Front Row Center

"I have an opportunity to introduce someone to an amazing musical tradition. And I have an opportunity to share a really fine virtuostic performance by some top performers. And I have a chance to make an impression on someone who's maybe never heard this before ..." Suzanne Bona, host of Sunday Baroque talks about sharing her love of Baroque music, "listening like a listener" and why Sunday Baroque is made for Sundays.

"I think fear is for people who don't get out very much. The flipside of fear is understanding. We gain understanding when we travel ... Get out, celebrate the diversity, be inspired," says Rick Steves, host of Travel with Rick Steves. The program joined MTPR's new radio schedule at the beginning of the month. Steves speaks with MTPR's Michael Marsolek about how travel can help you get out of your comfort zone, grow and better understand the world.

The Moth Mainstage is coming to Missoula April 4 for an evening of stories shared live at The Wilma. Five storytellers take the stage and share true, personal stories involving Occasional Magic. Stories of deception and redemption, sparkly interventions and divine introspections. Abracadabra, kismet and beyond. Executive Producer Sarah Austin Jenness talks with MTPR's Michael Marsolek about the personal stories that make up the event.

The Ballet Beyond Borders experience is a unique combination of dance and diplomacy. With competitors hailing from more than 17 countries, the international dance competition and diplomacy conference is "a global cultural exchange," says Charlene Campbell Carey, artistic director for Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre. Preview the 2019 Ballet Beyond Borders highlights now with Carey.

Tess Fahlgren and Sara Aronson preview the upcoming 2018 Montana Book Festival , September 27 -30 in Missoula.

The Montana Repertory Theatre's 2018 Education Outreach Tour starts September 4. Teresa Waldorf, educational outreach coordinator for the Theatre previews this year's program, "Morgan and Merlin: Swords, Sorcery, and How to be a Hero," and talks about the Theater's mission.

Montana Public Radio will broadcast live from the 2018 Montana Folk Festival in Butte, MT, July 13-15. Festival Director George Everett stopped by to give a preview of the upcoming music festival. Despite the name "Folk Festival," the music isn't "a songwriter with a guitar," Everett says. "What that means is music of the people. Traditional music that goes back generations. Bluegrass, blues, cajun, zydeco; the genres stay the same, but we try to have the performers be different to represent those genres every year."

The 2018 Barbershop Harmony Contest and A Cappella Festival is coming to Missoula, May 18-19. The festival features seven choruses and 20 quartets from Montana, Washington and Idaho. John Rettenmayer, the chairman of the festival joins Michael Marsolek to preview this weekend's a cappella fun.

New artistic director and violin soloist for The String Orchestra of the Rockies Maria Larionoff joins us, along with outgoing artistic director and cellist Fern Glass Boyd, to preview the SOR's May 6 performance, "The Cascades Meet The Rockies." "I'm thrilled, as is the whole orchestra and the board," Boyd says of Larionoff's arrival. "I know that our audiences will be also thrilled to have her be our new leader and bring more exciting and fantastic things ahead for the orchestra and the Missoula area."

"Political modes of argument and debate have infiltrated all of our spheres," says "On Being" host Krista Tippett. "The way we take up any important subject, even in a community, even in a religious institution, it's very contentious. It's about turning issues into a debate between this extreme and that extreme, it's about competing answers. It's not about what are the questions before us that we all have a stake in. There are some simple things that we can do that are actually very hard because they feel so counter-intuitive because of the set of instincts and reflexes that we've worked up." Krista Tippett joins us to talk about politics and civility and the upcoming "Repairing Public Discourse" event in Missoula Tuesday night.

Greg Johnson, who has served as artistic director of the Montana Repertory Theatre since 1990, joins Michael Marsolek to talk about the Rep's Opening Night Gala, and their 2018 tour with "On Golden Pond."

"It's a huge international global cultural exchange where the topic of the week is the role of the arts in human communication," says Charlene Campbell Carey, artistic director for the Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre . She's describing Ballet Beyond Borders which is happening this week in Missoula. Listen in to learn more.

"There are no survivors of this war [WWI] at this time, so we need to be reminded of this particular history," says Barbara Koostra, the executive director of the Montana Museum of Art & Culture. "We are honored to honor veterans and the history of our country and world with "Over There: Montanans in the Great War," Koostra says. She joins UM Professor of Art History and Criticism Rafael Chacón for a look at the exhibition focusing on experiences of individuals from Montana during World War I.

Tatiana Gant and Cinda Holt from the Montana Arts Council talk about the Council's efforts to keep the arts strong in Montana. "We're simply the conduit to getting really good work out of the rest of the state. We send resources and dollars everywhere we can," Holt says. "Happy to say we reach 46 out of the 56 ... counties in Montana." Learn more on this episode of "Front Row Center."

Karla Theilen the director of the Montana Book Festival preview's the upcoming festival in Missoula. Theilen says the festival has, "kept true to some of the traditions ... in celebrating Montana's celebrated literary figures, and ... moved to another level and introduced a little bit more diverse programming, not just in the types of authors, but also in the types of events we're putting on." Listen in to learn more about the festival's 2017 offerings from Karla Theilen and "The Write Question" host Sarah Aronson.

Tom Bensen of Arts Missoula joins MTPR's Michael Marsolek with a report on the economic impact of non-profit arts organizations in Missoula County — a whopping $54 million according to a new report from Americans for the Arts. "These are numbers that validate what people already know," Bensen says, "that the arts and culture organizations and people contribute a lot to our economy."

There's a lot going on in Butte this summer, from the Big Bang fireworks extravaganza to the Montana Folk Festival, and even a Folk Feast, which is part fundraiser and part art event. George Everett, executive director of Main Street Uptown Butte joins MTPR's Michael Marsolek to give you a preview of the summer fun coming up in Butte.

"I just think that Americans, now more than ever, need to be reminded of and celebrate, and just feel good about what great culture we have produced and continue to produce through these community based traditions," says Nick Spitzer, host of American Routes. Spitzer will be back in the state for the Montana Folk Festival in Butte, July 7-9 where he'll join MTPR's Michael Marsolek and the MTPR crew broadcasting live from the festival. In this interview, Spitzer talks about how the Montana Folk Festival fits in to the larger mosaic of folk music in America.

Guy Raz says the new "Wow in the World" podcast is, "a chance for us to celebrate scientists and discoverers and technologists and the people who are making our world better and more interesting." "Wow in the World" is a show for curious kids and grown-ups. Hosts Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas join MTPR's Michael Marsolek to talk about using the show to inspire kids to appreciate the amazing things that are happening around the world.

The Montana Repertory Theater, a professional theater-in-residence at the University of Montana, will complete five performances of Harper Lee's landmark play "To Kill a Mockingbird" in Beijing and other locations in China. Greg Johnson, artistic director of the Montana Repertory Theatre says, "We believe this is the first time an American theater company will bring this play to mainland China." Johnson joins Michael Marsolek on this episode of "Front Row Center" to talk more about this international cultural exchange.