Mona Seghatoleslami
Music Director and Afternoon hostMona Seghatoleslami is the Music Director, host and producer on WXXI Classical 91.5 FM weekdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. She also hosts the lunchtime concert series Live From Hochstein Wednesdays at 12:10 p.m., interviews musicians, produces special programs, and works on any project she can find that helps connect people and music in our community through WXXI.
Mona is originally from New Jersey; she ventured out to the Midwest for college, where she studied viola at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. She got her start in radio at WFIU in Bloomington, Indiana while in grad school studying musicology and library science at Indiana University. She also spent a few years as a radio announcer and producer in West (by God) Virginia, where she also wrote for the Charleston Gazette and taught American music at West Virginia State University.
When she’s not on the radio, you can find Mona attending concerts and movies, playing viola in community orchestras, occasionally strumming the ukulele, riding her bike everywhere, and reading as much as she can – especially The New Yorker and sci-fi novels. She also books the bands for one of the coolest live music venues in Rochester – The Little Theatre Café.
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Explore flute music of the Philippines with Eastman alum Norman Menzales and friends. -
Pianist Luke Welch plays music by the ever-fascinating R. Nathaniel Dett, in his new recording "Northern Magnolias." Read more about this album and Dett as part of WXXI Classical's CD Spotlight. -
Three generations of Black opera singers reflect on William Warfield's legacy: Leona Mitchell, Kearstin Piper Brown, and Holden Turner, leading up to the 48th annual William Warfield Scholarship Fund Concert at Eastman on January 19, 2025, 4pm, Kilbourn Hall. -
WXXI's CD spotlight highlights the beauty of music for animation, video games, tv shows, and movies - with Ray Chen's "Player 1" -
This month, favorite holiday albums old and new are in the CD spotlight at WXXI Classical. -
It’s been a wild and creative season in Rochester and the Finger Lakes region. Here are four new albums that have come out of our community that are making waves locally and nationally. -
Scotland past and present meet in a pair of excellent recordings of baroque music by the Ensemble Marsyas, featured as WXXI Classical's CD Spotlight. -
A new recording of Heinrich Biber's strange and beautiful "Mystery Sonatas" with violinist Alan Choo and Apollo's Fire. Read more and tune in to WXXI Classical to hear this music on our CD Spotlight. -
A new recording from fabulous tuba player and educator Velvet Brown is in WXXI Classical's CD Spotlight, 2/27-3/11. -
Hear a world-exploring answer to the question "Where is Home" in the debut album from cellist Abel Selaocoe, who travels through 18th century Europe, African traditions, and new musical improvisations to create something truly special.
