Melissa Moschitto is a director, writer and producer, and the Founding Artistic Director of The Anthropologists – a theater group dedicated to the collaborative creation of investigative theatre that inspires action. Melissa holds a B.A. in Theater from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has led devising workshops for Hofstra University, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, the Berkshire Fringe, and among many others. For more information visit www.theanthropologists.org

John Albin is a blues and jazz guitarist, composer, and vocalist who has been playing in and around NY since the early 1980s. John has appeared at many of the City's blues, jazz, and rock venues, and can most often be heard in a jazz guitar duet with Mike Melkonian. The two have been regulars (pandemic permitting) at Kismat Indian Restaurant in Washington Heights and Bettola Italian Restaurant on the Upper West Side.  John also performs with his jazz-influenced original blues band Blue Food, most recently at the Washington Heights Jazz Festival, and is a stalwart of the burgeoning Upper Manhattan jazz jam scene. You can check out more of John's music on Soundcloud.  

We're turning our spotlight on writer, editor, filmmaker, and photographer, Brian Mihok. His novel The Quantum Manual of Style was published by Aqueous Books in 2013 and his work has appeared in The Disconnect, Vol 1 Brooklyn, Everyday Genius, and elsewhere. He is also the editor and co-founder of “matchbook literary magazine” and associate editor of “sunnyoutside.” As a filmmaker, Brian created “Birdhouse Films” to “create small films and quick heart beats.” His shorts “Parachutes” and “Three Trees (in Three Parts) were both official selections at the Inwood Film Festival, among others. And, his short film "Sunspots" was selected as a grant recipient of the inaugural Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund from Inwood Art Works. Check out all of Brian's artistic endeavors at www.brianmihok.com

This Live N' Local episode features Inwood resident and the director of both Taikoza and East Winds Ensemble, Marco Lienhard. Marco lived and performed in Japan for 18 years as a member of the legendary Taiko group Ondekoza under director Tagayasu Den (who instigated the renaissance of Taiko).  In Ondekoza, he mastered the Taiko, the Shinobue, the Noh flute and the Shakuhachi under Katsuya Yokoyama.  Marco has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, Osaka Festival Hall, among others, and his music has been nominated five times for the “Just Plain Folks Awards” in 2014 and in 2019 for best song, and best album for Instrumental and Asian Music.  Go to www.taikoza.com to keep up with Marco!

Since 2000, Inwood-based singer-songwriter and guitarist, Chris Way has been making and recording a mix of folk, lo-fi pop, classical guitar, ambient, & improvisational guitar works.  In 2009 he released "Needle Out" - a raw, melodic set of ten songs about growing up in Florida. 2010 saw a change in direction with the release of a collection of lo-fi, improvised and semi-improvised works entitled "Los Caracoles: Improvisations for Solo Guitar & Voice, Vol. 1."  His latest release, "White Hidden Flower" – is a 17-song mix of classical instrumental and folk-pop originals and covers that are dynamically soft and tender, dark and intense, clean and lo-fi. Check out more from Chris Way at www.soundcloud.com/mangrovecoil

We're turning our spotlight on Broadway music copyist and local Inwood historian, Don Rice. Don has made a distinguished career as a music copyist on and Off Broadway, and well beyond. His projects have included: Jelly’s Last Jam, Beauty and the Beast, The Producers, Frozen, and many other theater, film and television productions. In addition, Don is local historian for the Inwood community. He serves as President of the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance, and his co-author of "Lost Inwood."

On this Live N" Local podcast we welcome Louise Rogers and composer and pianist, Mark Kross of Jazz Wahi. Legendary jazz critic, Nat Hentoff, has praised Louise’s work as "the most joyously encouraging way of expanding the audience for jazz." Recently, Louise was named a 2021 “Jazz Hero” by the Jazz Journalists Association. Pianist, composer, educator, and bandleader Mark Kross has composed over 120 works for jazz ensembles of all sizes and shapes, from solo piano to orchestra with chorus. In 2015 Louise and Mark formed Jazz WaHi, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering live jazz and music education in their Washington Heights, NY, neighborhood. Find out more at www.jazzwahi.com

Carlos Deschamps is an Uptown native who creates short films and does photography work under his brand Cinematic Heights Productions. His short films Distances and Horror in the Heights both were official selections at the Inwood Film Festival. Raised by a Dominican family in Washington Heights and Harlem, Carlos knows the importance of a community in a small neighborhood. He loves to eat all kinds of food, enjoys learning about various cultures and their histories. Putting that passion to use, he has created and co-hosts a new podcast called Empanadas Sin Raisins with his best friend Ariel Gonazlez, in which they have an entertaining and educational discussion about topics that heavily influences society. To keep up with Carlos, follow @cinematicheights on Instagram. 

