Episodes

Christina speaks with saxophonist Kyle Jones (MM ’17), who is currently pursuing a DMA in saxophone performance at the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory; in addition to his freelance career, Kyle is an educator and arts administrator. They discuss how to approach building a sustainable career in the arts, including balancing time between school, work, and other activities, proactively reaching out to collaborators and employers, and prioritizing a sense of self and community. Foll...

Jacob Lyerly (MM ’20, Guitar & Pedagogy) joins Robin McGinness to discuss how his experience in the Arts in Health and other Peabody programs built the skills he uses in his career today. While at Peabody Jacob was a member of LAUNCHPad’s student staff, an active performer solo and with his duo Un/Strung, and a regular participant in Peabody’s Arts in Health programing. Currently, Jacob teaches music in North Carolina’s Richmond County Schools. End of episode music is the first movement from Su...

Violinist Shannon Fitzhenry (BM ’18) maintains a busy schedule subbing with the BSO, performing gigs and chamber concerts with other Peabody alumni, and serves as concertmaster for the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. In this episode, she joins Robin McGinness to discuss how she built her current portfolio career, the unique challenges of finding orchestral work, and how to think strategically as an aspiring orchestral performer. Follow Shannon on Instagram: @shannon.fitzhenry.violinist Recorded Augu...

Networking, or making connections with artists, partners, and collaborators is one of the primary challenges we hear about from students and alumni. This week on Max Q we’ve highlighted clips addressing how to talk to people, build relationships, and find strong partners. In order, here are the full interviews featured in today’s episode: Cellist and arts administrator Olivia Rainoff (MM ’20) – Full Episode Bass, voice teacher, and radio announcer John TK Scherch (MM ’17) – Full Episode Cell...

Pianist Dr. Melody Quah, a 2017 Peabody DMA graduate, joins Christina Manceor on Max Q. Melody has a broad-ranging career as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and educator across multiple continents. They discuss navigating the requirements of a new faculty position, keeping a healthy separation from your work, and building experience towards a faculty position. The episode closes with a selection from Melody’s recording of Chopin’s Scherzo Op. 54, No. 4. www.melodyquah.com Penn State School of...

Christina Manceor speaks with percussionist Chris Salvito (Peabody MM ’16) and pianist Nicoletta Favari of Passepartout Duo. Making music that escapes categorization, the duo’s travel around the world informs the multi-disciplinary collaborations, instrumental compositions, and evocative music videos that constitute their work. The conversation centers on how artistic residencies have been foundational for the duo, the path from graduation and traditional instruments to their current work with p...

This week on Max Q, Robin speaks with composer and vocalist Daniel Sabzghabaei (MM ’17). After Peabody Daniel immediately went on to pursue his doctorate, all while continuing to grow his list of commissions and premieres. We discuss how he deals with creative “drought,” managed to keep creating through the pandemic, trying to escape the trap of being known for a specific kind of work, and what goes into building a compositional team. Daniel’s Website Full recording of Zemestun Recorded May 9, 2...

In this episode Dr. Forshee is joined by Jessica Satava (MM ’04, Voice), executive director of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania. They discuss Jessica’s journey to leading an orchestra, how she joined and learned the needs of her new community through food and concerts, and discoveries about how changing the narrative and venue can open doors to new audiences. 2021 Intro music by Dmytro Nebesh. Audio editing by Greg Hays. Logo by MegDig Design.

Robin McGinness speaks with Alysia Lee, a 2006 graduate from Peabody and current instructor for Peabody’s Breakthrough Curriculum. Alysia is founder and Artistic Director of Sister Cities Girlchoir, an El Sistema-inspired, girl empowerment, choral academy and serves as the education program supervisor for Fine Arts education for the Maryland State Department of Education. Our conversation ranges from building collaboration on the relationships you start at school, to tips on creating themed prog...

This episode of Max Q features cellist and arts administrator Olivia Rainoff (MM ’20) discussing her post-graduation life and work with Robin McGinness, particularly how she quickly found a full-time position after leaving Peabody. We explore the process of finding a job during the pandemic, what prepared and inspired her to pursue a job with Death of Classical, and how her administrative work has revitalized her practice. DeathofClassical.com To America (Recorded broadcast from The Greene Spac...

In this special release, Christina Manceor speaks with Victor Caccese (BM ‘11) and Terry Sweeney (BM ‘13), two members of Sandbox Percussion, a quartet with a focus on creating performances and collaborations that are both visually and aurally impactful for a variety of audiences. We discuss how the group’s priorities have evolved over the years, how they have continued to move forward during the pandemic through recording and livestreaming projects, and the importance of placing business respon...

Our first episode of the second season of Max Q features French guitarist and composer Julien Xuereb (GPD ’17) speaking with Christina Manceor. We discuss how Julien built his active freelance performance and teaching career, strategies he uses to set rates and negotiate with clients, and his approach to time management and goal setting for long-term projects. www.julienguitar.com Outro music – Through the Telescope, composed and performed by Julien Xuereb 2021 Intro music by Dmytro Nebesh. Au...