Tapestry

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January 15, 2009...

• A teenage boy considers his racial identity
• The Alabama Symphony Orchestra remembers Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• Drew Mays is a Birmingham doctor who never gave up on his musical dreams

As Birmingham gears up for Tuesday's inauguration, there's a lot of talk about the city's history of racial relations and the progress we've made in the last half century. Barack Obama's election has sparked many conversations about racial identity. Is he America's first black President? Or its first bi-racial commander in chief? Race can be a thorny issue for people of mixed backgrounds. Today, we meet Jeff Rodgers. As a teenager growing up in Boston, Rodgers found himself forced to answer the question "What are you"? And some of his answers came from music. Jeff Rodgers radio diary is called Halfrican. It's part of the public radio series Radio Diaries, produced by Joe Richman.

This weekend, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra remembers Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through music. Emma Murley is ASO's director of artistic administration.

The ASO pays tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...

The Alabama Symphony Orchestra's concert Reflect and Rejoice: a Community Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. is Sunday afternoon at the Alys Stephens Center.

Imagine pursuing your passion through childhood, college, even going on to get a master's degree. But after all that, you still wind up in a completely different field. Dr. Drew Mays doesn't remember a time when he didn't like music, specifically the piano, but after studying music nearly all his life, Mays went on to become an ophthalmologist. Fifteen years after becoming a doctor, Mays revisited his passion as a pianist and went on to win the Van Cliburn Foundation's International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. Mays gives a recital at the Alys Stephens Center, Friday, January 23rd -- he spoke with WBHM's Michael Krall about the concert and his long journey back to the piano....

Drew Mays interview...

Tapestry is produced by Tanya Ott and Michael Krall. Next week on the program, we trace the lives and careers of two sets of artistic sisters: one modern pair and another from the 19th century. I'm Greg Bass, and we'll see you next week.