the concert stage.
A native of New York, Ms. Sparrow received her Bachelor of Music from the Juilliard School where she studied with the legendary Julius Baker. She also received training from Geoffrey Gilbert, famed British flutist and teacher of James Galway.
Respected for her inspiring teaching, Ms. Sparrow has taught master classes and performed recitals for the National Flute Association, Oberlin Conservatory, University of Michigan, Interlochen Academy, and the Toledo Flute Fair. To critical acclaim, Ms. Sparrow has performed concertos by Ibert, Nielsen, Bach, Lieberman, Cimarosa, Mozart, and the Carmen Fantasie by Francois Borne.
August 31, 2008: "Vivaldi, the Red Priest," with Nicholas McGegan
Based in the San Francisco Bay area where he is Music Director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO), Nicholas McGegan is called upon by orchestras across the globe to conduct not only classical, baroque, and early romantic repertoire but also works by various special favorites including Elgar and Britten. Born in England and educated at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, Mr. McGegan has an honorary degree from London's Royal College of Music and was elected an Honorary Professor of Philosophy at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in 2006. His hobbies include food, wine, crossword puzzles, travel, tending roses in his garden in Berkeley, California and furnishing his 19th century flat in Scotland.
August 31, 2008: "myTunes," with F. Murray Abraham
Recognized with an Academy Award for his brilliant portrayal of the Italian composer Antonio Salieri in Milos Forman's "Amadeus," Mr. Abraham shares some of his favorite recordings with host Jimmy Rhoades.
August 24, 2008: "The Music of William Bolcom" with William Bolcom
Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award winning composer William Bolcom has taught composition at the University of Michigan since 1973; he has been a full professor since 1983 and was Chairman of the Composition Department from 1998 to 2003. In the fall of 1994 the University of Michigan named him the Ross Lee Finney Distinguished University Professor of Music in Composition. During the fall 2003 semester he was in residence at the American Academy in Rome and was the Ernest Bloch Composer in Residence at UC/Berkeley during the winter of 2005.
Bolcom's setting of William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, a full-evening work for soloists, choruses, and orchestra, culminated 25 years of work on the piece. The April 8, 2004, performance in Ann Arbor, Michigan, commemorated the reopening of recently-renovated Hill Auditorium and occurred, almost to the day, 20 years after the U.S. premiere in the same hall. Bolcom's Grammy nominations from previous years were for recordings of his Fourth Symphony (featuring Joan Morris as soloist) with Leonard Slatkin and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and Orpheé-Sérénade, recorded by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with Bolcom as pianist.
Future commissions include: a fourth opera for Lyric Opera of Chicago, an adaptation of Idiot's Delight, featuring Joan Morris, for Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera, a string octet, and a work for the University of Michigan Bands.
August 17, 2008: "The Music of John Corigliano," with John Corigliano
John Corigliano is one of the finest and most widely recognized American composers. Among the dozens of citations, doctorates, and other honors he has received are included all of the most important music awards - several Grammy's, a Pulitzer Prize for his Symphony No. 2 (2001), a Grawemeyer for his Symphony No. 1 (1991), and an Academy Award for his score to Francois Girard's 1997 film "The Red Violin." One of the few living composers to have a string quartet named after him, Corigliano's work has been performed by some of the most visible orchestras, soloists, and chamber musicians in the world, and recorded on the Sony, RCA, BMG, Telarc, Erato, Ondine, New World, and CRI labels.
DSO & MOT Unmasked
April 11, 2010 - Don Giovanni
February 28, 2010 - Sir Neville Marriner and Alexander Hanna
In the first hour, meet composer and musician 
immy Rhoades welcomes two legendary virtuosos, Edgar Meyer and Bela Fleck who, along with Zakir Hussain, were preparing their Triple Concerto for Bass, Banjo and Tabla to be performed with Leonard Slatkin and the DSO in January 2009. In the "myTunes" segment, retiring DSO principal flutist Ervin Monroe, shares stories about recording with the DSO. 
Normally, absolutely nothing. But the world's conficts have inspired some interesting music. Join Detroit Symphony Orchestra Music Director Leonard Slatkin and host Jimmy Rhoades for a sampling of tunes related to war. In the "My Tunes" segment, DSO principal bassoonist Bob Williams shares why you must be "all thumbs" to play a bassoon as well as some of this favorite recordings.
