The Sum of All Wisdom is built on a simple idea: music IS the sum of all wisdom.
More than a podcast, The Sum of All Wisdom is a community and resource platform dedicated to exploring music as a way of knowing. Music is humanity's oldest way of knowing and one of our best technologies for making meaning, and through long-form conversations with musicians, producers, writers, and cultural thinkers—along with performances, essays, and educational resources—we investigate the creative life and what it teaches us about memory, identity, creativity, community, and the human condition.
Whether you're a musician, artist, scholar, or simply someone who loves music and believes it matters, The Sum of All Wisdom is an invitation to listen more deeply: to great music, to the people who make it, and to the wisdom gained through a life devoted to music and musical worlds.
Because music is more than entertainment. It is one of humanity's most ancient ways of understanding the universe and our place in it.
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Earl Slick on David Bowie, John Lennon & the most memorable moment of his incredible career
Episode 17
Wednesday, August 19, 2026 • Duration 01:04:06
Earl Slick has spent more than five decades alongside some of the most consequential artists in rock and roll—David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Buddy Guy and many more. And he's not done yet.
BOWIE: LIVE ON THE LOCH — NOVEMBER 7–8, 2026 Earl is helping lead Bowie: Live on the Loch, an extraordinary two-day celebration of David Bowie at Cameron House on Loch Lomond, Scotland, in aid of Save the Children. The weekend reunites members of Bowie’s legendary Glastonbury 2000 band—including Earl Slick, Mike Garson, Gail Ann Dorsey, Mark Plati, Sterling Campbell—for a live performance on November 8.
The weekend also features rare Bowie footage, the Duffy Archive exhibition, conversations about Bowie’s legacy, and Earl Slick’s Rock ’n’ Roll Guitar Auction, with proceeds supporting Save the Children.
For the podcast conversation, though, Slick doesn’t particularly want to talk about being a guitar hero.
“I love being a sideman,” he says. “I like to be the guy that supports the guy.”
In this episode of The Sum of All Wisdom, Earl joins Dr. Scott Catey—with guitar close at hand—to talk about rhythm, instinct, collaboration, creativity, and what it means to discover what only you can bring to the music. In our conversation, Earl takes us inside his remarkable musical life—from seeing the Beatles and discovering Keith Richards to joining David Bowie for the Diamond Dogs Tour and confronting an intimidating question: Was he supposed to replace Mick Ronson by sounding like Mick Ronson?
Bowie’s answer changed everything: “I love what you do. Do what you do.”
Earl tells the stories behind his work on Station to Station, including “Stay” and “Golden Years,” and explains why rhythm—not guitar heroics—lies at the center of his playing:
“The rhythm to me…it’s the heartbeat.”
He also remembers working with John Lennon and Yoko Ono during the Double Fantasy era, and shares the deeply emotional story of performing “Imagine” with Bowie in Hong Kong on the third anniversary of Lennon’s death. Earl remembers fighting back tears—and knowing that if he looked at Bowie, he might not make it through the song.
And then there’s Buddy Guy. After playing with Bowie and Lennon and spending decades on some of the world’s biggest stages, Earl says one of the great validations of his musical life came when Buddy Guy invited him to play. The experience left him so exhilarated that he walked around Chicago for two hours the next morning trying to come down from it.
Near the end of our conversation, Earl describes that disappearance beautifully. When he’s making art or playing onstage, the noise of everyday life falls away. Thinking stops. “I just become me. Whatever the essence of me is.” And perhaps that’s the larger lesson here: greatness isn’t always about standing at the center. Sometimes it’s about listening closely enough to discover what only you can bring—and putting it in service of something larger.
