The multi-hyphenate singer-composer-pedagogue David Sisco stops by the virtual recording studio to discuss his musical upbringing, how he got his start in composing, and to share the story behind his brand-new album, Infrastructure. After you enjoy our conversation with him, stream Infrastructure on Apple Music or Spotify to hear his brilliant music!
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Have a question you want answered by Laura and Sam on a future episode? Share your thoughts with a voice memo or written note through our new #TeamArtSong Mailbag!

Nominate a phenomenal artist in your local community for a shoutout in our Songsters in Your Neighborhood segment!
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Song Cycle is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts.

Laura and Sam have a moment for Brussels sprouts, the key ingredient in a perfect old fashioned, and debriefing on the 2026 Fellowship of the Song festival before welcoming fellow art song organization founder Michael Brofman. Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Art Song Society, Mike has been a trailblazer in curating and producing concerts to bring audiences together and experiencing the best song performers in the country, par excellence. Hear about the upcoming final concert in BASS's 2026 New Voices Festival, their inaugural young artist program, and more about BASS's history.
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Have a question you want answered by Laura and Sam on a future episode? Share your thoughts with a voice memo or written note through our new #TeamArtSong Mailbag!

Nominate a phenomenal artist in your local community for a shoutout in our Songsters in Your Neighborhood segment!
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Song Cycle is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts.

Get ready for this gold mine as we welcome the Dr. Louise Toppin to the pod. She shares her experiences and wisdom with a beautiful sense of purpose, including the importance of mentorship, how we can all engage with Spirituals and art song by Black composers more widely, and that one time she sang five different sets of ornaments for Joan Sutherland and felt very thankful for being extra prepared. As Director of both the George Shirley Vocal Competition and Singing Down the Barriers workshop at the University of Michigan, she knows firsthand how to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Dive in and get ready to learn!

Listen to Louise's latest album, Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts
Order Black Song: A Manifesto for Music and Justice
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Have a question you want answered by Laura and Sam on a future episode? Share your thoughts with a voice memo or written note through our new #TeamArtSong Mailbag!

Nominate a phenomenal artist in your local community for a shoutout in our Songsters in Your Neighborhood segment!
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Song Cycle is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts.

Ever wonder what the composer-librettist relationship is like? We do, too, and that's why we asked our good friend, composer Lori Laitman, and the star librettist Caitlin Vincent to join us and discuss their collaboration. It's a really interesting discussion that provides a glimpse into the process of how song and opera texts come to life when both the author and composer are around to work together.

Purchase Caitlin's book Opera Wars here!

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Have a question you want answered by Laura and Sam on a future episode? Share your thoughts with a voice memo or written note through our new #TeamArtSong Mailbag!

Nominate a phenomenal artist in your local community for a shoutout in our Songsters in Your Neighborhood segment!
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Song Cycle is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts.

You know him as Robert Bosworth, Trained Musician™️ on Instagram and TikTok, but now it's time to get to know the real pianist behind the curtain! Hear directly from the lovable social media personality that's taking off like a rocket on what his journey has been like, what advice he has for the up-and-coming generation of classical artists, and why it's so important that we all develop our own musical thoughts without following the legacies before us blindly. Come for the giggles, stay for some serious truths!
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Have a question you want answered by Laura and Sam on a future episode? Share your thoughts with a voice memo or written note through our new #TeamArtSong Mailbag!

Nominate a phenomenal artist in your local community for a shoutout in our Songsters in Your Neighborhood segment!
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Song Cycle is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts.

We're wrapping up 2025 by bringing Cincinnati Song Initiative's podcast hosts together for our annual Holiday Party! Join us in looking back on a wonderful year with peaks and pits from all of our hosts, then test your knowledge with games like "Guess that Song" and "Two Truths and a Lie: Composer Edition." Which composer walked the streets of Paris with a hammer in his suit pocket? Which composers did - and didn't - study with Nadia Boulanger? (Spoiler: even our hosts get stumped plenty of times!)

Thanks for a great year of song, and here's to a musically rewarding 2026!

Follow Follow the Lieder with Mandee Madrid-Sikich here.
Follow So Lit Song Lit with Ellen Rissinger and Toni Marie Palmertree here.

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Have a question you want answered by Laura and Sam on a future episode? Share your thoughts with a voice memo or written note through our new #TeamArtSong Mailbag!

Nominate a phenomenal artist in your local community for a shoutout in our Songsters in Your Neighborhood segment!
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Song Cycle is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts.

After inviting a direct deposit from a Nigerian prince to help fund their greatest song commissioning desires, Laura and Sam had the pleasure to speak with Darryl Taylor, countertenor, teacher, founder of the African American Art Song Alliance, and an all-around people connector. Through his advocacy, research, teachings, and recording projects, America has taken significant steps towards celebrating and programming songs beyond the contents of the iconic Willis C. Patterson Anthology of Art Songs by Black American Composers.

Settle in to hear Darryl's origin story, his professional trajectory, how he transitioned from being a tenor to countertenor, and how far he's come since his founding of the Alliance in 1997. And stream his and Louise Toppin's new two-disc album, Dear Friends & Gentle Hearts: African American Art Song Essentials, on Apple and Spotify!
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Have a question you want answered by Laura and Sam on a future episode? Share your thoughts with a voice memo or written note through our new #TeamArtSong Mailbag!

Nominate a phenomenal artist in your local community for a shoutout in our Songsters in Your Neighborhood segment!
***
Song Cycle is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts.

Please hold for tech... Is this thing on? Oh, there you are, Jamie Barton! One of the most iconic artists of our generation stops by the pod to chat all things song, share her incredible musical origin story from rural Georgia, and impart invaluable advice for finding one's true, authentic voice that puts you front and center in this crazy industry. (Hint: it involves healthy boundaries.)

Happy opening to the cast of the 25th anniversary run of Jake Heggie's opera Dead Man Walking at San Francisco Opera! Oh, and we're now accepting applications for an on-site manager for Jamie's Cat Café.

Stream one of Jamie's favorite songs, "You Have Become a Forest" from Four Poems of Nikita Gill by Melissa Dunphy on Apple Music or Spotify.
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Have a question you want answered by Laura and Sam on a future episode? Share your thoughts with a voice memo or written note through our new #TeamArtSong Mailbag!

Nominate a phenomenal artist in your local community for a shoutout in our Songsters in Your Neighborhood segment!
***
Song Cycle is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts.