Mormon Arts Center's Studio Podcast

Assemblage artist Page Turner talks about how the sisterhood of church women in her hollow near Roanoke, Virginia, inspire her work, which has recently been included in 50 Women Contemporary Women Artists, alongside some of the most important artists working today.Support the show

Emmy-award winning producer Angie Denison takes listeners behind the scenes of two recent KSL documentaries: Amish Latter-day Saints and the story of a kidnapped boy from India who finds his family again in adulthood.Support the show

On the day of the premiere of his Easter oratorio, To a Village Called Emmaus, composer Ethan Wickman previews the work with excerpts and behind-the-scenes insights into its creation. The oratorio was commissioned by the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra and conducted by Craig Jessop. Support the show

The former global acquisitions curator for the Church History Museum reflects on her tenure and influence on art in the Church with the aid of tributes written by artists and colleagues: Neylan McBaine, Walter Rane, Rose Datoc Dall, Alan Johnson, Valerie Atkisson de Moura, Annie Poon, Diane P. Stewart, Caitlin Connolly, and Jason Metcalf. Hurtado is the newly-named executive director of the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art.Support the show

Starring on Broadway at the age of 11, Tade Biesinger played the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical and reprised the part in London and St. Louis. The experience left a strong impression on him but not in a way you'd expect; he learned at this tender age why he needed God in his life. This podcast episode was recorded three months before his departure as a full-time missionary.Support the show

In a discussion about his newest book of poetry, award-winning poet Lance Larsen speaks about prose poetry, describes how his work evolves from draft to print, reads from his work, listens to an art song setting of his poems, and considers other art forms that appeal to him.Support the show

Art historian and Latter-day Saint Brontë Hebdon, a PhD student at the prestigious Institute of Fine Arts in New York City, discusses the Church's visual culture and how new approaches to art history and the exploration of objects affect identity, testimony, and gospel messaging.Support the show

A series of letters from Broadway deity Stephen Sondheim opened the doors for composer David Fletcher. The resulting songs--like Weepin' Mary, Eternal Day, A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief, and Wondrous Love--have been sung in numberless Latter-day Saint church meetings are a singular blend of Broadway, classical, sacred, and popular styles. In this podcast, the composer discusses the musical path of his life and illustrates some of his best-loved works with recordings, including never-before shared demos.Support the show

Independent scholar Brigham Barnes explores allusions to Mormonism, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and the Book of Mormon in James Joyce's novels Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, leading to a larger discussion of how Mormon Studies might expand to embrace artworks by members of the Church and also works about our culture, texts, and people by others. Music includes exclusive content of a bootleg recording of an excerpt from Murray Boren's opera, The Dead, adapted from Joyce's short story.Support the show

Ruby Gilmore and Addy Hawley are teenagers who have performed with the Metropolitan Opera and American Ballet Theatre companies. In this podcast, Ruby and Addy talk about the dedication required and the joys encountered in the performing arts. They also discuss what it's like to perform alongside principal ballerinas and international opera stars who are LDS, like they are, and how talent and testimony intersect.Support the show

The newest book by Richard Lyman Bushman is The American Farmer in the Eighteenth Century: A Social and Cultural History. In this podcast, Bushman discusses the legacy of farming and labor as a shaper of America society, the tragedy of Native American displacement and slavery as a consequence of farm expansion, and the influences of the family on larger issues of American culture.Support the show

Excerpts and discussion with pianist Scott Holden about his Carnegie Hall concert and new CD of a century of Mormon music.Support the show

Author Randy Astle describes the largely unknown story of early Mormon film and its remarkable connection with LDS history. A product of twenty years of research, his new book, Mormon Cinema: Origins to 1952, published by the Mormon Arts Center, is a landmark volume full of extraordinary and entertaining stories.Support the show

In this episode, Angolan painter Hildebrando de Melo discusses his life and work, including the chaos and brutality of his country's decades-long civil war, and his responses to it through the lens of a search for God.Support the show

The composer, scholar, Hopi, Mormon composer Trevor Reed discusses new genres of Hopi/contemporary concert music and his work to repatriate art and advocate for the rights of indigenous peoples.Support the show

The visual artwork of Annie Poon is the subject of this interview with the artist, who describes her interest in outsider art, children's art, and how those styles feed her own work.Support the show

The legacy of composer James W. McConkie is explored by his grandson, Jamie Erekson, including a vintage recording of the composer who studied with Arthur Honneger and Nadia Boulanger and who was the brother of LDS apostle, Bruce R. McConkie.Support the show