Grammy-winning conductor, pianist, and composer Charles Floyd and award-winning baritone Robert Sims reflect on the importance that Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass placed on spirituals as a beacon for freedom.

WFMT interviews conductor James Conlon, a tireless advocate for composers silenced by the Nazi regime, and musician Johnny Gandelsman, who produced the soundtrack to ‘The US and the Holocaust.’

WFMT presenter LaRob K. Rafael interviews Dr. C. Charles Clency, music educator, author, and the last accompanist of Mahalia Jackson.

In connection with Ken Burns’ newest documentary, WFMT interviews Ellen Cohn, editor-in-chief of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin and actor and historian Mitchell Kramer, who has been portraying Franklin for more than a decade.

At the tender age of 79, Norman Malone made his orchestral debut. We welcomed him to our Classical Conversation series to hear his incredible story.

Ali was among the most important, most charismatic, most unique figures in American (not just sports) history. So how do you adapt the monumental life of the People’s Champion into an opera?

“Whenever people buy a ticket to a concert, they’re committing to a shared experience…” composer, violinist, and educator Jessie Montgomery reflects.

One of the world’s leading conductors, Marin Alsop was in 2020 appointed the principal conductor and curator of the Ravinia Festival. WFMT was honored to speak with the celebrated conductor in the latest installment of our Classical Conversations series.

Denyce Graves was the perfect guest to launch WFMT’s new digital series! The celebrated mezzo-soprano discusses her career, her relationship with the late Justice Ginsburg, and diversity, equity, and inclusion in the opera world.