Highlights
David Bowie and the creative freedom to “do what you do”
John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Double Fantasy
Keith Richards and the power of rhythm guitar
The making of “Stay” and “Golden Years”
Why Earl Slick loves being a sideman
Mick Ronson and finding your own musical identity
Steve Cropper and the lineage of the great sideman
Playing with Buddy Guy
Guitars, amps, pickups and playing with your fingers
Visual art and losing yourself in the creative process
Why the ordinary world disappears when Earl steps onto a stage
Music Featured in this Episode:
Slick’s in the moment riffing
All music used with permission
About the Artist
Earl Slick is one of rock and roll’s most distinctive and enduring guitarists. Best known for his decades-long collaboration with David Bowie, Slick helped shape landmark recordings including Young Americans and Station to Station and returned to Bowie’s band across multiple eras. He also played with John Lennon and Yoko Ono on Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey, and has worked with artists including Ian Hunter, John Waite, The Cure, and Buddy Guy. Renowned for his muscular, instinctive playing and deep sense of rhythm, Slick proudly embraces the role of sideman: serving the song, supporting the artist, and always bringing something unmistakably his own.
The Sum of All Wisdom: Conversations on Music, Makers, and Meaning is inspired by two ideas:
· Music IS the sum of all wisdom, and
· Music is humanity’s oldest way of knowing ourselves, each other, and the world.
The show offers long-form, reflective conversations with musicians and related professionals who have spent a lifetime honing their craft, and whose work creates meaning, community, and cultural impact. The show prioritizes listening, craft, and the lived experience of making music as a way of making a living.
The Sum of All Wisdom is written, produced, and hosted by Dr. Scott Catey. If this conversation resonated, consider sharing it—or carrying something from it into your own listening and creative life.
How Creative Excellence Actually Works: Learning from Rich Mangicaro
Episode 16
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 • Duration 01:11:24
Episode Summary
For more than four decades, percussionist, composer, producer, and artist-relations executive Rich Mangicaro has stood alongside some of music's most celebrated performers—including Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, David Crosby, Venice, and many others. But as Rich explains, lasting musical careers aren't built on virtuosity alone. They're built on listening.
In this conversation, Rich reflects on learning groove with The Drifters, finding his place in Glenn Frey's band, building instruments with Gon Bops, composing music for film and television, and eventually discovering his own artistic voice after decades as one of Los Angeles' most respected sidemen.
Together we explore why percussion is about storytelling rather than timekeeping, what separates great musicians from merely talented ones, how the streaming era has transformed music, and why serving the song often matters more than standing in the spotlight.
This is a conversation about rhythm, humility, collaboration, and the quiet discipline of paying attention.
Episode Highlights
· Growing up with Ringo, jazz, and Afro-Cuban rhythms
· Learning groove from The Drifters
· Touring with Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh
· Why the best percussionists don't play the most notes
· Artist relations and designing instruments at Gon Bops
· COVID, creativity, and finding a personal compositional voice
· Streaming, physical media, and the economics of independent music
· Film music, Hans Zimmer, and why movie scores deserve respect
· Rick Rubin and listening as creative practice
· Why "you can't converse unless you listen"
Architecting Atmosphere & the Luminous Darkness of Sound: A Conversation with Matthijs Kouw
Episode 7
Wednesday, May 27, 2026 • Duration 01:32:19
“How would you like to spend some time with music that can reconfigure what you think about yourself, about music, and about space and time?”
In this episode of The Sum of All Wisdom, Scott reconnects with Dutch experimental composer and sound artist Matthijs Kouw for a deep conversation about sound, space, philosophy, and the spiritual possibilities of composing, experiencing, and listening to music.
Together, they explore what “experimental music” really means—not as a genre, but as a position: an openness to uncertainty, emergence, and the unknown. Matthijs reflects on the role of indeterminacy in composition, the architecture of sound, and the idea that music can create spaces for listeners to inhabit rather than narratives to consume.
The conversation ranges widely across:
Experimental music as process and experiment
Drone music, atmosphere, and “dwelling” in sound
The influence of thinkers like Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, and Gilbert Simondon
Time, emergence, and metastability in musical composition
Negative theology and the limits of language
Field recordings, contact microphones, and environmental sound
Why cassettes still matter
The politics of music distribution and alternatives to Spotify
Music as communion, meditation, and philosophical inquiry
A central thread throughout the discussion is the idea that music can carry us beyond language—toward experiences that resist direct explanation yet remain deeply human and emotionally real.
