WRR weekend host Brooke Scholl sits down with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's assistant conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg to unpack her remarkable, last-minute debut leading the Dallas Symphony Orchestra after Music Director Fabio Luisi had to pull out due to a family emergency. With only days to prepare, Shira stepped onto the Meyerson podium to conduct a vivid program spanning Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, and not one but two world premieres: Jonathan Cziner’s powerful new Clarinet Concerto, written for DSO principal clarinetist Gregory Raden, and Jasmine Guo’s evocative The Sound of Where I Came From. We’ll hear how she navigated the intensity, the inspiration, and the whirlwind of bringing complex new music to life—while earning an ovation for her clarity, confidence, and artistry on a night that became newsworthy for all the right reasons.
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WRR weekend host Brooke Scholl sits down with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's assistant conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg to unpack her remarkable, last-minute debut leading the Dallas Symphony Orchestra after Music Director Fabio Luisi had to pull out due to a family emergency. With only days to prepare, Shira stepped onto the Meyerson podium to conduct a vivid program spanning Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, and not one but two world premieres: Jonathan Cziner’s powerful new Clarinet Concerto, written for DSO principal clarinetist Gregory Raden, and Jasmine Guo’s evocative The Sound of Where I Came From. We’ll hear how she navigated the intensity, the inspiration, and the whirlwind of bringing complex new music to life—while earning an ovation for her clarity, confidence, and artistry on a night that became newsworthy for all the right reasons.
WRR101 Focus on the Arts: Meet TACA's 2025 Silver Cup recipients
WRR 101.1 Focus on the Arts
3 minutes 58 seconds
4 months ago
WRR101 Focus on the Arts: Meet TACA's 2025 Silver Cup recipients
“These two people lift up the arts ecosystem and they are the ones that deserve recognition," says Mike Dilbeck, Deputy Director of The Arts Community Alliance, commonly known as TACA. "A lot of the times, it’s the people behind the scenes that you don’t see, don’t hear about, but they are the ones that are most deserving.” This year's honorees are Gayle Halperin and Jim Nugent, who have been pillars of the North Texas arts community for decades. In this feature with Amy Bishop, Gayle and Jim share stories of receiving the news - and how they've seen the arts in Dallas flourish through the years.
WRR 101.1 Focus on the Arts
WRR weekend host Brooke Scholl sits down with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's assistant conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg to unpack her remarkable, last-minute debut leading the Dallas Symphony Orchestra after Music Director Fabio Luisi had to pull out due to a family emergency. With only days to prepare, Shira stepped onto the Meyerson podium to conduct a vivid program spanning Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, and not one but two world premieres: Jonathan Cziner’s powerful new Clarinet Concerto, written for DSO principal clarinetist Gregory Raden, and Jasmine Guo’s evocative The Sound of Where I Came From. We’ll hear how she navigated the intensity, the inspiration, and the whirlwind of bringing complex new music to life—while earning an ovation for her clarity, confidence, and artistry on a night that became newsworthy for all the right reasons.
