Phillip Gainsley's Podcast

Philippe Quint, violinist, was born in Leningrad (St. Petersburg today) and trained in the United States at the The Juilliard School, earning both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree.  He made his solo debut at age nine while studying at Moscow’s Special Music school for the Gifted.  He earned top prizes in music competitions around the world, and his recording of Korn

Ann Morrison was Mary Flynn in the original 1981 production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along, directed by Harold Prince, for which she won the 1982 Theatre World Award.  More than 40 years later she remains remembered for that role, but she has done so much more since then, including her one-person show she is currently revising, to take on the ro

Stephen Hamilton, the “concert touring organist,” has been prominent on the American organ scene for over 40 years. The New York Times wrote of Hamilton’s performance of the Bach Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor: “Hamilton, as organist at the Church of the Holy Trinity (Episcopal) obviously knew the instrument’s sonorous capabilities and brought them powerfully to bear in

GRAMMY® Award winning Classical Producer of the Year, Michael Fine is one of the top classical recording producers in the world.  But he also has been active in artistic planning for major orchestras world-wide. He formerly was vice president of artists and repertoire at Deutsche Grammophon, the first American to hold the post of artistic director of the 100 year-old label.&n

The Met: Live in HD is a series of live opera performances transmitted to selected venues, primarily movie theaters around the world, in high-definition video, via satellite from the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The first transmission was the Julie Taymor production of a condensed English-language version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, on December 30, 2006.Veteran TV direct

Michael Stephen Brown has been hailed by The New York Times as “one of the leading figures in the current renaissance of performer-composers.” His artistry is shaped by his creative voice as a pianist and composer, praised for his “fearless performances” (The New York Times) and “exceptionally beautiful” compositions (The Washington Post). He was the winner of the 2018

Robert Neu is known for his highly theatrical and musically sensitive work  He has directed over 100 productions of operas, musicals and plays throughout the country. Bob’s productions include everything from The Music Man to St. John Passion, plus Bernstein’s Mass, Peer Gynt (for which he also did the adaptation), La Traviata, The Magic Flute and Carousel, Hansel and Gret

Richard Kogan has a distinguished career as a psychiatrist and  a concert pianist. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and Artistic Director of the Weill Cornell Music and Medicine Program, he has been praised for his “exquisite playing” by The New York Times, and the Boston Globe wrote, “Kogan has somehow managed to excel at the world’s t

Justin Lucero is artistic director of Theater Latté Da, in Minneapolis. In addition to nearly a dozen works directed for El Paso Opera,  Justin enjoys a robust freelance directing career for professional and academic stages, including past work with Abingdon Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, City Theatre (Pittsburgh), Creede Repertory Theatre, University of Texas El

Conductor John DeMain is noted for his dynamic performances on concert and opera stages throughout the world. In January 2023, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Opera Association, the association’s highest award. During his three decades as the Madison Symphony Orchestra music director, John has consistently raised the quality of the orchestra by introduc