November 20, 2003 - Oleg Timofeyev plays and discusses a Russian seven-string guitar with MPR’s Mindy Ratner. Timofeyev learned the instrument so he could play medieval music, never dreaming the he would ever perform 20th century Russian music. Later he discovered the work of Georgian-born composer Matvei Pavlov-Azancheev, who created a body of work for the Russian seven-string guitar while imprisoned in a Soviet labor camp during Stalin’s regime.
November 21, 2003 - Chris Julin presents a Mainstreet Radio report from Duluth, where he visits the Sacred Heart Music Center. Before becoming a music venue, the building spent more than 100 years as a cathedral. It has different acoustics from most concert halls and recording studios. For this reason, musicians from bluegrass bands and punk rockers love the sound, saying it has a different feel.
November 21, 2003 - MPR’s Chris Roberts profiles The Commissioning Club, a local performing arts organizations that commissions new music. Roberts interviews numerous supporters of club to better understand it’s purpose and process.
November 21, 2003 - An interview Jim Walsh, music critic for City Pages, about Prince’s career and selection as one of the 2004 inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
November 27, 2003 - MPR’s Chris Roberts reports on Twin Cities band Halloween, Alaska. The band consists of members of three prominent Twin Cities musical groups - Happy Apple, 12 Rods, and Love Cars. The musicians are taking a break from their noisier roles as rock and jazz musicians to create quiet, mood pop, with a heavy nod to one of its favorite musical eras - the 1980s.
November 27, 2003 - It's Turkey Day -- a day for feasting on fowl. But what about people who don't eat turkey? MPR’s Chris Julin thought to find some alternatives at a co-op grocery store, so he paid a visit.
November 28, 2003 - Midday presents two Voices of Minnesota conversations with Minnesota fishermen. Howard Sivertson and Walter Sve share recollections of growing up in fishing families on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It's a way of life that's practically disappeared.
November 28, 2003 - Mainstreet Radio's Tim Post reports on the new tale "Old Turtle and the Broken Truth" from central Minnesota author Douglas Wood. The turtle reappears 11 years after its first appearance.
December 1, 2003 - Minnesota children's author Mary Casanova is out with a new picture book that takes readers on a journey with a girl and her dog. "One-Dog Canoe" features animals that live near Casanova's home in Rainy Lake in northern Minnesota. "One Dog Canoe" is featured on the Minnesota Humanities Council's list of 17 books parents and children should read together. Casanova says her latest book was inspired by growing up as one of ten children. She says like the young girl in her story--she was always searching for some "alone time."
December 1, 2003 - Starting in January, the Guthrie Theater will take Shakespeare's Othello on the road. The cross country tour is part of the National Endowment for the Arts' initiative to bring Shakespeare to communities across America. Minnesota Public Radio's Marianne Combs reports