Author: Abena

Forever Changed: T. Graham Brown

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On this episode of The Music Room, Nashville correspondent Raven Keane sits down with Grammy-nominated country legend, T. Graham Brown.

t. graham brown

T. Graham Brown

Brown started his career singing ad jingles, but before long, he was a fixture in the Nashville music scene. During a career spanning 30 years, he released 13 studio albums and three Billboard Number One singles. Now, he makes regular appearances on “The Grand Ole’ Opry,” “Larry’s Country Diner” and “Country’s Family Reunion.”

In this interview, Raven and T. Graham and his wife Sheila discuss his Grammy-nominated album, “Forever Changed.” He explains how the album came together, and how some of its special guests—like Vince Gill— became involved. T. Graham also talks about the album’s themes of faith, forgiveness and overcoming addiction.

In addition to talking about their music and their faith, in the second part of the interview, T. Graham and Sheila also talk about the battles facing people with mental illness.

Check out the two-part interview below to meet an original character and great musician: T. Graham Brown.

The Interview

T. Graham Brown, Part 1, Host: Raven Keane, recorded Dec. 10, 2015, aired Jan. 26, 2016
25:36
24.6MB

T. Graham Brown, Part 2, Host: Raven Keane, recorded Dec. 10, 2015, aired Feb. 2, 2016
29:59
28.8MB

The Music

Artist / Track / Album / Year

T. Graham Brown / Forever Changed / Forever Changed / 2015

T. Graham Brown featuring Leon Russell, The Oak Ridge Boys, Jason Crabb and Steve Cropper / People Get Ready / Forever Changed / 2015

T. Graham Brown featuring Vince Gill / He’ll Take Care of You / Forever Changed / 2015

T. Graham Brown / Wine into Water / Forever Changed / 2015

The Crucible

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UDOTThis week, we bring you a special edition of The Music Room: Mandorichard visits the Amy E DuPont music building for a sneak peak at the UD Opera Theatre’s production of Robert Ward’s “The Crucible.”

Based on Arthur Miller’s influential play, Ward’s “The Crucible” is a Pulitzer Prize winning opera, and one of the most-performed operas by an American composer. The opera and the play tell a story about witch hunts, both literal and metaphorical—though the plot is a partially fictionalized version of the Salem witch trials, it also serves as a clever allegory for McCarthyism. Miller himself was tried by the House Committee for Un-American Activities in 1956, and was subsequently inspired by the irrationality of the anti-communist “Red Scare.”

Fittingly, Ward’s interpretation of “The Crucible” is “anxious from the very downbeat,” says opera director Blake Smith. In a departure from his regular, instrumental writing, Ward wrote an opera whose “angular vocals” are simultaneously disquieting and breathtaking, according to Smith.

In addition to featuring some truly beautiful music, this episode offers multiple interviews with “Crucible” cast members, all students or graduates of the University’s Department of Music.

If the podcast leaves you wanting more (and we know it will), the UD Opera Theater’s production of “The Crucible” happens Friday, Nov. 13 at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 15 at 3:00 p.m. You can find more information at udoperatheatre.com.

Follow the link below to hear the singing, the student orchestra conducted by James Allen Anderson, and  the commentary, all recorded during a rehearsal on Friday, Nov. 6, 2015.

The Interview

The Crucible: Preview of UD Opera Theatre production
Host: Mandorichard; recorded Nov. 6, 2015; aired Nov. 10, 2015.
Thanks to Director D. Blake Smith and to Paul Patinka, Frantasia Rouse, Olivia Markey, Shoshana Lieberman (interview segment below), Jaysen Rosario, Ravon Middlebrooks, Travis Lucas, Kate Roosa, Kaitlyn Tierney, Cara Ferro, Ethan Udovich, Rachel Lipson, and the entire cast of The Crucible
31:03
29.8 MB

Extra insights


We were not able to include all the interviews in the WVUD radio program. Below are five extra interview segments that contain interesting insights into 20th Century opera, the UD Opera Theatre production of “The Crucible,” and the Music Department’s vocal music program.

Fear No More: Joanne Cash Yates

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Joanne Cash Yates and her husband, pastor Harry Yates.

Joanne Cash Yates and her husband, pastor Harry Yates.

WVUD is pleased to bring you a special two-part interview. On Oct. 8, 2015, our Nashville correspondent Raven Keane talked to the very talented Joanne Cash Yates. Yates is an accomplished a singer-songwriter, and musical brilliance runs in her DNA—she’s the younger sister of legend Johnny Cash.

Her most recent CD, Breaking Down the Barriers, consists of 14 Gospel duets, including, as she tells us in part 1 of the interview, a song whose lyrics were the last song her brother John wrote.

Joanne Yates has released 30 albums and an acclaimed autobiography, titled My Fears Are Gone. Additionally, she continues to make frequent concert appearances. With Raven, Yates discusses the sense of eternal purpose that compels her to keep making Gospel music, distilled in one of Johnny’s favorite mantras: “Baby, just keep singing!”

If you missed the interview airing on WVUD, check out the podcasts below for some fascinating insight into the Cash family and Joanne’s spiritual journey as a singer and songwriter.

The Interview

Joanne Cash Yates, Part 1; Raven Keane, host, first aired Oct. 20, 2015.
25:01
24.0 MB

Joanne Cash Yates, Part 2; Raven Keane, host, first aired Oct. 27, 2015.
25:43
24.7 MB

The Music

Due to copyright considerations, the podcasts include excerpts of the full tracks heard in the radio broadcast of this interview.

Part One:
Artist / Song / Album / Year
Joanne Cash with Tommy Cash / My Lord Has Gone / Breaking Down the Barriers / 2014
Joanne Cash with Roseanne Cash / Anchored in Love / Breaking Down the Barriers / 2014
Joanne Cash / Meet Me in Heaven / Into the Blue / 2000

Part Two:
Artist / Song / Album / Year
Joanne Cash with John Schlitt / Dust in the Wind / Breaking Down the Barriers / 2014
Joanne Cash / Breaking Down the Barriers / Breaking Down the Barriers / 2014