We turn our artist spotlight on theatrical wardrobe professional, Laurel Parrish. Laurel graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara and is proud member of IATSE Local 764, the theatrical wardrobe union, in New York City. Her career has spanned many companies and venues, from The Juilliard School to Ringling Brothers to Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project. She has been with the Broadway musical Wicked since it opened in 2003, first as a principal dresser, then as the Glinda dresser for many years. Currently she holds several positions at Wicked including managing the costume stock and acting as the Advance Wardrobe Supervisor on the Wicked National Tour. You can keep up with Laurel on instagram @laureleeena.

Hailed by Slide Hampton as “an important future voice in jazz trombone” and “modern, forward thinking, and powerfully melodic” by JazzEd, Nick Grinder is a versatile trombonist and low brass doubler in New York City. He has shared the stage or recording studio with artists such as Lorde, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Patti Labelle, DMX, St Vincent, and many others. He has performed in two dozen Broadway pits, in the Grammy award winning big bands of Arturo O'Farrill, Alan Ferber, and has recorded as a sideman on over 20 jazz albums. In addition, Nick has been a leader by released two albums of original compositions for small group - Ten Minutes, and Farallon. You can find more of Nick's music at www.nickgrinder.com.

With several years in the arts, Ellen Mullen is a theatrical badass. She received her MFA in Dramaturgy from Columbia University, worked in CAA’s theater department, and raised a joyful hell as the Flea Theater’s Audience Development Manager. You can find her during the day writing, editing, and playing with words all day as the Associate Creative Director of Situation; where she dreams up content to help build brands for clients that range from Meals on Wheels to the Tony Awards. At night, Ellen exercises her digital creativity as a filmmaker. And, her short film: "Effacement" was selected as a grant recipient of the Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund from Inwood Art Works.  After listening, do yourself a favor and keep up with Ellen and her projects at www.ellenmullen.com.

On this Live N" Local podcast we welcome guitarist Ric Molina. Born and raised in NYC, he has played the road on Broadway national tours, such as Big River and The Who’s Tommy, and for the past 17 years he has been the guitar chair 1 and assistant conductor for the smash Broadway musical Wicked. Previous to Wicked, he played a different kind of “Popular” music by overseeing the musical direction of the pop boy band 98 Degrees from the moment of their accent to super-stardom; hiring three separate touring groups and also recording with the band. Ric’s work has also extended to television; having composed the underscore music for three seasons of The Electric Company as well as the cartoon Prankster Planet on PBS. In June of 2019, he was cast to play the part of the guitarist in “The San Juan Hill Serenaders” in the forthcoming remake of West Side Story by Steven Spielberg. Aside from his work on-screen and commercial stages, he can be found sitting in and playing with various bands including “The Ric Molina Group” and “The Uptown Guitars.”

We're turning our spotlight on professional actor and stuntman, Calvin Ahn. After graduating from Oberlin College, Calvin has immersed himself in studying stage combat, film combat and has trained in martial arts for over 20 years. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has studied Kajukenbo, a traditional Northern Shaolin Kungfu and Jeet Kune Do. He currently is an instructor in JKD and Kungfu in NYC, as well as a NASM-certified personal trainer. As an actor, he has has appeared on such shows as Law & Order: SVU, Late Night w/Conan O'Brien and Gotham. As a stuntman, he has appeared on such shows as Cobra Kai, Lovecraft Country, FBI and many others. Aaron speaks with him about acting, fighting, and making it happen as an Asian American artist.

