Sixth City Serenade

Vince Giordano grew up on Long Island playing vintage 78s on his grandmother's Victrola. Maybe that's what fueled his passion for music of the 1920s and '30s. By age 14, he had joined the musicians' union. Later, with Vince on string bass, tuba, and bass sax, he put together his own band, the Nighthawks, now longtime favorites on the New York jazz scene. Their recordings include Boardwalk Empire, volumes 1 and 2 - music from the HBO series. The Nighthawks: Andy Stein, Mike Ponella, Jon-Erik Kellso, Jim Fryer, Chuck Wilson, Mark Lopeman, Evan Arntzen, Ken Salvo, Peter Yarin, Paul Wells.

Aniela Eddy Violinist Aniela Eddy is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has performed with ensembles such as the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, Ensemble LPR, Ballet Next, and the Blossom Festival Orchestra. In addition to frequently teaching at the El Sistema of El Salvador, Aniela has toured throughout India, performing concerts and promoting various organizations. She is a recipient of the Avanti Award and a faculty member at the Aurora School of Music. Chiara Fasani Stauffer Violinist Chiara Fasani Stauffer was born and raised in Switzerland and received her BM and MM from the Basel University of Music, with a minor in baroque violin from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Since relocating to Cleveland in 2012, she co-founded Time Canvas, a trio performing chamber music and improvisation. She is a member of the FiveOne Experimental Orchestra and CityMusic Cleveland, and works as a freelance musician in both classical and jazz settings. In addition, she holds a faculty position at the Aurora School of Music. Eva Kennedy Violist Eva Kennedy is currently in her third year at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Jeffrey Irvine. Passionate about chamber music since the age of seven, she has been the recipient of several awards at a regional and national level as both a chamber musician and a soloist. Eva has made three appearances on NPR's From the Top, which showcases young classical musicians across the country and around the world. Paul Miahky A native of Akron, Ohio, cellist Paul Miahky attended the Eastman School of Music and the University of Southern California. His principal teachers have included Ronald Leonard, Paul Katz and Richard Aaron. He has performed at numerous music festivals, including the Aspen Music Academy of the West, Sarasota, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall. He is a frequent substitute cellist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

New York-based vocalist Christine DiGiallonardo is at home singing in early-music chamber ensembles as well as jazz and rock bands. She performs solo and with her sisters, Daniela and Nadia, as The DiGiallonardo Sisters, and her voice can be heard on commercial jingles for Aquafresh, Mr. Clean, Playtex, and Febreze. Her theater credits include Carousel (Live From Lincoln Center), Lady, Be Good! (City Center Encores!), The Sound of Music (Carnegie Hall), and My Fair Lady (Avery Fisher Hall).

Garrison Keillor was born in 1942 in Anoka, Minnesota. He went to work for Minnesota Public Radio in 1969, and on July 6, 1974, he hosted the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion in St. Paul. He is the host of The Writer's Almanac and the editor of the Good Poems series of anthologies from Viking.

Richard Dworsky Keyboardist, composer, and arranger Richard Dworsky is APHC's music director. He leads the band, composes themes, improvises script underscores, and collaborates with such diverse guests as Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor, Brad Paisley, Kristin Chenoweth, and Sheryl Crow. He has provided music for documentaries on HBO and PBS, and has released many recordings of original material, including his latest, All In Due Time. Larry Kohut Bassist Larry Kohut has played on dozens of albums and many film scores, as well as performing with jazz artists such as Patricia Barber, Mel Torme, Vincent Colaiuta, and Tony Bennett. In addition, he is an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches acoustic and electric bass. Richard Kriehn When Richard Kriehn turned 10, his mom bought him a mandolin; at 19, he'd won the Buck White International Mandolin Contest. He went on to play with the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and bluegrass group 1946. On the classical side, he has performed with numerous orchestras and was principal second violin for the Washington/Idaho Symphony. Chris Siebold Bluegrass to big band jazz, Chris Siebold knows his way around a guitar - or a bunch of other instruments, for that matter. Based in Chicago, he draws from a deep well of influences and styles, and has put his talents to work in ensembles such as Howard Levy's Acoustic Express and Kick the Cat. In 2010, he formed the band Psycles, whose album Live at Martyrs' was released the following year.

One minute he's mild-mannered Tim Russell; the next he's George Bush or Julia Child or Barack Obama. We've yet to stump this man of many voices. Says fellow APHC actor Sue Scott, "He does a better Ira Glass than Ira Glass." A well-known Twin Cities radio personality and voice actor, Tim appeared in the Robert Altman film A Prairie Home Companion and the Coen brothers' A Serious Man. Tim has also been reviewing films professionally for over 10 years.

On APHC, Sue Scott plays everything from ditzy teenagers to Guy Noir stunners to leathery crones who've smoked one pack of Camel straights too many. The Tucson, Arizona, native is well known for her extensive commercial and voice-over work on radio and television, as well as stage and movie roles, including the part of "Donna" in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion.

Sound effects man Fred Newman is an actor, writer, musician, and sound designer for film and TV. Turns out, no one is more surprised than Fred that he's made a career out of doing what he used to do behind the teacher's back -crossing his eyes, making sounds, and doing voices. He readily admits that, growing up, he was unceremoniously removed from several classrooms, "once by my bottom lip."