Music

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.

Actor, musician, and playwright Randy Noojin brings his one-man biographical and musical production “Seeger: The Music of Pete Seeger,” to Players Circle Theater for a limited performance run July 18-20. Noojin joins us to talk about this heartfelt tribute to the legendary folk singer and activist and perform live in studio.

For the Fourth of July, Song of the Day's Sheldon Zoldan is taking a crack at the classic patriotic hymn, Yankee Doodle Dandy.

A study from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has found that people under the age of 35 are more likely to listen to classical music than their parents.

The Southwest Florida Symphony announced today that it will close permanently at the end of June. The Symphony has been presenting outstanding orchestral performances for the enrichment, entertainment and education of the community for more than 64 years.

Fridays are when we enjoy a new weekly series that's part history, part trivia, and ALL music. The series features selections from former News-Press editor Sheldon Zoldan's 'Song of the Day." The initiative began as a daily lockdown project on Facebook at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, through which Zoldan highlights how every aspect of life has a connection through music. This week's Song of the Day, for April 4th, is "Lions" by Skip Marley.

Blues musician/instrument maker James “Super Chikan” Johnson

Composer, performer, author and inventor of the Mutantrumpet, Ben Neill, has written a new book titled “Diffusing Music: Trajectories of Sonic Democratization,” which explores how AI and other technology is transforming how we create and experience sound. He joins us ahead of his concert event, March 27 at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida Southwestern State College.

The Gulf Coast Symphony’s upcoming 30th anniversary concert celebration will include the premiere performance of a symphonic piece titled, “Seas of Glass,” from local composer Frazar Henry. The 19-year-old composer and multi-instrumentalist was commissioned by the symphony’s maestro to write the piece. Frazar has been composing music since he was just five years old. Ahead of the March 30th concert, Henry joins the show to talk about the composition and his extraordinary musical journey so far.