Brooke Knoll
Digital Audience Specialist & On-Air Host, Classical KCBrooke Knoll is the digital audience specialist and on-air host for Classical KC. A Minnesota native, she comes to Kansas City from the Twin Cities, where she received her BSB in Entrepreneurial and Public Non-Profit Management from the University of Minnesota - Carlson School of Management, as well as a major in harp performance. She was the on-air host of Radio K’s all-classical show, Rock Me, Amadeus, during her college years before joining YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio as a digital producer and board operator.
An advocate for arts accessibility, she has previously worked with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Cuban American Youth Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra on their initiatives to engage younger audiences and cultivate the next generation of classical music lovers.
When not obsessing over all things classical radio, you can find her hiking, playing harp, starting a new craft, or searching for vinyl to add to her growing collection.
You can reach Brooke at brooke@classicalkc.org.
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We have very marvelous variations based on music by Wolfgang Mozart, Henry Purcell and a familiar childhood tune. What these composers do with simple themes is human creativity at its best. -
Classical KC takes you inside the Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Missouri for a June 2023 performance by the Liberty Community Chorus: ”Then Sings My Soul.” During this special 20th anniversary concert, we’ll hear the chorus, under the direction of Bryan Taylor, organist Jan Kraybill and other assembled musicians perform a diverse selection of choral works.
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In the continuing series of “Surprise Symphonies,” we have marvelous works by 20th century American composers Ned Rorem and William Schuman – both of which are titled Symphony No. 3. Rorem and Schuman helped to define the American sound in classical music and we’ll hear their genius on full display.
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Pianists Mikhail Voskresensky and Stanislav Ioudenitch join Classical KC's Christy L'Esperance for an extended conversation about Mikhail's life and music ahead of his performance in Kansas City. Mikhail shares the story of his harrowing escape during a Nazi attack when he was six years old, and how that experience helped motivate his choice to leave Russia in protest of their 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
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On one hand it’s one of the most famous pieces of classical music. On the other, when was the last time you heard it in a concert hall? We’ll show some love to this amazing overture that’s really a tone poem with a finale that is second to none.
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The world lost a great musician and great advocate for music in the passing of André Watts. We’ll hear recordings from different stages of his distinguished career in works long associated with him.
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The Last Night of the Proms is one of the most joyous events in classical music. There’s a degree of enthusiasm and audience participation that’s hard to top. We’ll hear live recordings from over the years on the same weekend as the 2023 Last Night. Don’t miss it!
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Cellist Carter Medina, a Blue Springs South High School student, speaks with Classical KC about his earliest musical inspirations and how playing the cello offers comfort from stressful high school days. Carter's mother Jennifer shares the ways she encouraged Carter's growth, and her heartfelt emotions about Carter's next steps.
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It may surprise you that 12-tone composer Arnold Schoenberg had a deep connection to and love of the music of Bach and Brahms. We’ll hear two of his transcriptions that transform the originals into glorious works for full orchestra.
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In the continuing series of music inspired by Shakespeare, enjoy colorful works inspired by Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra and more. It seems there is no end to the ways composers have been inspired by the Bard’s words to create marvelous music.
