Classical 91.5

Backstage Pass

Monthly, 1 to 2 pm, days vary, on WXXI-FM 91.5, WXXY 90.3, WXXI-FM/HD 91.5-1 and online at wxxi.org

Backstage Pass is a monthly live performance program which highlights performances by local and visiting musicians, giving Classical 91.5/90.3 listeners the backstage experience of meeting the artists “up close and personal.”  Several times each year, Backstage Pass is performed before a live audience of sustaining members.  

The series’ production team includes WXXI-FM Music Director and host Julia Figueras, Supervising Audio Engineer Andrew Croucher, and Executive Producer Jeanne Fisher.

In 2007, 2015, and 2017, Backstage Pass won Finalist Awards from the New York Festivals, and in 2009 it brought home a Bronze Medal from that international media competition.

Backstage Pass with Red Creek Duo - 2/26/17

By • Feb 24, 2017

Guitar and violin are an elegant combination, heard from the drawing rooms of the classical era to the concert halls of today. On this month's Backstage Pass WXXI Music Director Julia Figueras welcomes Red Creek Duo--violinist An-Chi Lin and guitarist Anton Machleder--into the Epstein Studio to explore the union of these stringed things. Friday, February 24 at 1 PM. Repeats Sunday, February 26 at 1 PM.


Backstage Pass with the Eastman Trombone Choir - repeats 2/5/17

By • Jan 24, 2017
http://www.esm.rochester.edu/trombone/trombone-choir/#jp-carousel-245

What happens if you find 24 trombonists in one room? In Rochester, it means you sit down and enjoy a concert with the Eastman Trombone Choir.

The choir, now in its 75th year, has played around the country and around the world, but never on Backstage Pass. Conductors Mark Kellogg and Larry Zalkind rectify that when they bring the Trombone Choir to Studio A for a performance and chat with host Julia Figueras. Expect the unexpected on Tuesday, January 31 at 1 PM.  The show will repeat at 1 PM on Sunday, February 5.


Julian Schwarz Lands a New Job

By • Jan 12, 2017

Cellist Julian Schwarz has just been named to the faculty of Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia.

Backstage Pass with the Eastman Double Reeds - 12/8/16

By • Dec 6, 2016

This year, we celebrate the season with the Eastman Double Reeds.  Four oboists and four bassoonists join us in Studio B to play their own arrangements of holiday hits and more.  Join host Julia Figueras for a festive hour on Thursday, December 8 at 1 PM. The show repeats on Sunday, December 18 at 1 PM.

Backstage Pass with Julian Schwarz and Marika Bournaki - 11/11/16

By • Nov 8, 2016

Cellist Julian Schwarz grew up in a musical home--his father is conductor Gerard Schwarz. On our next Backstage Pass, Julian Schwarz joins host Julia Figueras to discuss growing up musically and rubbing elbows with greats, including Rochester's David Diamond. 

Joining Julian is pianist Marika Bournaki for a program that will include Beethoven, Schumann, Bloch and--yes--Diamond.  Friday, November 11 at 1 PM.  The program will repeat on Sunday, November 13 at 1 PM.

Backstage Pass with Robert Swensen and Nicholas Goluses-10/28/16

By • Nov 7, 2016
Eastman School of Music

The combination of voice and guitar happen all too rarely in classical music.  On the next Backstage Pass, two great professors at the Eastman School of Music merge their talents to bring these sonorities together. Tenor Robert Swensen and guitarist Nicolas Goluses join host Julia Figueras to sing, strum, and speak with works by Britten, Rodrigo, Walton, and Argento.

Friday, October 28 at 1 PM.  The show repeats Sunday, October 30 at 1 PM.

Backstage Pass with Pegasus Early Music - 09/25/16

By • Sep 7, 2016
www.wikipedia.org

She was a most extraordinary woman: the most prolific composer in mid-17th century Venice; a much-praised poet and singer; a property owner when most women were not. On Friday, September 23, Pegasus Early Music joins producer and host Julia Figueras to showcase Strozzi's unique and passionate voice.

Tune in at 1 PM for an hour of sacred, secular, vocal and instrumental music by Strozzi and her Venetian contemporaries, including Cavalli, Castello, and others.

Backstage Pass with the Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival - 07/29/16

By • Aug 25, 2016
Howard LeVant, FLCMF photographer

Host Julia Figueras welcomes Richard Auldon Clark, artistic director, and members of the Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival to the Henry Epstein Studio at WXXI for Backstage Pass on Friday, July 29, 2016 at 1 pm on Classical 91.5. 

The musicians will perform and share details about several big projects coming up, including a new CD and the premiere of Clark's Kurt Vonnegut opera.

Backstage Pass with MostArts Festival Faculty - 06/21/16

By • Aug 25, 2016

Host Julia Figueras welcomes faculty members of the MostArts Festival at Alfred University to the WXXI studios for Backstage Pass on Tuesday, June 21 at 1 p.m. on Classical 91.5. This summer festival features talented musicians from across the country performing chamber and orchestral music, and a Young Pianist Competition, as well as workshops in ceramics and glass blowing at area art exhibitions and museums.

Backstage Pass with the Carillon Tuba Quartet - 05/20/16

By • Aug 25, 2016

Classical 91.5 host Julia Figueras welcomes the Carillon Tuba Quartet from the Eastman School of Music to Backstage Pass on Friday, May 20, 2016 at 1 p.m. on Classical 91.5. The group, which actually consists of four euphoniums and one tuba, performs regularly around Rochester and have placed in several brass and chamber music competitions.  They will perform in studio and talk to Julia about their past and upcoming performances.

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