On this Live N" Local podcast we welcome trombonist and composer, Daniel Linden. After receiving a M.M. from the New England Conservatory in Trombone Performance, Daniel toured the U.S., Europe and Asia with orchestras, opera companies and rock bands. He has played regularly on Broadway, Off Broadway, and numerous festivals including: the Montreal Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors and Bang on a Can Marathon. Active in world music and jazz, Daniel has worked with David Byrne, Slavic Soul Party, Asphalt Orchestra, The Ed Palermo Big Band, The Gregorio Uribe Big Band and Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All Stars. Daniel has taught trombone at Brandeis University and is a teaching artist for Carnegie Hall. However, for this On Air session he put down his trombone and picked up his guitar (and computer) to share his brand new original compositions with us. Listen up!  Then check out more of his music at www.daniellindenmusic.com

Since 2017, Amy Joy Robateau and Tim W. Brown have co-hosted the biweekly Art in the Basin open mic series in the NW Bronx. Amy Joy Is an artist, published poet, writer, and the creator, producer and director of several YouTube channels including: A. Joy Cloud, Where is Blaze?, Imagination Welcomed and Art In The Basin. She is also the founder and director of the Art In The Basin’s Virtual Open Mic (VOM) Series. Tim W. Brown is the author of four novels, Deconstruction Acres, Left of the Loop, Walking Man, and Second Acts, which won the 2010 London Book Festival Award for General Fiction. We talk about their work, building community through art in the NW Bronx, and so much more.

Tatyana Kalko wants to soothe your heart and make you cry at the same time with sincere yet irreverent storytelling and uplifting old world melodies, Born in Belarus and currently residing in NYC, she admits to being influenced by the likes of Anton Chekhov, Leonard Cohen and The Beatles.  A classically trained singer and self-taught guitarist and piano player, Tatyana embraces contemporary sounds alongside her rich Slavic and Jewish heritage, performing everything from acoustic folk and electro pop, to jazz standards, French chanson and Russian and Yiddish classics. After you hear her perform live On Air, head on over to her bandcamp page to hear the studio versions and more great music from Tatyana.

This episode's spotlight is on Broadway producer and general manager Carl Pasbjerg. Carl was the general manager for Memphis the Musical, Guys and Dolls, First Date, and The Illusionist, among many other Broadway shows. Most recently, he manages the musical sensation Come From Away, which won the 2017 Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, and Outstanding Book of a Musical, as well as the 2017 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical.  Tune in to hear Carl's thoughts on being a GM, putting together a show, and what it will take to re-launch Broadway.

Natasha Rivera is a NYC native Director/ Producer who got her start in the industry as an Assistant director working on shows such as the Emmy Award Winning Series: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, Ryan Murphy's “The Politician” for Netflix, and the indie darling “Random Acts of Flyness” (HBO). Seamus Boyle has a background in acting with credits Off-Broadway in productions such as the Obie winning "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Church of Scientology Pageant" and also appearing on television on series such as USA’s "Royal Pains," and the Epix series "The Godfather of Harlem." He also proudly serves as an active firefighter in the FDNY. Together, as husband and wife, they co-founded Boiling River Productions to create character driven stories that are socially conscious, exciting and captivate audiences with heartwarming magic. Their first short film: "Pedicab" was the Audience Favorite at the Peekskill Film Festival and their 2nd film: "Archive & The Storyteller" was selected as a grant recipient of the Inwood Film Festival Filmmaker Fund from Inwood Art Works.

Eva Nikolova is a Bulgarian‐born visual artist and long-time Inwood resident who works in drawing, painting, printmaking, hand‐drawn animation and cameraless photography. She holds a BFA in Painting/Printmaking from Southern Illinois University and MFA in Printmaking from Indiana University. Her work, which is in the permanent collections of Temple University, The Amity Art Foundation, Manhattan Graphics Center, Arkansas State University and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, has been exhibited nationally as well as in Germany, England, Canada, Scotland and India. Nikolova is the recipient of over 20 scholarships, fellowships, grants and fully‐funded residencies that you can check out at www.evanikolova.com.

Composer and cellist Paul Brantley is a five-time MacDowell colony fellow who has also received fellowships from the BAM Center and the Anderson Center. He has recently enjoyed performances of his music by The Knights, the Horszowski Trio, the Flux Quartet, and the Memphis Symphony. Brantley recently a composed cello concerto, the Royal Revolver, for Eric Jacobson of The Knights. He co-founded the Seal Bay Festival and was artist faculty at Yellow Barn Music Festival. Brantley was a Manhattan School of Music artist faculty from 2000 to 2014, and he was invited to give a composition seminar at Yale University in 2012. He is also the director and cellist of the newly formed Mercury Chamber Players.

