Every performance is a decision about what deserves to be heard. This October, our guests share the music they champion—and why it matters to bring it to the stage.
This October, Season 7: Culture & Courage turns to the collaborations that bring those choices to life. Our featured guest, Blair Boone-Migura, explores how singers and pianists share language, poetry, and culture through art song. In our first Alumni episode, Anna Shelest returns with Dmitri Shelest and Maestro Michael Hall to discuss bringing Ukrainian repertoire to Carnegie Hall.
We also introduce the sponsor behind our special Alumni episode, share news about The Piano Pod Live in spring 2027, and give you a first look at November’s lineup.
Art Song, Human Connection with Blair Boone-Migura
Season 7 Episode 2 | Coming Tuesday, October 20, 8:00 p.m. ET!
For years, Blair Boone-Migura has connected The Piano Pod with extraordinary artists, including Mark Markham, Graham Fitch, Ophelia Gordon, Molly Gebrian, and Ammiel Bushakevitz. This month, it was time to hear his own story.
A voice teacher, vocal coach, pianist, and founder and executive director of the Art Song Preservation Society of New York, Blair brings a perspective shaped by work across disciplines.
We discuss ASPSNY’s 17-year journey, the Summer of Song Festival, and what comes next following its ten-year chapter at Manhattan School of Music. We also explore the partnership between singer and pianist, the ways language carries culture, and how artists can bring new audiences into the intimate world of art song.
Throughout our conversation, preservation emerges as something people do together: passing repertoire, language, and artistic values from one person to another.
An Alumni Return: The Shelest Piano Duo & Maestro Michael Hall
Season 6 guest Anna Shelest returns with her duo partner, Dmitri Shelest, and Maestro Michael Hall for our first Season 7 alumni episode.
Together, we discuss their upcoming recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall on Sunday, October 18, at 1:00 p.m., which opens the Ukrainian Cultural Festival 2026 and features the U.S. premiere of Oleh Bezborodko’sSteel, Violet, Rage. The conversation explores the collaboration behind the performance and the work of bringing Ukrainian music to American audiences.
This special episode is presented with the support of the Alexander & Buono Foundation.
WATCH OR LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
"Steel, Violet, Rage at Carnegie Hall" Season 7 | Alumni Episode 1
👆Tap the thumbnail above to watch or listen to the conversation!
🎟️ If you are in New York, you can experience Steel, Violet, Rage on Sunday, October 18, at 1:00 p.m. at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
I’m grateful for the Foundation’s support in bringing Anna, Dmitri, and Maestro Hall’s conversation to The Piano Pod community. In this short video, hear directly from the Foundation about its work and the artists it supports.
A look back at our first Piano Pod Live at Stiefel Hall in collaboration with Mannes Prep in October 2025. Photos by Vincent Carvalho.
We’re returning to the stage for another gathering of music, conversation, and community.
Next month, I’ll announce the date, time, featured guests, and venue. I’m excited to share what we’ve been putting together—and hope you’ll join us in person.
A First Look at November
October Featured Guest: Roberta Rust
Arriving November 17, our featured conversation celebrates Native American Heritage Month with pianist and educator Roberta Rust and her latest album, FEMALE RAIN, released on NAVONA Records, an imprint of PARMA Recordings, featuring piano music by Native American composers, Louis W. Ballard and Connor Chee.
We explore the composers’ distinct musical voices, the Indigenous traditions that inform their writing, and Roberta’s personal relationships with both artists. We also discuss her Lakota heritage, the stories behind the album’s repertoire, and how pianists, teachers, and presenters can bring this music to concert halls and classrooms throughout the year.
Last time, Jarred joined us with his teacher and piano duo partner, Anna Górecka, daughter of the legendary composer Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, to explore her father’s legacy and lesser-known piano music. If you missed it, revisit Season 5, Episode 17: “Inside the World of Górecki.”
This November, he returns to take us inside a different musical world with his new album, Schumann Daydreams. We explore Schumann’s poetic imagination, Jarred’s evolving interpretations, and the spontaneity behind the recording, looking beyond mental illness as the defining lens for Schumann’s music.
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The Piano Pod explores the people, ideas, and cultural forces shaping classical and contemporary music today through candid conversations with artists, composers, educators, and creative thinkers.
