Minnesota has claim to a wealth of creativity; music is no exception. Almost every genre can be heard within our state’s borders. The results range from a simple act of joy, to an influence that reverberates far beyond (the “Minneapolis Sound” is a prime example). The collection below is an introduction to the diverse and talented artists who have called Minnesota home, and the art they share with all of us.
October 29, 2002 - Folk singer Larry Long is a longtime friend of Senator Wellstone's who is preparing two songs for Wellstone memorial service. Long says he wrote the songs after traveling with Wellstone and his wife Sheila on a plane back from Farmfest in southwestern Minnestoa.
November 28, 2002 - Matthew Fox plays guitar, and mandolin. But until now he has been playing in bands, either in ensembles, or backing someone else. Now, this relatively recent Twin Cities transplant is stepping into the limelight with his own album "Pilgrim." MPR’s Euan Kerr talks with the artist about album.
November 29, 2002 - An excerpt from an August 2002 interview with Minneapolis folk-blues legend Dave Ray, who died on 11/28/2002. Ray talks with MPR’s Dale Connelly about how hearing classical guitarist Andre Segovia perform changed his life.
December 5, 2002 - Classical MPR’s Mindy Ratner talks with 11-year-old Nathaniel Irvin of Maple Grove, who has the the title role in Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” performed by the Minnesota Orchestra with the James Sewell Ballet.
January 7, 2003 - MPR’s Euan Kerr interviews local musician David Levin about his CD "Zuni." Levin is part of a song circle, a group of individual musicians who meet to play their own songs, and to accompany one another.
February 13, 2003 - Mainstreet Radio’s Bob Reha attends final rehearsals of "Memorial," which debuts at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Moorhead. For Rene' Clausen, conductor of the Concordia College Choir, it was a daunting task. Clausen was commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association to write a piece that captured the emotional and spiritual elements of the September 11th tragedy.
February 21, 2003 - MPR’s Chris Julin caught up with Haley Bonar in Duluth. The 19-year-old quit college to write songs and is preparing for CD release and national tour. Julin interviews Bonar about the dark subject matter of her songs. Bonar also performs during segment.
March 28, 2003 - MPR’s Marianne Combs reports on Chamber Music Society of Minnesota’s presentation of the Midwest premiere of Aleksander Kulisiewicz’s "Camp Songs" - 5 poems from the holocaust set to music.
April 2, 2003 - MPR’s Dan Olson profiles Vern Sutton, a living Minnesota opera legend, who is retiring. Sutton is ending 36 years as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota School of Music. However, Sutton is not leaving the stage. As he explained to Olson, Sutton loves to perform.
May 2, 2003 - MPR’s Dan Olson profiles the music known as Mariachi, and one of Minnesota's best-known Mariachi bands, Mariachi Flor y Canto, as they prepare to perform in the state's biggest Cinco de Mayo celebration on St. Paul's West Side.