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After being barred from performing at Constitution Hall in 1939 because she was black, opera singer Marian Anderson gave a performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Author Raymond Arsenault's new book, The Sound of Freedom, reflects on the cultural significance of Anderson's performance that Easter.

The pianist for the BMI/New York Jazz Composers Orchestra is also a singer and a former musical director at an Episcopal church. Her latest studio album elaborates on familiar jazz forms while embracing sacred texts, including a piece for Easter vespers.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Blue Note Records, whose roster once included heavyweights Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver. Singers were a rarity, but Sheila Jordan has outlasted them all.

On a new CD, God Shall Be Praised, recently discovered manuscripts at a 12th-century German convent awaken an ancient sound world. The shifting patterns of melodies were composed with subtle genius, to interest the ear but also create a sense of calmness and inner reflection.

The singer-songwriter with the weathered but vulnerable delivery has been touring and recording since his 1980 hit, "Romeo's Tune." With a new album out called The Place and the Time, he visited NPR headquarters for a solo performance and interview.

Until a video of "Stand by Me" had gone viral on YouTube, Roger Ridley had sung and played guitar anonymously on the streets for years. A new collection, Playing for Change: Songs Around the World, is a cross-continental effort that connects disparate cultures with the universal language of music.

Composers seem to equate villainy with the bass voice. All the better for Samuel Ramey, whose resonant low tones have thrilled opera audiences worldwide as he plays libertines, devils and scoundrels.

Idan Raichel has made his name by mixing cinematic Israeli pop with the sounds of his country's immigrant community. His latest album reaches even farther afield, with singers from Colombia, Rwanda and the Cape Verde Islands.

Agronomists, farmers and researchers met at the Illinois State University Farm in Lexington on Tuesday to discuss Lake Bloomington-Evergreen Lake (LB-EL) watershed planning efforts, along with farm conservation practices that can help reach watershed goals.

The former American Idol contestant, whom Paula Abdul dubbed "one funky white boy," just made Fight for Love, his second album since the competition. Yamin dishes on his soul sound, his time in the TV spotlight and, of course, his mom.