Susan Lewis
Arts & Culture Senior ProducerAs senior producer of arts and culture, Susan writes and produces stories about music and the arts. She’s host and producer of WRTI’s TIME IN online interview series, and producer of The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert series, to which she also contributes weekly intermission interviews. She’s also been a regular host of WRTI’s Live from the Performance Studio sessions.
In her more than 15 years at WRTI, Susan has interviewed a wide range of leading artists including conductors and composers: Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Simon Rattle, Wynton Marsalis, Marin Alsop, and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Christoph Eshenbach, Hannibal Locumbe, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jennifer Higdon, Donald Nally, John Adams, Valerie Coleman, Mason Bates; instrumentalists and vocalists: Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang, Itzak Perlman, Helene Grimaud, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Sharon Isbin, Andre Watts, Mark O’Connor, Angel Blue, Lawrence Brownlee, Jason Vieaux, Sarah Chang, and groundbreaking ensembles, including Imani Winds, PRISM Quartet, LA Guitar Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, and The Crossing, as well as people from the world of literature, theater and fine arts, including architect Frank Gehry, actors Dule Hill, Anna Deveare Smith, and playwrights Terry Teachout and the late Terrence McNally.
Susan came to radio with a background in journalism, speechwriting, and law, which she practiced in New York City; she also taught entertainment law at Rutgers Law School in Camden. A former freelance writer and columnist for Philadelphia Magazine, she’s also the author of Reinventing Ourselves after Motherhood and a book of essays titled, What is a Kiss, Anyway?
She lives in suburban Philadelphia with her husband, goldendoodle, and whichever of her four grown kids pop in to visit.
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Jason Peifer visits 'Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya' at the Penn Museum. The exhibition features 1,300-year-old pottery from…
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Jim Cotter speaks with legendary playwright Edward Albee. The Philadelphia Theater Company is presenting his At Home at The Zoo.Jason Peifer visits the…
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We listen again to Jim Cotter's recent conversation with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas.Susan Lewis looks at AMERICA I AM: The African American Imprint,…
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Jim Cotter speaks with harpsichordist and Temple University music professor Joyce Lindorff. A celebration of early keyboard music she's helped organize…
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George Walker--Village of Arts & Humanities--Lost Manuscript - The Good Earth at Pearl S. Buck HouseJim Cotter speaks with composer George Walker. The Philadelphia Orchestra will include his rarely performed Lilacs in upcoming concerts at the Kimmel…
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Composer Andrea Clearfield--Chronicles of Narnia at the Franklin Institute--Wilma Theater's ScorchedA conversation with composer Andrea Clearfield about music she's created, inspired by the indigenous art and music of Nepal. Clearfield traveled to a…
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We speak with the promising young violinist Benjamin Beilman. A Curtis student, he is one of eight winners of Astral Artistic Service's National…
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As the economic downturn continues to bite, we speak with the City of Philadelphia's Chief Cultural Officer, Gary Steuer. Public forums are being held to…
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Composer/Performer Simon Shaheen--Phila Dance Projects--Charles Darwin Legacy--Tenor Placido DomingoJim Cotter speaks with Simon Shaheen. The Palestinian composer, and oud and violin virtuoso, performs at the Kimmel Center this weekend.Susan Lewis looks…
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Jim Cotter speaks with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. She performs Bruch's first violin concerto in performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra this…