Music

We’ll hear a selection of jazz classics performed live in studio ahead of the “Halloween Retro Dance Costume Party” on Oct. 30 at the Spatini Teabar on Sanibel Island. Concerts at the venue raise funds to support students studying jazz at FGCU’s Bower School of Music & the Arts through the Sanibel Jazz Society, LLC.

Multi-award-winning Blues musician, songwriter, painter, and craftsman James “Super Chikan” Johnson visited Florida Gulf Coast University this past spring to speak to students and make a couple of performances at Artis-Naples. During his visit he stopped by the WGCU studios for conversation about his life’s journey through music, his handcrafted instruments made from recycled parts, and how he got his stage name.

With the use of Artificial Intelligence, Emmy Award winning composer Lucas Cantor Santiago did the unthinkable and completed Shubert’s previously unfinished eight symphony.

‘Tis the season for holly, hot chocolate and the tradition of singing Christmas carols. But what is the origin of some of your favorite holiday classics?

A Southwest Florida tradition has returned with Players Circle Theater’s currently running production of the company’s original musical revue titled “Ho! Ho! Ho! The Christmas Show.” We take a deeper dive into the show with co-writers Robert Cacioppo and Ted Wioncek.

For eight years, Emmy award winning singer and songwriter Ben Folds served as the inaugural Artistic Advisor with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Learning an instrument can have a lifelong impact on children. The New England Board of Higher Education says that learning music strengthens brain pathways and builds discipline and teamwork.

The Heights Center’s MOSAIC program provides opportunities for children from low-income households to learn to play a musical instrument and to perform with ensembles of their peers. We learn about the program in an encore conversation with musician, educator, and Director of Arts and Community Programs at the Heights Center, Melissa Barlow, who founded the program.

Multi-award-winning Blues musician, songwriter, painter, and craftsman James “Super Chikan” Johnson visited Florida Gulf Coast University this past spring to speak to students and make a couple of performances at Artis-Naples. During his visit he stopped by the WGCU studios for conversation about his life’s journey through music, his handcrafted instruments made from recycled parts, and how he got his stage name.

The Heights Center’s MOSAIC program provides opportunities for children from low-income households to learn to play a musical instrument and to perform with ensembles of their peers. We learn about the program in a conversation with musician, educator, and Director of Arts and Community Programs at the Heights Center, Melissa Barlow, who founded the program.