Join Aaron Simms and Jonathon Bell as they welcome guitarist Juanma Trujillo and violist Leonór Falcon on this episode of Inwood Art Works On Air Live N' Local. Leonor was classically trained in her native Venezuela at the Emil Friedman Conservatory and the Mozarteum de Caracas. She went on to study performance at the Conservatory of Geneva and jazz at Queens College, which brought her to New York City in 2010. Her bold collaborations with ensembles like Willie Colon’s band, the Sirius Quartet, OKwarteto, Camilia Meza and the Nectar Orchestra, and Sarah Bernstein’s Veer quartet have made her familiar to jazz, avant garde, classical, and Latin music fans across New York City. Her solo album, Imaga Mondo, was released in 2017 on Falcon Gumba Records.Juanma Trujillo made his name as a guitarist playing with noted Venezuelan musicians like Domingo en Llamas and Gustavo Medina in and around his hometown of Caracas. In 2014 Juanma came to New York City after nine years on the Los Angeles music scene, and since then he’s broken and explored exciting new musical ground here in New York with artists like Francisco Mela, Mimi Jones, Nick Grinder, Rebecca Sullivan, and, of course, Leonór Falcon. His compositions have been called "challenging, clear, cohesive and profound.”  

Sky Pape is an abstract artist known for using traditional materials like ink, graphite, and paper in new and unconventional ways to produce intricate canvases in large and small scales. Sky's work has been collected by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and The Brooklyn Museum of the Arts (among many others), and has twice graced the cover of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. By Sky's own account, she is “a culture-hound, nature enthusiast, and pom-pom waver for creative folks of all stripes." Listen in as she talks with Aaron about all this, and more.Have a look at Sky's Time Being series, or her Passing Through, both of which she discusses with Aaron.

Andrea Wittgens came to New York in 2006 from Nova Scotia, by way of Calgary and Seattle. In Seattle she trained in classical piano and modern dance, and, wielding a music degree from Queens College, fronted and wrote songs for the pop band Sugartown. Since moving to New York, her Bob Power-produced EP Alibi, and its 12-song follow-up In The Skyline, have been warmly reviewed. A visit to the Steel Bridge Songfest in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, introduced her to the power of collective songwriting and shaped her 2016 EPs Girl In A Box and Grace. Join Aaron Simms and Jonathan Bell as they chat with Andrea about her work and listen to her play four of her own compositions live. And be sure to check out Andrea's Patreon page!

Please enjoy this 2020 Inwood Art Works On Air Live N' Local Sampler, featuring selections from the Live N' episodes of our first season of Inwood Art Works On Air!Selections: In the Heights Medley. Arranged by Dan Pardo and performed by Calliope Brass. Recorded September 13, 2020, at the 809 Restaurant and Lounge, 112 Dyckman St., New York City. Amour, viens aider ma faiblesse from Samson et Dalila. By Camille Saint-Saëns. Performed by Laura Virella, mezzo soprano. Recorded November 7, 2020, at Our Savior’s Atonement Lutheran Church, 112 Bennett Ave., New York City. Intracopas. Written and performed by Miguel Tejada. Recorded September 13, 2020, at the 809 Restaurant and Lounge, 112 Dyckman St., New York City. Two Phony Sick Days. Written and performed by Kevin Delaney. Recorded February 22, 2020, at the Theater at St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Ave., New York City. Ebben? Ne andrò lontana from La Wally by Catalani. Performed by Kirstin Chambers, soprano and Keith Chambers, conductor/pianist. Recorded June 28, 2020, at 97 Park Terrace West, New York City. J Brahms Scherzo from "FAE" Sonata. Performed by Alighieri Duo. Recorded November 7, 2020, at Our Savior’s Atonement Lutheran Church, 112 Bennett Ave., New York City. Show Me Your Facebook. Written and performed by Samantha Echo. Recorded February 22, 2020, at the Theater at St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Ave., New York City. Molly on the Shore. Written by P. Grainger; Arranged for woodwinds by Gil DeJean performed by Double Entendre Music Ensemble. Recorded February 22, 2020, at the Theater at St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Ave., New York City. Prenderó quel brunettino from Cosi Fan Tutte by Mozart. Performed by Lori Phillips, soprano, and Mary Phillips, mezzo soprano. Recorded September 13, 2020, at the 809 Restaurant and Lounge, 112 Dyckman St., New York City. The Wild Rover. Performed by Jamie Ignao. Recorded September 13, 2020, at the 809 Restaurant and Lounge, 112 Dyckman St., New York City. Miel Coeur. Written and performed by Jamie Reynolds. Recorded February 22, 2020, at the Theater at St. Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Ave., New York City. Little Heart. Written and performed by Hot Glue & The Gun. Recorded September 13, 2020, at the 809 Restaurant and Lounge, 112 Dyckman St., New York City.

