Judlyne Gibson – The Second Street Dreams Audio Network

Composer Chinary Ung stays close to his Cambodian Roots

March 16, 2026/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

Composer Chinary Ung has been composing music for 60 plus years. His compositions are heavily affected by his childhood in Cambodia and the deadly events that happened there back in the mid 1970’s. But he says he’s blessed that he was able to come to America in the 1960’s to study the western style of music. Many of his compositions will be performed at the Miller Theater at Columbia University School of the Arts in its Composer Portraits series on March 26^th.

Here are the links to the other events mentioned in the podcast.

Castle of our Skins – Two Positions

Misty Copeland on Timothée Chalamet

LA MAESTRA 2026

Composer Kaylen Prince of Houston

African Children’s Choir

The African Concert Series Celebrates Its 8th Season of African Classical Music.

March 9, 2026/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

It took pianist Rebeca Omordia 8 years to create the African Concert Series in London. She was even told that African classical music wasn’t really classical at all, nor would anyone want to listen to it. The series is very popular now. So much so that Wigmore Hall in London has gifted Omordia a residency at the world class venue.

Here are links to events mentioned in the podcast:

Timothée Chalamet & Matthew McConaughey

Cincinnati Pops Orchestra album Harlem Renaissance

Toy Music Festival in Seoul

Teach Music Week

A Hero’s Life Meets The Old And The New With A World Premiere Recording

March 2, 2026/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

Conductor and Music Director JoAnn Falletta of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra has fulfilled a dream. She’s released A Hero’s Life. The album has two pieces, one from Richard Strauss and another that’s a world premiere recording of Behzad Ranjbaran’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Falletta is also releasing another edition of her book of poetry, Love Letters to Music. This is in addition to the upcoming full length documentary about her nearly 30-year career at the Buffalo Philharmonic.

Here are the links to events mentioned in the podcast.

Denyce Graves Foundation Behind the Curtain and Sounds of Hope

Time To Act, the opera about school shootings at the Pittsburgh Opera.

The American Lyric Theater’s concert version of Tevye’s Daughters

The Word Network is airing celebration of life services live for Rev. Jesse Jackson.

It’s Primary season. The first one is/was March 3rd, 2026. Find out here when your state is holding its primaries.

Castrato Nicolo Grimaldi Gets His Due Via Randall Scotting

February 24, 2026/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

When you think of countertenors what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

Randall Scotting, a countertenor, sees himself as a preserver of this unique male voice. He’s releasing the album Divine Impresario to celebrate one of the most popular castrato opera singers of the 17^th and 18^th centuries. His name is Nicolini.

Cancellations at the Kennedy Center continue even as the building is set to close for renovations.

The San Antonio (Texas) Philharmonic shuts down with hopes of returning someday.

Here are the links mentioned in the podcast for mentoring programs.

League of American Orchestras Applications now open for their Essentials of Orchestra Management program.

The Pegasus Opera Company in London is looking for opera singers.

Who won the largest single gift ever dedicated to one Jazz artist?

January 19, 2026/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

While we look forlornly at the holiday bills as we head into tax season, there is some joy this January.

The Grammy winning and nominated this year again Jazz pianist Sullivan Fortner is grateful and humble after winning the 300k Gilmore inaugural 2026 Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Award.

Donors have nearly flooded the Washington National Opera with funds after the opera company departed the Kennedy Center.

There are still many ways to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and many other African American leaders as we head into Black History Month.

And oh my as George Takei would say, there’s a Star Trek version of a Mozart opera.

Here’s a link to the League Of American Orchestras Student Leadership Council.

Opera’s Civil War

December 15, 2025/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

Which opera team are you on?

“Old” operas versus the “New” operas.

According to the book, Opera Wars by Caitlin Vincent, artistic directors and others at the nation’s opera companies are in conflict with themselves over staging the standard operas from the 18^th and 19^th centuries or producing those composed in the late 20^th and 21^st centuries.

There’s a new directory for musical instruments adapted for those would be musicians with disabilities. Other companies and engineers are developing adaptations too.

Apple Music Classical has made a surprising choice for it’s classical album of the year.

The Emerging Black Composers Project is back

December 7, 2025/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

While we still might be recovering from Thanksgiving, there’s the rest of the holidays to consider. Shopping for gifts, decorating the house while listening to music. Gifts have already come to Kyle Rivera, who won the Michael Morgan Prize for Black composers.

The Pegasus Opera Company in the UK is looking for partners to produce an opera about the Windrush Generation.

The Detroit Opera presents two little known and rarely staged operas.

The Miro Quartet debuts its first holiday album called Hearth.

The Opera Austin Festival and a Jane Austen Tribute

November 30, 2025/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

A new era of operas is emerging. Not that the popular ones are stuffy or just plain old. Composer Nathan Felix seeks new 21^st century operas at his second annual Opera Austin Festival. Another member of the Kanneh-Mason family of England, has released a new album. Pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason shows her love of Jane Austen with an album of music in honor of the 250^th anniversary of the novelist’s birth.

Native American Artists On the Indigenous Directory for Musical Storytelling

November 16, 2025/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

In observance of National Native American Heritage Month, White Snake Projects, has introduced the Indigenous Directory for Musical Storytelling. It names Native American musicians, artists, and crew members who are available for work. Some of them are Grammy award winners. The co-founder and Artistic Director of White Snake Projects, Cerise Lim Jacobs says Native American artists were initially reluctant to sign up, fearing it was a scam. That’s despite the Pulitzer Prize White Snake Projects won in 2011 for the opera Madam White Snake.

Links that may be of interest:

For The Love Of Samuel Coleridge Taylor

November 1, 2025/in Classical Music In Color/by Judlyne Lilly

One man, a conductor, has such love for the music of British composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor (August 15, 1875 – September 1, 1912) that he made it his mission to find his manuscripts. The album, produced by conductor Michael Repper and performed by the National Philharmonic with violinist Curtis Stewart is a love note to Coleridge Taylor on the 150^th anniversary of his birth. Much of the music on the album titled Samuel Coleridge-Taylor are world-premiere studio recordings of his work. Some of them have not been performed for 100 years.