Matthijs also discusses several of his recent works, including:
Transversal
Meta-Stabilities
Obscurum per Obscurius
The collaborative project Irradiance with Gagi Petrovic
Memorable Moments
“Maybe the orchestra is not a set of instruments, but the entire world.”
Bigfoot and Terraformers and Stage Fright... Oh My! Part 2 of a Conversation with Andrew Hunt
Episode 6
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 • Duration 01:17:06
Episode Summary
What does it mean to make music—and to keep making it—over a lifetime?
In this episode, part 2 of Scott’s conversation with musician Andrew Hunt on songwriting, performance, and the lived realities of creative life. From the discipline of editing to the risks of artistic honesty, they explore how musicians navigate the tension between expression and expectation.
Along the way, they dive into:
The difference between commercial success and artistic integrity
Why some songs last—and others disappear within days
The hidden labor behind “simple” music
The emotional realities behind story songs, including violence, jealousy, and longing
The role of live performance in creating connection and meaning
At its core, this is a conversation about music as a form of knowledge—and about what artists learn, feel, and risk in the act of creating.
In This Conversation
Topics explored include:
· Music as Knowledge Creative practice as a way of understanding emotion, identity, and the world.
· Art vs. Commerce Navigating authenticity in a system driven by audience and algorithm.
· Editing as Craft (and Survival) Knowing what to keep, what to discard, and when to stop.
· The Emotional Core of Songwriting Exploring difficult themes—jealousy, violence, longing—through narrative.
· Time, Aging, and Creative Drive The evolving risks and rewards of making art over a lifetime.
The Three-Day Rule: Songs We Keep (and Why We Kill the Rest): A Conversation with Andrew Hunt
Episode 5
Wednesday, May 6, 2026 • Duration 01:16:48
Episode Summary
What does it mean to make music—and to keep making it—over a lifetime?
In this episode, Scott sits down with musician Andrew Hunt for a wide-ranging conversation on songwriting, performance, and the lived realities of creative life. From the discipline of editing to the risks of artistic honesty, they explore how musicians navigate the tension between expression and expectation.
Along the way, they dive into:
The difference between commercial success and artistic integrity
Why some songs last—and others disappear within days
The hidden labor behind “simple” music
The emotional realities behind story songs, including violence, jealousy, and longing
The role of live performance in creating connection and meaning
At its core, this is a conversation about music as a form of knowledge—and about what artists learn, feel, and risk in the act of creating.
In This Conversation
Topics explored include:
· Music as Knowledge Creative practice as a way of understanding emotion, identity, and the world.
· Art vs. Commerce Navigating authenticity in a system driven by audience and algorithm.
· Editing as Craft (and Survival) Knowing what to keep, what to discard, and when to stop.
· The Emotional Core of Songwriting Exploring difficult themes—jealousy, violence, longing—through narrative.
· Time, Aging, and Creative Drive The evolving risks and rewards of making art over a lifetime.Keep bullets short and conceptual.
Music: Community, Rhythm & the Wisdom of Tradition: A Conversation with Eric Wolferman of the Celtic Dragon Pipe Band
Episode 4
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 • Duration 01:04:14
Title:Music: Community, Rhythm & the Wisdom of Tradition: A Conversation with Eric Wolferman of the Celtic Dragon Pipe Band
Episode Summary What does it mean to devote your life to music as a passionate avocation?
In this episode, Scott sits down with drummer and instructor Eric Wolferman of the Celtic Dragon Pipe Band to explore the rich, communal, and deeply human world of pipe bands. From the thunder of snare drums to the visual poetry of tenor flourishes, Eric opens a window into a musical tradition that is at once ancient, evolving, and profoundly alive.
What emerges is not just a conversation about music—but about community, discipline, teaching, and the quiet power of tradition and shared cultural practice.