As a child growing up in her native San Juan, mezzo-soprano Laura saw Carmen and announced immediately that that is what she wanted to do with her life. She began singing with the Coros De Niños de San Juan, and went on to study at the Peabody Conservatory at Johns-Hopkins University and at the Manhattan School of Music. She has since earned an international reputation for her nuanced portrayals of complex, strong, independent and outspoken Latin women, Frida Kahlo and Carmen among them. Her portrayal of Carmen was described as “sensual, uninhibited and liberated – a Carmen for our times."Opera is just one of Laura’s passions, though. Her heart is never far from her native Puerto Rico, and she uses her voice to champion the underperformed Puerto Rican classical repertoire, and, through the Puerto Rican Art Song Project, to promote Puerto Rico’s under-appreciated novelists, poets, and essayists. Hear Laura talk about all of that and perform five arias, including "Death Dances 'Round My Head," from Frida.

Lisa D'Apolito's celebrated documentary Love, Gilda revealed the inner life of comic and Saturday Night Live founding cast member Gilda Radner. Lately she's been working on separate projects about the lives of two very different artists: maverick independent filmmaker Albert Pyun, and ventriloquist, comedian, and children's television icon Shari Lewis. Aaron talks to Lisa about her projects, about making movies during COVID, and about her long history of work with Gilda's Club, which offers free support to those living with cancer.

Todays guests are pianist Candace Chien and violinist Nicholas Pappone, the Alighieri Duo. Nicholas was inspired to take up the violin when, as a child actor, he portrayed a musical prodigy. He’s now a sought-after soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teacher who has performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the New York Philharmonic, the Vienna Piano Trio, and the Zukerman Chamber Players. Candace is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she studied with Jonathan Feldman and Margo Garrett. She specializes in chamber music, and she's performed across the US, Canada, and Sweden. She’s taught music in public schools in Westfield and Queens, and held faculty positions at the Usdan Center of Creative and Performing Arts and the Point Counterpoint Chamber Music Festival.

Dister Rondon has danced in movies, on VH1, and in national ads for Apple, Verizon, and the Gap, and you’ve seen his art all over upper Manhattan—inside George Washington High School, for example, or at 172nd and Amsterdam, where you'll find his mural thanking essential workers. In 2004 Dister created the I Love My Hood project to promote and preserve the Washington Heights he grew up in. I Love My Hood is now a worldwide collective of artists, educators and activists dedicated to serving the greater good through Hip Hop. Join your host Aaron Simms as he talks to Dister about the joys and challenges of making Black art in upper Manhattan.

Listeners may know producer, promoter, and comedian Eric Vetter from No Name… & a Bag of Chips, the weekly comedy/variety show Eric co-founded and hosts at locations around NYC, including Word Up Community Bookshop in the Heights. Now in its twenty-sixth year, No Name has entertained countless audiences and given a stage to thousands of comics, storytellers, musicians, and performers as they strive to hone their craft, including Ophira Eisenberg, Tom Shillue, Baratunde Thurston, Joanna Parson, Dave Lester, Hari Kondabolu, and Kambri Crews. Join your host Aaron Simms as he and Eric talk about his two and a half decades entertaining New Yorkers, and what the future holds.

Hot Glue & The Gun is Carrie Klein and Joel McGlynn, two upper Manhattan musicians and theater artists who are dedicated to the idea that art is not a spectator sport. Hot Glue & The Gun's live shows meld comedy, drama, music, love, and a sensitivity to the state of the world into an experience that (as one critic put it) will "tease your senses, prod your brain, and force you to dance." Their weekly live virtual variety show, the Gluey Zoomy Show, defies description, with guests ranging from classical musicians and oil painters to yogis and community activists. Be sure to catch their livestream concert, a night of GLUEY gratitude, Saturday, November 21!

