Light at the end of the tunnel

Music Matters

Half a millennium after the composer's death, Tom Service explores the enduring appeal of Josquin des Prez with the scholar Bonnie Blackburn and soprano Kate Ashby.

Tom also catches-up with the 21 year-old conductor Stephanie Childress, recently appointed Assistant Conductor of the St Louis Symphony Orchestra, and hears her thoughts about why conducting matters in the world right now.

Professor of Musicology at Oxford University, Jonathan Cross; the Founder and CEO of Grange Park Opera, Wasfi Kani; and The Royal Opera’s Director of Opera, Oliver Mears join Tom to discuss whether opera is doing enough to reflect diversity of voice, repertoires, and composers.

And, Tom speaks to the Scottish-born composer Thea Musgrave at her home in Los Angeles about compositional decisions in a time of pandemic, and Light at the end of the tunnel.

With thanks to New York based Utopia Opera for their kind permission to feature music from their 2018 production of Thea Musgrave's 'The Story of Harriet Tubman', with MaKayla M. McDonald singing the title role. The production celebrated Thea’s 90th birthday with the orchestra of Utopia Opera conducted by William Remmers. Julian Grant was the orchestrator.