What You’ll Hear
What a pipe band really is Beyond the stereotype: four musical “voices” working as one ensemble—pipes, snare, tenor, and bass
The role of the drummer How rhythm becomes both sound and spectacle, especially through tenor drumming and choreographed flourishes
A musician’s unlikely path From radio broadcaster → roadie → tenor drummer, and finding the right instrument by accident, and with a little nudge from a friend
Music as marriage & partnership Playing in a band alongside his wife—who also leads the drum corps
Competition at the highest level The long road to the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow—years of travel, practice, and commitment
What judges actually listen for Precision, unity, ensemble cohesion—and why mistakes in rhythm matter more than visual flair
Teaching the next generation How Eric trains young drummers—from first stick control to creative expression
The philosophy of mastery Why everything begins with simple fundamentals—and how creativity grows from control
Risk, Transformation & Ecstatic Freedom: A Conversation with Daria Vasileva
Episode 3
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 • Duration 57:54
In this episode of The Sum of All Wisdom, Scott Catey speaks with internationally performing concert pianist Daria Vasileva for a wide-ranging conversation on musical transformation, artistic freedom, and the power of storytelling in performance.
From her early training in Russia’s rigorous conservatory system to her artistic awakening in Switzerland, Daria reflects on how different cultural approaches to music shaped her voice as an artist. At the center of the discussion is the music of Alexander Scriabin—its mysticism, emotional intensity, and transformative potential for both performer and audience.
They explore what it means to play from memory, why risk is essential to live performance, how to build a concert program as a narrative journey, and how classical musicians can reach new audiences in a digital age.
Daria also shares insights from her Feminine Power Project, her work championing overlooked composers, and her upcoming debut album Elements.
Some highlights from the conversation:
Music as Transformation A formative moment hearing Tchaikovsky shifted Daria from passive talent to intentional artistry
Freedom vs. Discipline How do technical precision, individuality, expression, and exploration meet in classical training and performance?
Scriabin’s Philosophy of Sound Music as “ecstatic freedom,” the will of power, and spiritual blossoming
Memory vs. Safety in Performance Playing from memory creates risk and deepens immersion and intensity
Concert Programming as Storytelling Programs should follow emotional logic, not chronology or genre sequence; how can the program help to guide an audience through the performer’s vision?
Reaching New Audiences Social media as a powerful tool to bring younger listeners into classical music
Expanding the Canon The Feminine Power Project highlights overlooked women composers and forgotten voices
Union Square Soiree: Catharsis & the Human Experience of Listening
Episode 2
Wednesday, March 25, 2026 • Duration 01:06:11
Episode 2
Union Square Soirée: Catharsis and the Human Experience of Listening
with Dr. Ramilya Saubanova and Juan Gonzalez, founders
Episode Description
When world-class musicians meet audience and community in the intimate setting of an historic Baltimore townhome, exceptional things happen.
In this episode of The Sum of All Wisdom, host Scott Catey speaks with Ramilya Saubanova and Juan Gonzalez, founders of Union Square Soirée, a Baltimore-based salon concert series reviving the historic tradition of intimate house concerts.
Hosted in a beautifully restored 1872 Baltimore rowhouse, Union Square Soirée brings together classical musicians, jazz artists, and emerging performers for concerts where audiences sit just feet from the performers—close enough to see the physical artistry behind the music.
Scott and his guests explore:
· the revival of the salon concert tradition
· how intimacy changes the experience of live music
· the importance of supporting young musicians
· how salon concerts create community and cultural conversation
· why audiences are rediscovering small-scale live music in a digital age
The conversation also touches on Baltimore’s musical culture, the role of conservatories like Peabody Institute, and the power of music performed in human spaces rather than on distant stages.
Twelve Tones & Six Billion Songs... A Conversation with Andre Floyd
Episode 1
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 • Duration 01:15:43
Episode 1: Twelve Tones & Six Billion Songs... A Conversation with Andre Floyd
Episode Summary
In this inaugural episode of The Sum of All Wisdom, Dr. Scott Catey sits down with longtime friend and musician Andre Floyd, to discuss his life, career, and philosophy.
