Speaking Soundly

American conductor and cellist Jonathon Heyward is the Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center. It's remarkable that he's achieved such prominent positions at just 31-years-old. On this Season 5 finale of Speaking Soundly, Jonathon sits down with David to reflect on his meteoric rise, the serendipitous moments in his childhood that led to his flourishing career, his evolution as a musician, and how he earned the nickname "Converse Conductor.”Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share the podcast with your friends if you liked this episode!Check out Jonathon Heyward on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Apple Music, or the web. To learn more about the orchestras Jonathon directs visit the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center.  Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Jonathon Heyward by Laura Thiesbrummel.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.

American mezzo-soprano and three-time Grammy Award winner Joyce DiDonato is "perhaps the most potent female singer of her generation" (The New Yorker), but her path to stardom was anything but easy and linear. In this special episode of Speaking Soundly, recorded live at Lincoln Center, Joyce discusses the challenges in her early career and how she moved through them with grit, how her father gave her permission to pursue a life on the stage, and why her heart still belongs in a choir. David and Joyce reflect on meaningful performances in their lives and the power of music to connect us to moments and heal.Be sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share with your friends if you liked this episode!Check out Joyce DiDonato on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, or the web. Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Joyce DiDonato by Sachyn Mital, © Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.

Kenji López-Alt is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, renowned chef, culinary scientist, podcast host, YouTube sensation, and violinist. Despite his transformative impact on the culinary world and how most people cook at home, he sits down with David to discuss his true passion, making music. Kenji reflects on his early beginnings on the violin at age 4 at New York City's School for Strings, why he thinks the Suzuki method is "pretty special," and how he evaded practice at home, thus David crowning him the "Ferris Bueller of the violin." They go on to discuss Kenji's summers at Greenwood Music Camp where he fell in love with music and pulled off mischievous tricks, why he ultimately chose the path of an engineering degree from MIT instead of studying at a conservatory, and his excitement for an event he's co-hosting with James Ehnes for the Seattle Chamber Music Society this July. In the second half of the interview Kenji talks about his daughter's first performance that made him "ugly cry," as well as his first restaurant job, when he hit rock bottom of his cooking career, and how he changed course. To close it out Kenji contemplates the rewards of practice (cooking and music), his hopes for his children’s musical education, and why Beethoven's Opus 130 still makes his back tingle.Check out Kenji López-Alt on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or the web. Shop Kenji's books here and listen to his new podcast The Recipe with Kenji and Deb.To learn more about and buy tickets to Kenji's Tasting Notes event with James Ehnes benefitting the Seattle Chamber Music Society click here. Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Kenji López-Alt courtesy of the guest.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.

American conductor Gerard Schwarz has led some of the world's finest orchestras for the past half-century. With 9 Emmy Awards, 14 Grammy nominations, and a catalogue of over 350 recordings, it's remarkable to consider that Gerard's illustrious journey began with a pivotal decision—leaving behind his first career as a trumpet soloist. Gerard reflects on this decision and early influences of his musical career including Szell and Bernstein, summers at Interlochen Center for the Arts, and a performance of Aida he saw at age 7. He discusses walking away from the trumpet to pursue a second career as a conductor, why he calls himself a musical traditionalist, and how the audience experience has changed over the years.Check out Gerard Schwarz on Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Gerard Schwarz by Ben VanHouten.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.

Nathalie Joachim is a Grammy-nominated flutist, vocalist, and composer whose creativity spans pop and electronic to classical music and beyond. Co-Founder of the critically acclaimed duo Flutronix, the Haitian-American musician discusses her debut solo album Fanm d'Ayiti (Women in Haiti) and how a girl's choir from her community's small church spurred her creativity. Nathalie tells David why she has become an early morning composer, how she was introduced to the flute in 4th grade and her rapid progression on the instrument that helped land her on the stage of Avery Fisher Hall (the current David Geffen Hall) at age 11, and when music became her first true love. As native New Yorkers, Nathalie and David share and compare their experiences shopping at Tower Records, attending Juilliard's Pre-College program, and what led David's mom to steal a piece of the iconic school's music stands as a keepsake. To close it out Nathalie shares why she is grateful to Beyoncé and reiterates her unbelievable connection to music. Check out Nathalie Joachim on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or the web and don't miss her duo Flutronix.You can listen to Nathalie's newest album, Ki moun ou ye, from New Amsterdam / Nonesuch Records, here. Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Nathalie Joachim by Erin Patrice O’Brien.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.

American composer, singer, songwriter, and sonic storyteller Gabriel Kahane uses pop, folk, and classical music to craft captivating works that illustrate the human experience. Gabriel discusses the importance of using music to create community, his song Sit Shiva, what type of opera he imagines he'd write if given the opportunity, and how he responds to humor that is ultimately empathetic. Reflecting on the influences of his psychologist mother, concert pianist father, and his musical childhood filled with violin, piano, guitar, and singing, Gabriel talks about his start at New England Conservatory as a jazz pianist, how his interest shifted to theater at Brown, and his ultimate arrival in New York with his cellist friend Alisa Weilerstein where he began to write songs.Check out Gabriel Kahane on Instagram, Facebook, Substack, Spotify, Apple Music, or the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Gabriel Kahane by Jason Quigley.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.

The first mandolin soloist to be nominated for a classical Grammy, Avi Avital's remarkable virtuosity from Baroque masterpieces to contemporary compositions has reignited fascination with the mandolin as an instrument worthy of center stage. Avi discusses the intuitive nature of a plucked instrument and how it still excites him to this day, why he finds boredom a blessing, and how his poor pick grip is recognizable by a select group of mandolinists. Reflecting on his childhood performances with his local youth orchestra, Avi shares how the social aspect kept him playing despite his hatred for the tedious and solitary nature of practice, something he still feels to this day despite his talent and success. Avi considers two turning points in his musical development, the first while in high school when he fell in love with the rock music of Nirvana and Pearl Jam and learned how to play drums, keyboard, and guitar, and the second while attending a performance of Il Giardino Armonico at a Jerusalem theater while studying at The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. To close it out David admits that if he hears the mandolin in Mozart's Don Giovanni, he's in trouble!Check out Avi Avital on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, or the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Avi Avital by Christoph Köstlin.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.

Louis Cato is a Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter, and the band leader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The "musical genius" discusses starting the drums before he could walk, his childhood in a tight-knit church community where he wasn't exposed to pop, rock, or jazz music, and how he mastered (or not) the trombone by age fifteen. Louis tells David why he is a "jack of all trades, master of none" in the music world and what he learned from Jon Batiste, Questlove, Doc Severinsen, and Paul Shaffer about being a great band leader.Check out Louis Cato on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, Apple Music, or the web.Follow Speaking Soundly on Instagram.Follow David on Instagram.You can find out more about Artful Narratives Media on Instagram and the web.Photograph of Louis Cato by Shervin Lainez.The Speaking Soundly theme song is composed by Joseph Saba/Stewart Winter and used by permission of Videohelper.Speaking Soundly was co-created by David Krauss and Jessica Handelman. This interview has been edited and condensed to fit the time format.Episode copyright © 2024 Artful Narratives Media.