Improvisational sketch artist and teacher Kevin Scott has founded three improv ensembles, including his current company, Centralia Improv, named for the blighted Pennsylvania town beneath which a coal fire is destined to burn for centuries. Kevin has taught and directed improv and sketch comedy at The Second City Training Center and the People’s Improv Theatre (aka the PIT); you’ve seen his students on Saturday Night Live, The Office, Bridesmaids, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and 30 Rock, and that's just for starters! Centralia Improv's podcast, the Centralia Improvisational Podcast, is available wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.

Miguel Andrés Tejada began his musical life as a classical pianist, studying under the famed Cuban teacher Hilda Melis Gras, in his hometown of Santiago in the Dominican Republic, but while still in his youth (and already an accomplished pianist) Miguel’s attention turned to jazz. In 2007 he was awarded a full scholarship to Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where he studied jazz composition and arrangement with Joanne Brackeen. Since then Miguel has played with a who's who of jazz musicians, and his compositions have been praised for their masterful use of Salsa, Merengue, Boleros, Samba, and Western Classical music. His “Rumbeando” received the National Music Prize, awarded by the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Culture. Follow Miguel on Instagram at migueltejadajazz.  

Ted Minos is an actor, director, producer, and writer who has made his home in upper Manhattan for over two decades. He's appeared on stages across the country, but locals are most likely to recognize him from the Inwood Shakespeare Festival, where he's appeared as Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, or others. Ted is the founder and the producing artistic director of the Moose Hall Theater Company, which developed and presented the Inwood Shakespeare Festival. In 2010 he received the Uptown Arts Stroll Award, in recognition of his contribution to the arts in upper Manhattan. Join your host Aaron Simms as he and Ted about producing community theater in the Heights, on this latest episode of Inwood Art Works On Air.

On this episode, Inwood Art Works On Air welcomes Calliope Brass, five of New York City’s most accomplished--and busiest--horn players. Calliope Brass is dedicated to creating evocative, story-driven musical experiences for every audience. Listeners may recognize them from “What’s Your Story?,” the interactive cross-curricular workshop they’ve presented at over a dozen schools in and around New York; their concert premiere of a 5-movement work by Faye-Ellen Silverman; or the many videos they've produced in recent months. They've just released their very first album, Rose Strewn Course, and their 3rd Annual Benefit Concert is coming up on October 22nd.

Jamie Ignao hails from Greenock, Scotland, but his musical career began at Walt Disney World, in Florida, where his tenor voice got him noticed by a member of the Central Florida Lyric Opera. Two years later, in 2013, he made his debut at Carnegie Hall in The Remarkable Theater Brigade’s production, “Opera Shorts.” Since then he’s sung Arturo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Le Remendado from Bizet's Carmen, and Ralph Rackstraw in Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore, among other roles. Beyond that, Jamie is an accomplished guitarist and rock vocalist well-known to uptown music fans for his bear-hug embrace of musical genres, from pop to metal. That love is at the center of “Ashley and Jamie’s Acoustic Show,” the Facebook live show Jamie and Ashleigh present every Saturday evening from 8-11 EST. Be sure to check out Jamie's other bands as well: Hey Buddy, Coyote Love, and Dance Floor.

In this Artist Spotlight episode, Aaron talks to actor-dancer Ximena Salgado. Ximena is a multifaceted artist from Peru, where she appeared in a number of dramatic and musical theater roles at a young age. She’s danced with the Balmir Latin Dance Company throughout the United States, and in 2015 she was crowned the National Salsa Champion of Peru (soloist category), one of her many accolades. Here in New York City she co-founded (and is the artistic director of) Rumbamena, a professional dance company that celebrates and honors “Latin Rhythms and values such as joy, freedom, empathy and resilience." Earlier this year, Rumbamena were crowned World Samba Champions at the World Salsa Summit. For information about eating disorders visit NEDA.

David Anzuelo is a professional actor, director, martial artist and fight director. He's also a member of Labyrinth Theater Company and Rising Phoenix Repertory, and he’s the founder of Unkle Dave’s Fight House, a collective of fight and intimacy directors working to bring a unique approach to fight-choreography and sexual stage violence. Aaron talks to David about all of that and much more! Learn more about David at davidanzuelo.com and unkledaves.com. If you're interested in Origen of Alexandria and the historical roots of white supremacy, you can find the article David mentions here.