We talk about the stories we carry, how meaning evolves, and how lives are sometimes unexpectedly intertwined. Andre looks back over a life and career lived as a musical “cobbler,” and he talks about resilience, amplifying marginalized voices, uplifting community, and creating opportunities for self-determination and self-respect among young people from cultures that often get erased or misrepresented. He also remembers the ways he has used music for good throughout his life, teaching Montessori, providing music therapy, and the importance of sharing music, especially in difficult times.
What unfolds is not just a conversation about gigs and bands, but about pivot points—those moments when life gets turned over, takes a new direction, or transforms. From singing the National Anthem at Wrigley Field in 1982, to playing pool with Seamus Heaney, to performing at Luke’s alongside Montana icon Jay Rummel and others, Andre reflects on what it means to build a life by “cobbling together” community, opportunity, talent, and instinct.
Music as life is full of both possibility and responsibility, and Andre shares his wisdom on both, and more.
In This Conversation
Growing up in an Air Force family and finding the guitar at age 11
Cubs vs. Expos: Singing the American and Canadian national anthems at Wrigley Field—and in the wrong key
The Chicago years: mentorship, management, and cultural education
The Missoula barstool literary scene
Jay Rummel: brilliance, anger, and artistic obsession
Mood Iguana, Tapas Records, and the sociology of collaborative music-making
The Sum of All Wisdom Trailer
Thursday, January 29, 2026 • Duration 01:23
The Sum of All Wisdom is a podcast about how music is made—and what it makes possible. Host Scott Catey speaks with musicians, producers, engineers, and other creative makers about craft, process, and meaning. This short trailer introduces the spirit of the series and the conversations to come.
· "My job wasn't to show everybody how good I was."
· "You can't converse unless you listen."
· "Music is conversation."
· "Play what the music calls for."
· "Our job is to make people dance."
About the Artist
Rich Mangicaro is a percussionist, composer, producer, music journalist, and artist-relations specialist whose career spans more than four decades at the highest levels of the music industry. Best known for his fifteen years performing with Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey, Rich has also toured or recorded with artists including Joe Walsh, David Crosby, Michael McDonald, Aaron Neville, Jeff Bridges, The Tubes, James Morrison, Jackson Browne, and the acclaimed vocal group Venice.
Away from the stage, Rich has become one of the percussion world's leading voices in artist relations, helping shape instrument design while working closely with generations of influential drummers and percussionists. He currently serves as Artist Relations Manager and Product Specialist for Gon Bops, where he also produces and hosts The Percussion Loft podcast.
As a composer, Rich creates immersive instrumental music that blends acoustic percussion, cinematic textures, and melodic storytelling. His three solo albums—Travels (2018), Dialogues (2022), and A Dream I Had (2024)—reflect a lifetime of listening, travel, collaboration, and creative curiosity. In recent years, he has also composed music for television, film, and commercial productions with longtime collaborator Jonathan Clark.
Whether performing, composing, producing, designing instruments, or mentoring fellow musicians, Rich approaches every role with the same philosophy expressed in this conversation: the greatest musicians are not those who play the most notes—they are the ones who listen the best.
The Sum of All Wisdom: Conversations on Music, Makers, and Meaning is inspired by two ideas:
· Music IS the sum of all wisdom, and
· Music is humanity’s oldest way of knowing ourselves, each other, and the world.
The show offers long-form, reflective conversations with musicians and related professionals who have spent a lifetime honing their craft, and whose work creates meaning, community, and cultural impact. The show prioritizes listening, craft, and the lived experience of making music as a way of making a living.
The Sum of All Wisdom is written, produced, and hosted by Dr. Scott Catey. If this conversation resonated, consider sharing it—or carrying something from it into your own listening and creative life. Until next time: stay curious, keep listening!
“It’s more like creating spaces for people to dwell in.”
“Maybe the soundscape is populated by beautiful birdsong and leaf blowers simultaneously.”
About Matthijs Kouw
Matthijs Kouw is an experimental musician based in The Netherlands exploring the relationship between movement and stasis. Using analog synthesis, software, field recordings, and recordings of various objects, Matthijs combines long-form drone with elements from acousmatic music, noise, and microsound.
