Emily Boyer

Today in America 250: The American Experience we’ll hear from some of the world-class musicians in our own backyard, like violist Greg Williams who credits his career in music to his early start in public school on Long Island. Now he’s on the music faculty at Sacred Heart University.

We’ll visit Arizona this morning with Eric Ewazen’s Grand Canyon Suite. Like the canyon, the music for horn ensemble feels broad, awe-inspiring, and colorful.

What better way to welcome the summer solstice and honor Juneteenth than with the relaxed sound of “Summertime” sung by Audra McDonald? It’s a jazz standard that comes from the 1935 opera featuring an African American cast, Porgy and Bess.

Composers Samuel Barber and Gian Carlo Menotti called their house in Mount Kisco, New York "Capricorn" because it was sunny even in the darkest months of winter. Inspired by their life together, Barber composed the Capricorn Concerto, with moments that are light and bright, and others that are tender and heartfelt.

What was it like to see the Statue of Liberty grow larger as you sailed into New York Harbor, searching for a new life in a new country? Lady Liberty Suite by Karen LeFrak is restless and determined, like the immigrants it honors.

Growing up in Cuba, Arturo Sandoval got involved with jazz, eventually playing trumpet. While on tour outside of Cuba, he defected with the help of prominent American jazz musicians. Hear him and other musicians who found refuge in the United States to honor World Refugee Awareness Month in America 250: The American Experience.

The first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in barrel was Annie Taylor. She was a schoolteacher and made the daredevil move on her 63rd birthday. Want all of the adventure and none of the danger? Listen to Niagara Falls by Michael Daugherty with me this morning.

A few weeks ago, I heard George Walker’s Cello Sonata for the first time. It stopped me in my tracks. The music captures rich lyricism with a modern perspective, and I’m excited to share it this morning.

If you’re a book lover, you probably appreciate recommendations from your favorite authors. For music, Johannes Brahms recommends the Clarinet Trio by Alexander von Zemlinsky. But you don't have to take his word for it—give it a listen for yourself this morning!

“Sonorous elegance” is how contemporary composer Bill Banfield describes Duke Ellington’s big band and orchestral music. It's an approach he admires and weaves into his Symphony #6, “Four Songs for Five American Voices.”