February 10, 2006 - MPR’s Chris Roberts talks with Ryan Pfeiffer, founder of the Minnesota band Captain Yonder, about origin of group’s name and meaning behind dark lyrics. The band’s style has been described as chamber folk music mixed with heavy "Americana" or "roots" influences.
February 14, 2006 - A lost era -- a time when immigrant workers rolled cigars by hand in southern Florida comes to life in "El Lector". It's a new book for young people, written by northern Minnesota author William Durbin. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports.
February 15, 2006 - MPR’s Marriane Combs looks at St. Paul’s Teatro Del Pueblo, a Minnesota theater company providing a forum for political activism and an agent for change. Combs interviews Alberto Justiniano, artistic director, about the Teatro Del Pueblo’s focus on Latin America political theater with a local festival.
February 17, 2006 - MPR’s Marianne Combs interviews Michelle Kinney and Jacqueline Ferrier-Ultan, the duo that make up local cello act Jelloslave. The cellists discuss taking the traditions of being classically trained and incorporating it with more contemporary sounds.
February 24, 2006 - MPR’s Karl Gehrke talks with composer and native Minnesotan Maria Schneider about the influence her southwest Minnesota prairie town experiences in Windom have on her compositions.
March 2, 2006 - MPR’s Sea Stachura reports on life on the road for fiddle player Becky Buller. A St. James, Minnesota native, Buller is touring with bluegrass group Liberty Pike.
March 3, 2006 - MPR’s Chris Roberts reports on Minneapolis-based composer and multi-instrumentalist Douglas Ewart, who places his focus on the creation of sustainable music. Roberts interviews Ewart and others about the sounds and designs behind Ewart’s instruments and performances.
March 8, 2006 - MPR’s Karl Gehrke reports that the University of Minnesota School of Music and the SPCO are collaborating on a festival exploring Elliot Carter's confounding work. On first hearing, Carter's music sounds chaotic. It doesn't fit into preconceived notions of what "classical" music should sound like. There's no single, steady rhythmic pulse or recurring melodic themes to grab onto.
March 9, 2006 - All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Lee Pao Xiong, director of Concordia's Center for Hmong Studies, about the first ever International Conference on Hmong Studies. Academics from around the world are coming to Concordia University to talk about a culture undergoing dramatic transition.
March 20, 2006 - MPR’s Toni Randolph reports on a bill making its way through the state Senate that would allow recognition of Hmong cultural marriages by the state of Minnesota. The measure would give the negotiators between families in Hmong cultural weddings the authority to perform legal marriages, but the bill is getting resistance from some Hmong leaders.