Terrance McKnight, commentator, curator, writer, author, pianist, and the weekday evening host of New York’s classical station WQXR will present a new podcast series,  “Every Voice with Terrance McKnight.” The series will feature 16 episodes and debut on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.

The series highlights voices, histories, and marginalized communities that have been left out of Western classical music.

In the first four episodes, the characters Monostatos (“The Magic Flute”), Otello (“Otello”), Aida (“Aida”), and Osmin (“Abduction from the Seraglio”) will be studied and given new understandings.

During the series, Dr. Sharon Willis, a contemporary opera composer and the founder and director of the Americolor Opera Alliance, will join McKnight to compare and contrast these fictional Black characters with the historical Black people in her 16 operas.

“Classical music is a broad label for music of a culture, but our own American definition has remained stubbornly tethered to the Western European tradition. In this debut season, I wanted to see what has been passed down to us through the operatic tradition in terms of Black representation, interrogate these characters who continue to appear every season on opera stages around the world, and honor the Black performers who have performed these roles. Even in a field as seemingly homogenous as Western classical music, there have always been other voices who have influenced the genre, sometimes unseen. ‘Every Voice’ brings them to the forefront and celebrates this legacy,” said McKnight in an official press statement.

Other guests joining McKnight will be Dr. Uzee Brown, a baritone and chair of the Division of Creative and Performing Arts at Morehouse College; Melvin Foster, associate provost of Student Success and associate professor of Voice at Morehouse College; tenor Chauncey Packer, who played the role of Spinner in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” and Raehann Bryce Davis, a mezzo-soprano and winner of the 2018 George London Award.

On Thursday, February 23, the Greene Space at WNYC and WQXR will host a party and behind-the-scenes look at the making of “Every Voice” with host McKnight, special guests, and live musical performances. LaFontaine E. Oliver, the new President and CEO of New York Public Radio, will deliver opening remarks.

More information on “Every Voice” will be available at everyvoicepodcast.com.