Sam Wisman
Production Director - 91.9 Classical KC / Backup Announcer - KCUR 89.3Sam started listening to jazz on his local NPR affiliate when he was just 13 years old, and his life as a musician and radio guy continues to intertwine. Son of a merchant and a classical musician, he came to Kansas City to attend the UMKC Conservatory. During school, he shelved a lot of records and played “drop the needle” at The Marr Sound Archives, working with KCUR’s own Fish Fry host Chuck Haddix. After graduating Cum Laude with a degree in Percussion Performance, Sam became a versatile fixture in Kansas City’s music scene. He hosted Jazz Afternoon on 90.1 FM KKFI for over 10 years, and currently hosts Jazz Across America - Kansas City on San Diego's KSDS Jazz 88.3. Sam lives with his family in Roeland Park, and has yet to measure the volume of his kids with a decibel meter — but he has thought about it.
Email him at samwisman@classicalkc.org.
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Cellist Nicholas Canellakis is a serious classical musician, but as a content creator he has made millions laugh and offered a new perspective on an artist's life. Classical KC speaks with Canellakis ahead of a Kansas City performance. -
Richard Wagner is known for his over-the-top operatic spectacles. But earlier in his life, he composed other music that shows his budding talent and a different side of this legendary and complex genius. -
Music by three of America’s most respected contemporary composers comes together for a thrilling ride to the far corners of the galaxy. The orchestra performs John Adams’ driving fanfare and selections from John Williams’ iconic film scores. The SLSO also plays "Contact" by composer-in-residence Kevin Puts, featuring the Grammy-winning trio, Time for Three. -
Symphonies for pipe organ and full orchestra are a thrilling experience. While the best known is Camille Saint-Saens’ Third Symphony, in this episode, enjoy two contrasting works by Aaron Copland and Alexandre Guilmant. The Copland shows modern trends in the 1920s, and the Guilmant is a full-blooded Romantic showpiece. -
Experience stunning performances and sensational stories featuring remarkable women. Anna Sułkowska-Migoń opens her SLSO debut with a dynamic overture by fellow Polish musician, Grażyna Bacewicz. Leila Josefowicz displays her formidable talent in Berg’s soul-searching Violin Concerto, and the orchestra conjures the magic of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. -
David Robertson, SLSO Music Director from 2005 to 2018, returns to conduct works by four American musical luminaries. Robertson’s own piano concerto, written for and performed by Orli Shaham, Steven Mackey’s Turn the Key, Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Something for the Dark, and Leonard Bernstein’s Second Symphony features a solo piano voice representing the composer’s own introspective journey. -
Celebrate 250 episodes of "From the Archives" with Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9, known as “The Great.” Its “heavenly length” (as described by Robert Schumann), today seems just perfect, and Schubert gives us melodies as only he can. We’ll hear it in a spectacular live performance by the Gunter Wand and the Berlin Philharmonic. -
Backed by centuries of history and artistry, the harp is entrenched throughout Irish society and culture. After a year studying in Dublin, contributor Brooke Knoll plucks fun facts from the past and present of the Irish harp. -
The Magic Flute is a story that blends fairy tale and philosophy. One of Mozart’s most brilliant orchestral scores, this magnificent, extravagant opera-in-concert production combines the talents of the SLSO, a cast of acclaimed vocalists including Kansas City born tenor Ben Bliss, and the St. Louis Symphony Chorus and Children's Chorus. -
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was one of the greatest film composers of the early 20th century. He composed a brilliant score for the 1940 film “The Sea Hawk” starring Errol Flynn. It’s been called “the best swashbuckling film of all time,” and the music is spectacular and great fun.
