October 20, 2005 - MPR’s Karl Grehrke interviews local jazz musician Dave Graf about life as a trombonist and his first CD release, “Just Like That.” Gehrke also speaks with Artegra label founder Warren Sampson and trumpeter Dave Jensen about Graf.
October 25, 2005 - MPR’s Chris Roberts talks with Minneapolis trumpeter Charles Lazarus. The 36-year-old plays trumpet for the Minnesota Orchestra, but for Lazarus, the orchestral repertoire isn't the only music that matters. With the CD release of “Solo Settings,” he displays a stylistic range that extends well beyond the classical canon.
November 14, 2005 - Voices of Minnesota visits two prominent Native American Minnesotans: Helen Blue-Redner is the former chairwoman of the Upper Sioux Community, and Carl Gawboy is an artist.
November 15, 2005 - MPR’s Euan Kerr interviews Gregory Maguire, author of “Wicked,” who shares that his purpose behind creating book series was in exploring the idea of evil.
November 17, 2005 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann profiles “To Be Certain of the Dawn.” The new oratorio is written by Stephen Paulus to a text of Michael Dennis Browne for the Minnesota Orchestra, the choirs at the Basilica, and soloists.
November 24, 2005 - Former Star Tribune columnist Jim Klobuchar talks about his book “Walking Briskly Toward the Sunset," which collects some of essays about Minnesota, Uganda, politics and courtship.
November 29, 2005 - MPR’s Jayne Solinger visits with former members of the Grand Meadow girls’ basketball team, as they join together to commemorate the release of the book Daughters of the Game - The First Era of Minnesota Girls High School Basketball, 1891-1942. The former basketball players, who are now beyond 80 years old, look back at an era in which the school’s girls’ teams compiled a 94-0 record between 1929 and 1939.
December 2, 2005 - MPR’s Tom Crann meets with the Steele family in the Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Music Studio to discuss family and Christmas. The Steeles also perform various Christmas songs.
December 3, 2005 - Michael Segell discusses his book "The Devil's Horn."
December 7, 2005 - The Twin Cities are home to two of the nation's preeminent ethnic theaters. Voices of Minnesota profiles Lou Bellamy, director of the African American Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul; and Rick Shiomi, director of Minneapolis' Mu Performing Arts, which presents Asian-American theater and traditional Japanese Daiko drumming.