This week Inwood Art Works On Air Live N' Local welcomes opera singers Lori Phillips and Mary Phillips. Soprano Lori Phillips debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as Senta in Der Fliegende Holländer in 2010, which was also the year she appeared (in a role debut) as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre with the Hawaii Opera Theater. Since then she’s performed to tremendous accolades throughout North America and Europe. Mezzo-soprano Mary Phillips has performed most of the mezzo roles in Wagner’s Ring cycle, including Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde for Dallas Opera and Schwertleite in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Die Walküre. In 2012 she received a Grammy for her solo work in the Met’s recording of Wagner’s Der Ring Des Niebelungen. Mary has sung throughout North America and Europe, including Carnegie’s Zankel Hall and the Library of Congress. Incidentally, Lori and Mary are not just sisters, but identical twins. For this episode Aaron is joined by Gordon Ostrowski, recently retired stage director and assistant dean at the Manhattan School of Music.

Many New Yorkers know painter and illustrator Elissa Gore from her paintings depicting the natural beauty of Inwood (viewable on her blog at www.elissagore.net) or from the many plein air sessions she has led in Inwood Hill Park. Elissa has been painting professionally for over twenty-five years, and today her work hangs in many private homes and over seventy public collections. In this episode of Inwood Art Works On Air, Aaron joins Elissa at the Amore Cafe and Juice Bar in Inwood to talk about her work, her background in medical and botanical illustration, architecture, and much more!

This episode of Inwood Art Works On Air Live N’ Local welcomes Inwood's Kirsten and Keith Chambers. Kirsten is a soprano who joined the Metropolitan Opera first as a cover of Isolde in Tristan und Isolde and then, this past season, for Die Walküre. Kirsten is known especially for her portrayal of the title role of Salome, which she’s sung not only at the Metropolitan Opera but at the Opera Hong Kong and the Florida Grand Opera as well. Keith Chambers is the founder, artistic director, and principal conductor of New Amsterdam Opera. He has conducted hundreds of performances of nearly fifty operas, for dozens of companies throughout North America and Europe, and he conducts himself daily as Kirsten’s husband. You can find out more about Kirsten and Keith at www.kirsten-chambers.com and www.keith-chambers.com.

Desiree Abeyta wrote, directed, and produced An Invitation To Tea, a recipient of this year's inaugural Inwood Art Works Filmmaker Fund Award. Her work reflects a love of magical realism, and she’s one of very few filmmakers setting out to explore that rich literary tradition from a feminine perspective. Follow Desiree on Instagram at @chatonjolie.

Kevin Delaney is a veteran of New York's post-punk and singer-songwriter scenes, but these days he writes and records, as he puts it, “on a solitary iMac in the wilds of northern Manhattan.” Kevin sings, and he plays acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, bass, and harmonica. He even fakes it on keyboards. He’s recorded two albums, Pause for Effect and Himalayan Moon, which Smother Magazine called "excellent, stirring, a must-have, and compelling.''

You may not know it, but you’ve seen Jeannine Jones’ work as a prop designer on Saturday Night Live, The Today Show, and Late Night With Seth Myers, not to mention Monty Python’s Spamalot, Mel Brooks’ The Producers, and Jersey Boys. She’s also an accomplished playwright, screenwriter, director, and a founding member of Dora Mae Productions. Watch for new Inwood Art Works On Air episodes! Live N' Local episodes drop the first Thursday of each month, and Artist Spotlight episodes drop two weeks later. Subscribe so you don't miss a thing! And please, show local artists (and us!) some love by leaving some stars and a review on Apple Podcasts. Inwood Art Works On Air is produced by Inwood Art Works. If you would like to support this this podcast by setting up a $2 to $20 monthly tax-deductible donation to Inwood Art Works please visit www.inwoodartworks.nyc/support/donate-now. If you would like to feature your small business and support Inwood Art Works On Air by sponsoring an episode, contact us. Corporate and neighborhood small business sponsorships are available; email [email protected] for more info. Inwood Art Works On Air is made possible with funds from the NYSCA Electronic Media and Film Grant Program, in partnership with Wave Farm: Media Arts Assistance Fund, and the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Founded in 2005, NYC-based Double Entendre Music Ensemble is a collective of like-minded musicians devoted to adventurous exploration of the double reed repertoire. Noted for its first-rate musicianship and creativity, the Ensemble illuminates classics, revives neglected music, and commissions new works for these soulful instruments. Led by Kathryn Englehardt, the ensemble performs everywhere from concert halls to beer halls, in churches and bookstores, schools and parks, Double Entendre reaches a diverse audience wherever engaged listeners are found. For more information visit www.doubleentendre.org Watch for new Inwood Art Works On Air episodes! Live N' Local episodes drop the first Thursday of each month, and Artist Spotlight episodes drop two weeks later. Subscribe so you don't miss a thing! And please, show local artists (and us!) some love by leaving some stars and a review on Apple Podcasts. Inwood Art Works On Air is produced by Inwood Art Works. If you would like to support this this podcast by setting up a $2 to $20 monthly tax-deductible donation to Inwood Art Works please visit www.inwoodartworks.nyc/support/donate-now. If you would like to feature your small business and support Inwood Art Works On Air by sponsoring an episode, contact us. Corporate and neighborhood small business sponsorships are available; email [email protected] for more info.

