James Coleman is one of the world’s foremost artists and animators. During a storied career with the Walt Disney Company, Coleman worked on the animation of nearly a dozen feature-length films, including The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. He left Disney after 22 years to become a fine artist, and his impressionistic paintings can now be found in collections around the world. In this episode of the podcast MACC Talk, Coleman joins host John Pitcher to discuss his eventful life and career.

Cristina Spinei is a Nashville-based composer and performer who has written music for numerous orchestras and chamber ensembles. She is best known for her work with ballet, having written music for Nashville Ballet, New York Choreographic Institute, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Parsons Dance Company, and many more. In this episode of MACC Talk, Cristina joins host John Pitcher to talk about her new album and her life as a composer.

Early Music City plays the music of Bach and Handel the old-fashioned way – with gut-string violins, valveless horns and other period instruments. In this episode of MACC Talk, countertenor Patrick Dailey and lutenist Francis Perry join host John Pitcher to discuss their historically informed music group’s sing-along Messiah at Nashville’s Christ Church Cathedral. The episode is sponsored by Puryear Farms.

What does a visual artist need to do to get the Nashville Scene’s attention? That’s a question we pose to Laura Hutson Hunter. Laura is the long-time arts editor of the Nashville Scene. For more than a decade, she’s overseen the paper’s visual arts coverage, and she’s written some of the publication’s most perceptive visual arts stories. In addition to writing and editing, Laura also curates the Scene’s Adult Contemporary art exhibition series. In this episode of MACC Talk, Laura joins host John Pitcher to talk about the hottest artists and exhibitions in Nashville. The episode is sponsored by Spencer Fane Bone McAllester.

Greg Wilson is the founding artistic director of Actors Point Theater Company in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The company stages four or five productions a year and offers classes and workshops to aspiring young actors and theater enthusiasts. Recently, Actors Point was named theater-company-in-residence at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tennessee. In this episode of MACC Talk, Greg joins host John Pitcher to discuss the critical role live theater plays in a rural county like Sumner. The episode is sponsored by the Samaroo Group.

Nashville Opera is opening its 45th season with a production of The Shining, a contemporary opera based on Stephen King’s delightfully creepy 1977 novel. John Hoomes, Nashville Opera’s long-time artistic director, joins MACC Talk host John Pitcher to discuss the qualities that make The Shining a perfect subject for opera. The company’s season also includes operas by Puccini and Rossini. The episode is sponsored by the Carolyn Smith Foundation.

Nashville Ballet Artistic Director Nick Mullikin is a passionate champion of contemporary dance. That probably explains why his company is opening its 40th anniversary season with a new dance that pays homage to the life and music of Elvis Presley. The upcoming season will also feature such classics as The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, as well as a contemporary dance inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. In this episode of MACC Talk, Mullikin joins host John Pitcher to discuss the anniversary season and the importance of dance in a creative city like Nashville. The episode is sponsored by Nashville Interiors Magazine.

In 1973, the French humanitarian Marina Picasso inherited a trove of some 10,000 artworks from her legendary grandfather Pablo Picasso. Amazingly, most of these works had never been displayed before in public. These were works from the master’s own private collection. They were “Picasso’s Picassos” and were so near and dear to the artist’s heart that he had never been able to part with them. Some of the finest examples from this collection are now on display at Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center through Nov. 9, 2025 as part of an exhibit titled “The Unknown Picasso.” In this episode of MACC Talk, Dr. Charles A. Riley, a noted Picasso expert, joins host John Pitcher to discuss the hidden treasures in this historic collection. The episode is sponsored by the Park West Foundation.

There are a lot of new things going on at Nashville Shakespeare Festival. The 37-year-old festival has a new artistic director, Jason Spelbring, who’s beginning his first year at the artistic helm with a summer production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. The company has also introduced a new season that will present a couple contemporary plays that riff off Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In this episode of MACC Talk, NSF Executive Director Isabel Tipton-Krispin joins host John Pitcher to talk about Shakespeare, Nashville’s art scene and much more. The episode is sponsored by Chef’s Market.

Alan Valentine is the long-time president of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Since his arrival in Nashville in 1998, the NSO has built one of the world’s great concert halls. It has also produced more than 40 acclaimed recordings, and it has received 27 Grammy nominations and 14 Grammy Awards. It's been a great run, but, of course, all good things do come to an end. Last week, Alan announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2025-26 season. In this episode of MACC Talk, Alan speaks with host John Pitcher about his remarkable time in Music City.

Don Olea is the featured artist at the MACC’s Seventh Annual Veterans Art Exhibition. His show, Battle Born, is on display in the MACC’s galleries through August 31st, 2025. Don creates photorealistic watercolors that convey the heroism and sacrifice of America’s service members from the Revolutionary War to the present day. In this episode of MACC Talk, Don joins host John Pitcher to reflect on his deep commitment to honoring the U.S. military and its veterans. The episode is sponsored by the Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project.

