wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Yungchen Lhamo

Tibetan vocalist Yungchen Lhamo offers her unique story of fleeing her homeland, across the dangerous Himalayan mountains, and of finding redemption in the lessons of her family and in transformative power of song. Yungchen is also the director of the New York-based Yungchen Lhamo Charitable Foundation which seeks to improve the welfare and image of her native Tibetans through outreach, sacred song and meditation workshops.

Visit Yungchen Lhamo’s Official Website
Yungchen Lhamo’s Discography
The Foundation Helping Women and Children in Tibet

Lukas Ligeti

Moving easily between avant-garde electronica and traditional African music, Vienna-born but New York-based composer and percussionist Lukas Ligeti wears many hats nowadays. Find out what makes this unique figure (and son of Gyorgy Ligeti of “2001: A Space Odyssey” fame) tick, as WNYC’s exclusive The New Americans Portrait series continues with a broad sampling of his styles, and with his confessions and insights into music-making.

Alondra de la Parra

At age twenty-two, Alondra de la Parra became the first Mexican woman to conduct in New York City. She’s gone on to found and direct her own New York-based orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, which promotes the establishment of classical repertoire from Latin and South America while promoting the region’s new and exciting composers and proponents. Listen as The New American Portraits series continues with an insight into this ambitious, dynamic artist as she recounts everything from her orchestra’s mission to letting her father guest conduct.

William Chapman Nyaho

Born in Washington D.C. but raised from an early age in Ghana, West Africa, pianist and scholar William Chapman Nyaho has been an avid proponent for composers of African descent through piano recitals throughout the world and the editing of an ambitious multi-volume set of piano music from Africa. Hear exclusively the unabridged version of this exclusive portrait, in his own words and with his own music.

Huang Ruo

Chinese-American composer and conductor Huang Ruo has emerged as one of the most exciting young figures on the contemporary music scene. His eclectic style mixes elements of hip-hop, jazz, and the classical traditions of both Western and Eastern classical music. Hear his stories of growing up in China after the Cultural Revolution as well as insights into his life in the United States, as we sample his diverse music as counterpoint to his fascinating travels.

Simon Shaheen

Composer and oud virtuoso Simon Shaheen has been the decisive force in bringing both traditional Arab and its contemporary jazz fusions to American audiences for over more than 20 years. Hear his trials and tribulations, anecdotes and insights as we listen to his stories and sample his diverse musical styles.