Topic: Music

This weekend, the Decatur Civic Center Theatre will host a production by talented high school students of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!" The students hail from Decatur and neighboring communities, and we'll have two members of the cast on the Wednesday edition of "Live and Local."

This Friday night, Illinois Public Media will co-sponsor a free concert of old-time bluegrass and gospel music by a group called Strings Attached at Kickapoo State Park in Oakwood. The concert is part of the summer music series at Kickapoo, and we'll be pleased to welcome Strings Attached to play live in our studio on the Tuesday edition of "Live and Local."

The Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana will perform George Frederick Handel's challenging and exciting "Dixit Dominus" this coming Sunday in Champaign. It will be part of a program that features the BACH Choir, soprano Sherezade Panthaki and some of the instrumentalists who have helped make the group's reputation. Music Director Chester Alwes is my guest on this edition of "Live and Local.

In place of the regular show on Friday, we'll bring you a concert by the Chicago Chamber Musicians, playing the Clarinet Quintet by Brahms, the "Dumky" Trio of Dvorak, and one of Schumann's Fantasy Pieces. I'll be back on Monday with a guest from the local music community.

The Thursday edition of "Live and Local" will feature two guitarists performing in Champaign this week. Rachel Schiff just finished her undergraduate degree in classical guitar performance and is headed off to Europe to study and compete, and Nathaniel Seer is a singer-songwriter from Indiana who writes "from the dark side."

NOTE: We apologize for the sound quality during the second half of the program. This originated in our studio.

The Peoria Municipal Band has been around since 1937, with members coming from all walks of life. They give twice-weekly concerts throughout the summer featuring various vocal soloists, and occasional special performances. David Vroman is the band's director, and he'll be my guest on the Wednesday edition of "Live and Local."

The Illinois Chamber Music Festival and Camp at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington offers young string, piano, wind and harp students the chance to participate in intensive chamber music training. The schedule includes several faculty recitals, through July 12. On the Tuesday edition of "Live and Local," we'll talk with Lisa Nelson, executive director of the Festival.

The Summer Piano Institute at the U of I offers a high-level learning experience through master classes and private lessons. There are four recitals by faculty members and a gala concert on Thursday featuring students in the program. On Monday's "Live and Local," we'll talk with Ian Hobson about the week's activities and hear samples from the recital programs.

The Illinois Brass Quintet is the faculty quintet in residence at the U of I and was founded in 1955 as the world's first faculty brass quintet. We'll catch quintet members before they head out on tour, with a live performance in our studio on the Friday edition of "Live and Local.

Three years ago, the Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company launched its annual all-student show with Les Misérables, an epic story recounting the struggle against adversity in 19th-century France. Now the student show is back, as the Kathy Murphy Memorial Student Production at the Virginia Theater in downtown Champaign. We'll have excerpts performed live in our studio on the Thursday edition of "Live and Local.