Students, administrators and academic researchers demonstrate the value of learning music in school as they show improvements in English and Math test scores, class attendance rates, cognitive development, self-esteem and the ability to work with others. Featured are Francisco Escobedo, the superintendent of the Chula Vista Elementary School District; UC San Diego cognitive scientists Terry Jernigan and John Iversen; and young musicians participating in the Community Opus Project, an in-school and after school music program led by Dalouge Smith, the president and CEO of the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory.

Paola Antonelli, the senior curator of the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, delves into design's many directions and into its future. She takes us on a fascinating tour of design to ask some very serious questions.

Yusef Komunyakaa, an internationally renowned poet who won the Pulitzer Prize for "Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems," reads and discusses his work while writer-in-residence at UC Santa Barbara. Recorded on 03/01/2017.

SummerFest 2017 presents an evening celebrating the versatility of quintets: 1) Beethoven's "String Quintet in C-Major, Opus 29;" 2) Xiangang Ye, "Gardenia for String Quartet and Pipa;" and 3) Dvo ák's "Qunitet in G Major for Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Doublebass, Opus 77." Recorded on 8/9/2017.

Cecil Lytle performs Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and three commissioned works from the extraordinary pianist/composer Asher Tobin Chodos, including an original work for two pianos. Stephanie Richards solos on trumpet in Copland's "Quiet City."The Program:George Gershwin, An American in ParisDuke Ellington/arr. A.T. Chodos, Mood IndigoAsher Tobin Chodos, Concertino for Two Pianos & OrchestraAaron Copland, Quiet CityDuke Ellington/arr. A.T. Chodos, SolitudeGeorge Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue Recorded on 11/05/2017.

An American in Paris has always been one of Gershwin's most popular scores, and deservedly so. It offers great tunes, a breezy charm that evokes both the City of Light and the Jazz Age, and Gershwin's obvious affection for the French capital. Gershwin argued that this piece is structured in sonata form and is not just a series of episodes & impressions strung together with great skill; perhaps so, but no matter. Above all else, this is fun music. Recorded on 11/5/2017.

Jazz has been hailed as "America's original art form," and the annual Jazz Camp at UC San Diego is a five-day immersive summer program designed for intermediate to advanced level jazz musicians, ages 14 adult. Students work directly with internationally renowned jazz artists, exploring styles ranging from classic bebop to contemporary open-form. The Camp culminates in a finale concert performed by eight student ensembles, each under the direction of a faculty member. This program showcases an ensemble mentored by composer/pianist Anthony Davis. Recorded on 06/29/2018.

The December 2018 concert teases our sense of memory. We know Messiah very well, but few know that Mozart re-scored Handel's Messiah for a much larger orchestra, making this performance an often-heard rarity. Co-concertmaster David Buckley is soloist in the Second Violin Concerto of Florence Price, a prolific African-American composer that made her long career in Chicago, where her music was championed by the Chicago Symphony in the 1930s. Our collective musical memory is intimately combined with African-American music. Let's always remember that. And let's remember that we are a nation of immigrants, as we celebrate with the stunning music of Chinese-American composer Qingqing Wang in the 2018 Thomas Nee Commission. Recorded on 12/09/2018.