All music by Matthijs Kouw and used with permission.
About the Show
The Sum of All Wisdom: Conversations on Musicians, Makers, and Meaning is a long-form, reflective podcast centered on working musicians and music-adjacent professionals whose work creates meaning, community, and cultural impact. The show prioritizes listening, craft, and lived experience over promotion.
Written, produced, and hosted by Scott Catey.
If this conversation resonated, consider sharing it—or carrying something from it into your own listening and creative life.
The Bob Qualters analogy: iteration, obsession, and knowing when to stop
The concept of “stewing” as the emotional center of certain songs
The paradox of simplicity in recording: minimal sound, maximal infrastructure
“I still want to be Johnny Cash” — creative ambition beyond age
About the Guest
Andrew Hunt is an accomplished musician, voice actor, and member of the Recording Academy. His life is an altered country western song... Looking for Peace in all the right places.
The Sum of All Wisdom: Conversations on Music, Makers, and Meaning is a long-form, reflective podcast centered on working musicians and music-adjacent professionals whose work creates meaning, community, and cultural impact. The show prioritizes listening, craft, and lived experience over promotion.
If this conversation resonated, consider sharing it—or carrying something from it into your own listening and creative life. If the conversation provoked you, please let us know that, too. Don’t forget to like, comment, subscribe.
The Bob Qualters analogy: iteration, obsession, and knowing when to stop
The concept of “stewing” as the emotional center of certain songs
The paradox of simplicity in recording: minimal sound, maximal infrastructure
“I still want to be Johnny Cash” — creative ambition beyond age
About the Guest
Andrew Hunt is an accomplished musician, voice actor, and member of the Recording Academy. His life is an altered country western song... Looking for Peace in all the right places.
The Sum of All Wisdom: Conversations on Music, Makers, and Meaning is a long-form, reflective podcast centered on working musicians and music-adjacent professionals whose work creates meaning, community, and cultural impact. The show prioritizes listening, craft, and lived experience over promotion.
If this conversation resonated, consider sharing it—or carrying something from it into your own listening and creative life. If the conversation provoked you, please let us know that, too.
A global musical community Pipe bands as a tight-knit, international network of shared tradition
The future of tradition Why pipe band music persists—and what it takes to bring new generations into it
Key Themes
1. Music as Community Pipe bands aren’t just ensembles—they’re families. Built over decades, sustained by volunteerism, and rooted in shared identity.
2. Discipline → Freedom Mastery of basics (timing, grip, control) unlocks creativity—especially in expressive forms like tenor drumming.
3. Tradition as Living Practice These are centuries-old forms—but they evolve through teaching, performance, and community participation.
4. Access to Excellence At the highest levels, music becomes radically human—where even the “best in the world” are approachable, collaborative, and generous.
Memorable Moments
Eric describing pipe bands as “a community of people who love the music and culture”
The reality of competing: 9-hour drives to play 5 minutes of music
Practicing for years to earn a place at the Worlds
The image of drummers waiting patiently while pipers spend long stretches tuning
A kid from Montana standing feet away from the world’s best musicians—and realizing access is possible
Why This Episode Matters
This conversation embodies a core idea here at The Sum of All Wisdom: Music is not just expression—it is a system of knowledge and a means of transmitting that knowledge.
Pipe band culture shows how:
Knowledge is transmitted across generations
Discipline shapes identity
Community sustains art
And tradition becomes a living archive of human meaning
About the Guest Eric Wolferman is tenor drummer and drum instructor with the Celtic Dragon Pipe Band, based in Missoula, Montana.
Performed by Gaelic Storm with Celtic Dragon Pipe Band
Used with permission.
About the Show & Production Notes
Written, produced, and hosted by Dr. Scott Catey, The Sum of All Wisdom: Conversations on Music, Makers, and Meaning is a long-form, reflective podcast centered on working musicians and adjacent professionals whose craft creates meaning, community, and cultural impact. The show prioritizes listening, craft, and the lived experience of making, sharing, and loving all things music.
