When George Walker won the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his work in 1996, famed conductor Zubin Mehta wrote in the Star Ledger, “this composer has finally gotten the recognition he deserves.” With an active career as a pianist and composer, Walker has made incredible contributions to the classical music world.

For this week’s blog feature, we talked to Justin Wade, Executive Artistic Director of Young Actors Theatre, about their mission and approach to Self-Empowerment Theatre, and the role music plays in their productions. Young Actors Theatre will open two shows this weekend: Sleeping Beauty, and Twelve Dancing Princesses, at The Toby at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.

In honor of Thanksgiving we asked Elise Shrock, the “Indy Food Maven,” to share her family traditions and some ideas for fun new foods to add to the traditional favorites. We’ve also compiled a short list of recipes that put a cultural twist on Thanksgiving classics. Enjoy!

Get ready to dance! Although an unfamiliar style to some, klezmer is a music that has an undeniable folk sound that is combined with rhythms of dance. This musical style uses instruments to imitate the laughter and/or weeping of the human voice and is most often heard during times of merriment. Read below to learn more, and to listen to some recordings at the end.

In honor of National LGBT+ Pride month, Classical Music Indy spoke with the Pride of Indy Bands, Indiana’s only LGBT+ and ally instrumental ensemble. The Pride of Indy Bands’ mission is to be an outlet and a resource for anyone who wants to continue playing past high school and/or college. The Pride of Indy is comprised of both LGBT+ people and LGBT+ allies that participate in and support the bands.

Summertime in Indiana is filled with outdoor concerts! Jennifer Malins, one of our contributing authors to NOTE, gives the run down on how to make healthier choices for bringing food to your favorite outdoor concert. Yum!

In recognition of Father’s Day, we spoke with members of the Indianapolis-based Urban Initiative High-5 Rally, a movement that provides positive male role models and male-run high-five rallies to encourage school success for urban students across the city.

For our first blog post during Black History Month, we wanted to take a look at a time in American history when the simple act of attending a classical music concert was prohibited for people of color. Renowned African-American opera baritone Robert Honeysucker, who unexpectedly died in 2017, was a student at Tougaloo College in 1963 when he decided to attend a whites-only concert in Jackson, Mississippi. His actions and the many other brave protests of the Civil Rights Movement helped to shed light on the issue of racial prejudice, but how far has classical music really come today?

Classical Revolution: Casual Classical Night Eric Salazar, clarinet, and Joshua Thompson, piano Where can you go to hear classical music jam sessions? On the first Tuesday of every month, freelance musicians and members of the Indianapolis Symphony Orc …

Classical Music Indy employs a diverse range of musicians for our events around Indianapolis. In 2016 we hired 95 musicians. Classical Music Indy has dedicated our blog articles to outstanding women musicians this month. We’ve shared about great women music educators in America and about under-recognized women musicians throughout history. This week, we take a look at a few of Classical Music Indy’s top performers – women who are doing great work here and now in the city of Indianapolis. Read below about these incredibly talented musicians, and hopefully you’ll hear them at one of our events in the near future!

Last year while developing our summer issue of NOTE magazine, we discovered that Paul Page was one of the first radio hosts for WAIV, the Indianapolis station that first broadcast Classical Music Indy (formerly the Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis). The 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2016 was Paul’s final year announcing the race before retiring. This article, that ran in NOTE in May 2016, is a tribute to his amazing life and legacy. Guest contributor, Jill Ditmire, talked to Paul about his life and what led him from classical music radio to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a broadcasting career spanning more than 46 years. Enjoy learning about Paul Page – the Voice of the Indy 500!

Our country is a melting pot of diverse people and cultures that define the breadth of music we know and enjoy in our daily lives. For this reason, CMI asked our contributor Patrick Hanley, Texas-based teacher and writer to share his thoughts about how new immigration laws are impacting music and musicians, and the ways in which our country embraces and disrupts diversity.

For Classical Music Month, Classical Music Indy pulled out all of the stops to bring music to the community of Indianapolis. We shared music with over 379,000 people during the month of September. We hope you’ll celebrate with us again next year!

My Music. My Story. is one of Classical Music Indy’s initiatives to feature music, musicians, and music lovers in a fun way. This week we talk to Anne Maschmeyer, Beautification Director with Downtown Indy, Inc. She shares about her career and how music influences her life and work as a proponent of improving quality of life in Indianapolis.