Hendersonville photographer Rick Murray is one of thousands of “citizen scientists” around America who’s discovered a passion for astrophotography. Using a new generation of smart telescopes, Rick takes spectacular photographs of planets, stars, galaxies and other celestial phenomena. He also specializes in aerial photography, using drones to capture breathtaking photos of storms, including the occasional terrifying tornado. Not surprisingly, Rick’s photos have been viewed around the world. In this episode of MACC Talk, Rick joins host John Pitcher to discuss the marvels of photographing the heavens.

Ruth Chase is the MACC’s regional arts director. She’s also curator of the group exhibit Rescued, which runs through Aug. 31, 2025 at the MACC’s Papillon Gallery. This amazing group exhibition features the works three visionary artists – Dayo Johnson, Hoppy Highhat and Dustin Headrick. Each of these artists offers a unique perspective on what it means to be “rescued.” Their show invites viewers to reflect on themes of transformation, survival and renewal. Ruth is the perfect curator for this exhibit. She has worked in the arts for over 30 years and is a multimedia artist and graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute. Her artistic practice is inquiry-based and often engages in community bridge-building. She was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles, has curated and juried numerous exhibitions, and has taught at the Crocker Art Museum.

Joe Nolan is the author of Nowville: The Untold History of Nashville’s Contemporary Art Scene. His terrific book tells the story of the art punks, art monks, radical art students and visionary pioneers who created Nashville’s adventurous visual arts scene in the 1990s. In this episode of MACC Talk, Nolan joins host John Pitcher to discuss how this homespun movement –powered by Do-It-Yourself innovating – came to be a thriving creative community. The episode is sponsored by Leavitt Family Medicine.

Contemporary painter Kathryn Dettwiller and sculptor Somers Randolph are exhibiting their work at Monthaven as part of a group show called Canvas + Stone. The exhibit features more than 65 strikingly original abstract works, which will be on display at the MACC through July 27, 2025. In this episode of MACC Talk, Dettwiller and Randolph join host John Pitcher to talk about their inspirations and creative processes. They also reflect on the evolution of Nashville’s visual arts scene, from its DIY movement of the early 1990s to its current status as creative powerhouse. This episode is sponsored by Nōssi College of Art and Design.

Tennessee artist Anne Goetze created her documentary The Living Land for PBS. The film gets a screening at Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center on June 1, 2025. This beautiful documentary is a cinematic ode to nature, music and poetry, bringing well-being, conservation, and beauty into our lives through all four seasons of nature’s artistry. A collection of her plein air paintings will also be on display at the MACC from May 13 to June 29, 2025. In this episode of MACC Talk, Goetze speaks with host John Pitcher about her artistic and spiritual connections to the Tennessee landscape.

Kip Winger is one of those rare artists who’s both a famed rock musician and a noted classical composer. As lead singer and bass player for his eponymous rock band, Kip cranked out a couple of hard-charging, platinum-selling rock albums in the late 1980s and early 90s. In recent years, he’s emerged as an important composer of symphonic music, earning a Grammy nomination for his ballet score Conversations with Nijinsky. In this episode of MACC Talk, Winger joins host John Pitcher to discuss his new Violin Concerto, which the violinist Peter Otto and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra will premiere May 9-10, 2025 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. The episode is sponsored by our friends at Nōssi College of Art and Design.

Deanne DeWitt is the president of the Preservation Foundation of Sumner County. Deanne and her organization have been instrumental in raising community awareness about the importance of old places. One of those places is Sumner County’s historic Comer Barn, which is now receiving a new lease on life thanks in part to her efforts. In this episode of MACC Talk, Deanne speaks with podcast host John Pitcher about the importance of preserving Sumner County’s historic treasures.

Dana Pettit’s new exhibition A Divine Appointment is on display at Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center from April 18 to 27, 2025. The exhibit features portraits of Jesus rendered in a dozen different styles of Western art, from Baroque and Impressionism to Pop Art and Performance Art. Pettit created the works in this series as part of her own personal quest to find God. In this episode of MACC Talk, Pettit discusses her artistic and spiritual inspirations with host John Pitcher. This episode is sponsored by Olympian Construction Company.

Donna Woodley is curator of the exhibit Black Vibrations, which runs through March 23 at Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center. This amazing exhibition features 56 works by more than a dozen of Middle Tennessee’s preeminent Black artists. Donna is the perfect curator for this exhibit. An art instructor at Tennessee State University and successful studio artist, Donna was named Nashville’s Best New Artist in 2016 by the Nashville Scene. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally, and she was a featured artist for the Rep. John Lewis Mural Project installed in downtown Nashville. In this episode of MACC Talk, Donna talks with host John Pitcher about the special vibes of this unique exhibition.