Jon Silpayamanant has hosted and contributed to several programs on BBC Radio 3 and BBC World Service over the past few years. Below is a list of those programs in reverse chronological order. Click on images for direct links to the programs at BBC.
January 14, 2024
Classical Africa
An upcoming BBC Radio Sunday Feature with acclaimed South African double bassist, writer and broadcaster Leon Bosch exploring if we can define a distinctively African form of ‘Western classical’ music. Jon Silpayamanant will be among a number of guest musicians and historians from Africa and Globally.
March 19, 2023
Heart and Soul: An Instrument Speaking to the Infinite
A BBC World Service feature hosted by acclaimed Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna which explores the idea that the organ is simply a vehicle for Christian worship digging deeper into how the organ conveys ideas of the infinite and the microscopic, the existential and the personal, of celebration, grief and joy. Jon Silpayamanant appears as a guest discussing the organ in a global context.
July 24, 2022
World of Classical: Nationhood and New Sounds
The third, and last, part of a BBC Radio 3 multi-episode series hosted by Jon Silpayamanant looking at shifting global trends across different musical cultures.
July 17, 2022
World of Classical: Courtly Dances, Imperial Advances
The second part of a BBC Radio 3 multi-episode series hosted by Jon Silpayamanant looking at shifting global trends across different musical cultures.
July 17, 2022
Sunday Feature: Classical Commonwealth, Part 2
Errollyn Wallen unravels more stories of how classical music fused with local musical traditions across the Commonwealth. With special guests Jon Silpayamanant, acclaimed South African bassist Leon Bosch, Canadian Indigenous composers Cris Derksen and T. Patrick Carrabre, Jamaican musican Peter Ashbourne, and music historians Stephen Banfield and Wayne Weaver.
July 10, 2022
World of Classical: Pious Voices and Plucked Strings
The first part of a BBC Radio 3 multi-episode series hosted by Jon Silpayamanant looking at shifting global trends across different musical cultures.
July 10, 2022
Sunday Feature: Classical Commonwealth, Part 1
Repeat Broadcast of the 21 February 2021 Classical Commonwealth feature as part of a two-part series.
February 21, 2021
Sunday Feature: Classical Commonwealth
Errollyn Wallen looks at how classical music fused with local musical traditions across the British Commonwealth. In addition to Jon Silpayamanant, other guests include acclaimed composer, Zubin Mehta; musicians Tunde Jegede, Olabode Omojola and Ankna Arockiam; and music historians Gina Scott, Stephen Banfield, Uchenna Ngwe and Hannah Marsden.