What is sacred to Kansas City chamber choir Te Deum? Host Alison DeSimone speaks with Matthew Shepard and Rupal Gupta, from Te Deum, about performing with period instruments, and how they define sacred music. We'll hear performances of Brahms, Bach, Poulenc and more.

Sir Thomas Beecham had flair, on and off the podium. His considerable experience in opera gave him a remarkable sense of proportion, pacing and – in the best sense of the word – theatricality. That made Beecham performances anything but routine. In this show, we will hear two live Beecham performances with the Royal Philharmonic, including a thrilling Brahms Symphony No. 2. Wagner’s Rienzi Overture provides the ideal first course.

Organist Jan Kraybill selects works that showcase the organ in different roles, including music by Saint-Saëns, Gounod and Guilmant. We'll also be joined by Josh Jones, principal percussionist with the Kansas City Symphony, who will play Vivaldi on marimba with Jan on harpsichord. Plus, we'll hear Yo-Yo Ma in "Three Meditations" from Leonard Bernstein's Mass.

Host Robert MicNichols Jr. speaks with Jade Powers, Assistant Curator at The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, about The Underground Railroad and the exhibit "Selections from Night Coming Tenderly, Black" by photographer Dawoud Bey. We'll also hear an oratorio based on the writings of William Still from composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell.

British conductor and impresario Sir Thomas Beecham (1879-1961) was one of the world’s greatest conductors. He brought music to life in ways that very few conductors could. Adored by the musicians who played for him and by his audiences, he pretended in interviews that he was very casual but, in fact, he was intensely devoted to music. In this first program, we’ll hear some of his specialties with music by Berlioz, Delius, Gounod, Massenet and Handel.

This week, we'll hear "incomplete" masterpieces and a living, breathing modern work: Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony, Mozart's Requiem and excerpts from Michael Gandolfi's musical trek through "The Garden of Cosmic Speculation."

Through openness, advocacy, commissions and a focus on underrepresented composers, Kansas City's Mid America Freedom Band strives to play music that reflects our diverse community. Classical KC speaks with the group's Artistic Director and Conductor, plus two members of the ensemble. We'll hear music by Julius Eastman, Chen Yi, Jennifer Higdon and more.

German composer Richard Strauss wrote a wide range of music, some charming and some shocking. We’ll hear examples of both in this week’s show with a showpiece for organ and orchestra, two diverse works for winds, an homage to his hometown of Munich, and finally a dramatic scene that’s been described as the most appalling moment in all of opera. It’s one peek into the world of music Strauss composed in his long career.