🎬 Enjoy the official trailer for The Piano Pod’s Season 5 Finale!

Episode Title: The Fullness of Being – A Grand Finale with Maria Thompson Corley on Art, Inclusion & Creative Legacy“

As we wrap up Season 5 of The Piano Pod, themed Authenticity and Joy, we are proud to feature a visionary artist whose life and work embody both.

Dr. Maria Thompson Corley is a Juilliard-trained pianist, composer, novelist, poet, and educator whose multidimensional artistry defies outdated expectations of what a classical musician should be. With performances at venues including Carnegie Recital Hall, the Liszt Academy, and Alice Tully Hall, Maria has also composed deeply moving solo piano and vocal works—among them Lucid Dreaming (a Fidelio semifinalist) and Willful Ignorance, which confronts social injustice with nuance and grace.

Her creative legacy extends beyond the concert hall:

• 🎼 She is the composer of the upcoming full-length opera The Boy from Troy (libretto by Diana Solomon-Glover), supported by OPERA America and slated for Carnegie Hall in 2026.
• 🎹 Her piano works, including Lucid Dreaming, Willful Ignorance, Calm Strength, and Reflections on a Modulating Pulse, highlight her emotional range and commitment to storytelling through sound.
• 📚 She is also the author of two novels and a published poet, exploring themes of identity, resilience, and transformation.

In this Season 5 finale, Maria speaks with grace and candor about how motherhood, art, and identity have shaped her life’s work. We discuss:

• 🎵 What real inclusion in classical music truly looks like
• 🎵 How caregiving fueled her creative voice
• 🎵 Why joy—not just correction—should drive inclusive programming

✨ Sponsored by Juneteenth LP

🗓️ Premiering Tuesday, June 17 at 8:00 PM ET

• ▶️ Watch the full episode on YouTube:
• 🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts
• 🎹 Discover the Season 5 companion playlist, Sounds of Inspiration

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