A dynamic presence in the orchestral world, Peter Oundjian continues to make his mark as one of today's most exciting faces on the conducting scene. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra's new Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor is known for his probing musicality, spirit of collaboration, and engaging personality, which have earned him accolades and frequent re-engagements. Stunning performances and cheering audiences prompted appointments at the Caramoor International Music Festival (NY), the Colorado Symphony, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where he is currently in his second season as Music Director.
Stacy Garrop has received several awards and grants including the 2006/2007 Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Elaine Lebenbom Memorial Award, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble's 2006/2007 Harvey Gaul Composition Competition, the 2005 Raymond and Beverly Sackler Music Composition Prize, 2005, and 2001 Barlow Endowment commissions, Chicago Symphony Orchestra's 1999-2000 First Hearing Composition Competition, Omaha Symphony Guild's 2000 International New Music Competition, and the New England Philharmonic's 2000 Call for Scores Competition. She was selected to participate in reading session programs sponsored by the American Composers Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and the Dale Warland Singers. She received a 2002 Artists Fellowship Award from the Illinois Arts Council and was a finalist for the 2001 Rome Prize.
One of the most versatile artists on the concert stage today, Detroit Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Emmanuelle Boisvert has won the hearts of audiences, critics and musicians alike with an undeniable finesse and charismatic presence befitting her prestigious position.
A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Thomas Wilkins is currently in his fourth season as Resident Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In the past, he has served as Resident Conductor of The Florida Orchestra (Tampa Bay), Associate Conductor of the Richmond (Va.) Symphony, as well as on the music faculties of North Park University (Chicago), the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Recognized worldwide as one of today's most exciting vocal stars, Denyce Graves continues to gather unparalleled popular and critical acclaim in performances on four continents. Her career has taken her to the world's great opera houses and concert halls. She has become particularly well-known to operatic audiences for her portrayals of the title roles in Carmen and Samson et Delila. These signature roles have brought Ms. Graves to the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera - Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Washington Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opernhaus Zürich, Teatro Real in Madrid, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Los Angeles Opera, and the Festival Maggio Musicale in Florence.
Charles Greenwell was born into a musical family in New York and has had a long and varied career in the performing arts as a conductor, singer, pianist, oboist, composer, actor and stage director. Greenwell is the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Conducting Assistant and serves as host of Ford ConcerTalks, lively musical discussions taking place one hour prior to all classical series performances. He has also served as a producer for the recordings of the DSO for Chandos Records and as host of the DSO’s national radio broadcast series from 1978 to 1987.
Flutist Sharon Sparrow is one of the most highly regarded flutists in our area. Equally at ease in her position in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, in solo recital, as concerto soloist and as masterclass clinician, Ms. Sparrow brings warmth, personality, flare and impeccable skills to the concert stage.
Based in the San Francisco Bay area where he is Music Director of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO), Nicholas McGegan is called upon by orchestras across the globe to conduct not only classical, baroque, and early romantic repertoire but also works by various special favorites including Elgar and Britten. Born in England and educated at Cambridge and Oxford Universities, Mr. McGegan has an honorary degree from London's Royal College of Music and was elected an Honorary Professor of Philosophy at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in 2006. His hobbies include food, wine, crossword puzzles, travel, tending roses in his garden in Berkeley, California and furnishing his 19th century flat in Scotland.
Recognized with an Academy Award for his brilliant portrayal of the Italian composer Antonio Salieri in Milos Forman's "Amadeus," Mr. Abraham shares some of his favorite recordings with host Jimmy Rhoades.
Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award winning composer William Bolcom has taught composition at the University of Michigan since 1973; he has been a full professor since 1983 and was Chairman of the Composition Department from 1998 to 2003. In the fall of 1994 the University of Michigan named him the Ross Lee Finney Distinguished University Professor of Music in Composition. During the fall 2003 semester he was in residence at the American Academy in Rome and was the Ernest Bloch Composer in Residence at UC/Berkeley during the winter of 2005.
John Corigliano is one of the finest and most widely recognized American composers. Among the dozens of citations, doctorates, and other honors he has received are included all of the most important music awards - several Grammy's, a Pulitzer Prize for his Symphony No. 2 (2001), a Grawemeyer for his Symphony No. 1 (1991), and an Academy Award for his score to Francois Girard's 1997 film "The Red Violin." One of the few living composers to have a string quartet named after him, Corigliano's work has been performed by some of the most visible orchestras, soloists, and chamber musicians in the world, and recorded on the Sony, RCA, BMG, Telarc, Erato, Ondine, New World, and CRI labels. 
