MPR People

Melissa Ousley

Senior Producer, Classical Music/Host, Friday Favorites
Minnesota Public Radio
mousley@mpr.org

Melissa Ousley weaves together favorite pieces and off-beat selections during her Friday Favorites program-a show she brought to Minnesota Public Radio from WCAL, where she was a classical music host for 15 years. The Twin Cities paper City Pages lauded Ousley's WCAL early morning program as "a seamless audio picture in which the DJ plays the role of classy, informative, yet unobtrusive party host." Ousley grew up in the vicinity of New York City. As a teenager, she attended the Preparatory Division of the Manhattan School of Music. Her bachelor's degree in music is from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.

Melissa Ousley Feature Archive

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Bringing Brahms to lakes festival

The Alexandria Festival of the Lakes opens on Friday with a concert celebrating the 175th anniversary of Brahms' birth. A few of the participating musicians stopped by Minnesota Public Radio for a sampling. (08/07/2008)

Minnesota International Piano e-Competition

If you have a fondness for piano music -- perhaps you play or once did, or maybe you're the parent of a budding young musician -- you might want to carve out some time this afternoon to catch the Semi-Final Round of the Minnesota International e-Piano Junior Competition. The first e-Comp took place in 2002 and has occurred every two years since, just like the Olympics. And, like this year's Olympic athletes, these musicians are from all over the world and playing at the top of their game. (07/08/2008)

Schubert Club Competition Winners: Daniel Larson

Tuba player Daniel Larson of St. Olaf College is one of the Schubert Club Scholarship Competition winners. He stopped by Minnesota Public Radio to share his musical talents. (05/02/2008)

Schubert Club Competition Winners: Teresa Yang

Several winners of the Schubert Club's Scholarship Competition visited Minnesota Public Radio to share their artistry. Among them is pianist Teresa Yang, 16, of St. Paul Central High School. (04/29/2008)

Emerging composers learning the score

Seven emerging composers are in town this week for the Minnesota Orchestra's 7th Annual Composer Institute. The event culminates on Friday with Osmo Vanska conducting each of the composers' works in concert. Minnesota Public Radio's Melissa Ousley is there and shares her impressions. (10/23/2007)

Finding success through Bach

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein has become one the hottest artists in classical music for her performances of Bach's "Goldberg Variations." During a visit to Minnesota Public Radio, she spoke with host Melissa Ousley and played music from Bach's keyboard masterpiece. (10/18/2007)