Samantha Echo is a singing, songwriting fairy/abomination who was allegedly called into existence as the bastard child of an acid-induced one-night-stand between Leonard Cohen and one of the Disney Princesses (it probably happened at the Chelsea Hotel). She and her music have been described as "somewhere between dangerous and whimsy" (Jack Murray, Unknown Nobodies), meaning that she has fairy wings and a non-threatening babyface but she sings about horrible things; "Dark Fairy Rock" (Jamie Ignao), "Comic Con's Kate Bush" (Janna Pelle), meaning that she has a very high, girly soprano voice and is almost too nerdy to function; and a female incarnation of Morrissey (Siv Disa), meaning that her lyrics will depress you but in a good way. For more information visit: www.samanthaecho.com Watch for new Inwood Art Works On Air episodes! Live N' Local episodes drop the first Thursday of each month, and Artist Spotlight episodes drop two weeks later. Subscribe so you don't miss a thing! And please, show local artists (and us!) some love by leaving some stars and a review on Apple Podcasts. Inwood Art Works On Air is produced by Inwood Art Works. If you would like to support this this podcast by setting up a $2 to $20 monthly tax-deductible donation to Inwood Art Works please visit www.inwoodartworks.nyc/support/donate-now. If you would like to feature your small business and support Inwood Art Works On Air by sponsoring an episode, contact us. Corporate and neighborhood small business sponsorships are available; email [email protected] for more info.

Samuel D. Hunter’s plays include The Whale (Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, GLAAD Media Award, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play), A Bright New Boise (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Few, A Great Wilderness, Rest, Pocatello, Lewiston, Clarkston, and most recently, The Healing and The Harvest. He is the recipient of a 2014 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship, a 2012 Whiting Writers Award, the 2013 Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, the 2011 Sky Cooper Prize, the 2008 PONY/Lark Fellowship, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Idaho. His plays have been produced in New York at Playwrights Horizons, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Clubbed Thumb and Page 73, and around the country at such theaters as Seattle Rep, South Coast Rep, Victory Gardens, Williamstown Theater Festival, The Old Globe, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Denver Center Theatre Company, Marin Theater Company, and elsewhere. Samuel's work has been developed at the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, the Ojai Playwrights Conference, Seven Devils, and PlayPenn. A published anthology of his work, including The Whale and A Bright New Boise, is available from TCG books. He is a member of New Dramatists, an Ensemble Playwright at Victory Gardens, a member of Partial Comfort Productions, and was a 2013 Resident Playwright at Arena Stage. A native of northern Idaho, Sam lives in Inwood, NYC. He holds degrees in playwriting from NYU, The Iowa Playwrights Workshop, and Juilliard. Watch for new Inwood Art Works On Air episodes! Live N' Local episodes drop the first Thursday of each month, and Artist Spotlight episodes drop two weeks later. Subscribe so you don't miss a thing! And please, show local artists (and us!) some love by leaving some stars and a review on Apple Podcasts. Inwood Art Works On Air is produced by Inwood Art Works. If you would like to support this this podcast by setting up a $2 to $20 monthly tax-deductible donation to Inwood Art Works please visit www.inwoodartworks.nyc/support/donate-now. If you would like to feature your small business and support Inwood Art Works On Air by sponsoring an episode, contact us. Corporate and neighborhood small business sponsorships are available; email [email protected] for more info.