Have you ever heard a performance from a great musician and wonder what their story is? Were their parents musicians? Who were their mentors? How did they get to where they are, and what steps did they take to become so great? Backstage: Classical Conversations was created by host Katrina Stroud, a classical violinist and graduate student at the University of Michigan School of Music, to answer these questions from some of the top classically trained string instrumentalists in the country. On this podcast you will hear from professional musicians about their musical backgrounds, education, mentors, challenges, career highlights, collaborations, and advice they have to give to aspiring professional musicians. This podcast shows aspiring professional musicians that not all classical music careers look the same, and shares the stories and deep professional knowledge of successful professionals in their industry. Backstage: Classical Conversations also strives to preserve the legacies of great artists who have been influenced by generations of past musicians and who continue to influence the next generation of musicians.
Katrina started the podcast in May of 2025 after she took an Entrepreneurship class at her undergraduate institution, the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University. The class was prompted to come up with a pitch for $500 from a local community member, and she came up with the idea to start a podcast to interview the renowned faculty members at the McDuffie Center. Katrina also wanted to learn how to record and edit videos of her violin performances. She earned the $500 and used the money to buy a video camera for the podcast, recorded the first interview, and launched the first episode in the summer. Included on the podcast are professional musicians such as concertmasters David Kim (Philadelphia Orchestra) and Nathan Cole (Boston Symphony), string quartet legends such as Lawrence Dutton and Paul Watkins (Emerson Quartet), world-class soloists such as Nancy Zhou and Robert McDuffie, and pedagogues such as Danielle Belen (University of Michigan) and Misha Amory (Juilliard and Curtis) among many others.
Katrina hopes that Backstage: Classical Conversations inspires others as much as it inspires her to hear from these incredible musicians who have devoted their lives to their craft.
