At An Appalachian Summer Festival in Boone this month, you can do everything from enjoying classical concerts to watching international films. And if you’re in the Greensboro area, the newly launched Eastern Festival of Music offers numerous concerts, many of them led by music director Gerard Schwarz. Find out more about both festival’s offerings by listening to this Piedmont Arts podcast episode.

As American celebrates its 250th Anniversary this week, our Piedmont Arts podcast features two conversations that explore different aspects of the American experience, one past and one present. Moravian music expert Dr. Christopher Ogburn tells us how the Moravians, who settled in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, made significant contributions to music in colonial and post-Revolutionary America. And we talk to the composer and librettist of the opera The Falling and Rising which examines the ways war impacts modern military family life. Their opera is coming to the Brevard Music Center in July 2026.

A rare opportunity for choral composers and lyricists is happening in Charlotte this week. It’s the second annual International Choral Composers Institute, a 5-day immersive program dedicated to nurturing and instructing those who create choral music. On this Piedmont Arts episode, we talk with Sherry Blevins, the Institute’s founder, about the ways participants will get practical, hands-on advice and instruction to further their careers.

In the summer of 1965, a theater arts major from Carnegie Mellon University named Constance Welsh put on the first show by the new Davidson Community Players. Sixty-one years later, the theater company is still going strong and getting stronger. DCP’s executive director Steve Kaliski is on this episode of Piedmont Arts to talk about the productions of Evita, Million Dollar Quartet, and more. Then, soprano Karen Slack speaks about her concert, African Queens, which Piedmont Opera is presenting this month in Winston-Salem. Plus FanFare with even more events and activities across our region.

Summer Shakespeare productions are a long-standing tradition in the U.S., and now the Triad has a theater company dedicated to bringing the Bard’s plays to North Carolina Audiences. Piedmont Shakespeare Company is in its second season with performances of “Much Ado About Nothing” taking place in venues from Winston-Salem to Burlington. On this Piedmont Arts episode, executive director David McGraw talks about the importance of Shakespeare in the modern day and the beauty of summer Shakespeare.

By many accounts, he was an unsavory character, but Caravaggio was also a revolutionary and influential painter of the late 16th century in Rome, Naples, and Sicily. A new exhibition of Caravaggio’s paintings and others by leading Baroque masters has opened at the Mint Museum in Uptown Charlotte. Hear more about it from exhibition curator and Mint President & CEO Todd Herman on this episode of Piedmont Arts. Plus, we have a report from the Spoleto USA Festival in Charleston, SC, and the latest edition of FanFare to help you plan more early-summer fun.

What's Bach's connection to French composers, both baroque and modern? How did Bach influence Brahms? What's Handel's other great religious oratorio besides Messiah? The 2026 Charlotte Bach Festival offers concerts and experiences that help audiences explore those questions and learn about Bach's singular place in the history of music. On this episode, we take an in depth look at the festival with Bach Charlotte executive director Garrett Murphy.

Pianist Phillip Bush grew up in Charlotte and has had a successful career across the country as a soloist, chamber musician, and university professor. He’s the next WDAV Small Batch concert at Free Range Brewing as part of the Steinway at Free Range series. On this edition of the Piedmont Arts podcast, he talks about his music education in Charlotte as well as his love of contemporary music.

Based in Davidson, North Carolina, the Orchestra of the Carolinas is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing people together through the power of music. On this Piedmont Arts podcast, you’ll hear more about what makes the orchestra tick, and details on their upcoming season finale with Grammy award-winning vocalist Carmen Bradford. Plus, a new edition of FanFare to help you fill out your arts & culture calendar.

As America’s 250th Anniversary draws near, Charlotte Ballet will celebrate with a work that pays tribute to America. Artistic director Alejandro Cerrudo’s first full-length ballet called “One Thousand Pieces” receives its Charlotte premier in May at the Knight Theatre. It’s inspired Marc Chagall’s stained-glass creation called “America Windows.” Learn more about “One Thousand Pieces” from Cerrudo on this episode of Piedmont Arts.