If this conversation resonated, consider sharing it—or carrying something from it into your own listening and creative life. And most of all, thank you for listening!
Art in Uncertain Times The role of the artist as a source of light, hope, joy
Throughout the conversation, Daria situates her artistry within a lineage of composers and performers who push the boundaries of musical language and expression. Central, of course, is Alexander Scriabin, whose evolution from late-Romantic lyricism into mysticism and near-atonality becomes a kind of philosophical anchor for her work. We also hear echoes of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, whose symphonic power first awakened her artistic seriousness as a teenager, and Robert Schumann, whose deeply subjective musical voice raises questions about individuality and interpretation. Daria also references lesser-known but compelling figures like Varvara Gaigerova, whose rediscovery reflects her commitment to expanding the canon, as well as pianistic traditions shaped by figures like Anton Rubinstein. Even iconic interpreters such as Vladimir Ashkenazy appear in the background, reminding us that performance itself is a living, evolving conversation across generations, and how new interpretations of familiar music can reawaken a fire within us.
Several unexpected moments stand out in the conversation, from Daria’s candid relationship with inspiration to finding transformation in performance. Equally striking is her view that technical imperfection may sometimes be worth the trade if it allows for deeper expressive truth. Perhaps most surprising of all is her framing of classical performance as an act of risk: by choosing to play from memory, she deliberately removes safety nets in order to heighten presence, vulnerability, and connection with the audience.
Names, Locations, and Organizations, Mentioned in this Episode
About the Guest Daria Vasileva is an internationally performing concert pianist known for her expressive depth, intellectual rigor, and commitment to musical storytelling. Originally from Kazan, Russia, she trained in the Russian conservatory tradition before continuing her studies in Switzerland. Her work centers on the music of Alexander Scriabin and includes the Feminine Power Project, an initiative dedicated to amplifying women composers.
Sonata Op. 30 No. 4 by Alexander Scriabin Performed by Daria Vasileva Used with permission.
Skizzen by Varvara Gaigerova
Performed by Daria Vasileva Used with permission.
About the Show & Production Notes
Written, produced, and hosted by Dr. Scott Catey, The Sum of All Wisdom: Conversations on Music, Makers, and Meaning is a long-form, reflective podcast centered on working musicians and adjacent professionals whose craft creates meaning, community, and cultural impact. The show prioritizes listening, craft, and the lived experience of making, sharing, and loving all things music.
If this conversation resonated, consider sharing it—or carrying something from it into your own listening and creative life. And most of all, thank you for listening!
Juan also reveals a little known secret about Vivaldi’s compositional technique and his musical innovations.
If you love classical music, live performance, music history, intimate concert experiences, and how each of these can help contribute to the revitalization of a great American city, this episode offers a fascinating look at how a centuries-old tradition is finding new life today.
Names, Locations, and Organizations, Mentioned in this Episode
This episode features Ramilya Saubanova and Juan Gonzalez, the founders of the Union Square Soirée salon concert series in Baltimore, Maryland. Union Square Soirée is a unique initiative that brings together emerging and established artists to create intimate, memorable musical experiences that connect talent with the community.
Guest Information
Dr. Ramilya Saubanova is the founder and president of the Union Square Soirée, as well as a concert pianist with over 23 years of experience performing in prestigious venues across Russia, Europe, and the U.S. She holds Specialist, Master’s and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Kazan State Conservatory and the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University. In addition to her work with the Soirée, she founded the Tatar Music Concert Series in the U.S., blending music, history, and art to offer one-of-a-kind cultural experiences. Ramilya is also a passionate educator and mentor to young musicians. Her debut solo CD will be released in 2026, featuring works by Brahms, Medtner, Latchford, and Crozier.
Juan Gonzalez is founder and vice-president of the Union Square Soirée, where he combines his love for classical music and history with his passion for community engagement. His goal is to foster an appreciation of classical music while connecting local musicians with a wider audience, creating a platform where both emerging and established artists can shine. Juan brings a rich background to the initiative, with over 20 years of experience as educator, advocate, and patron of the arts.
Ballade No. 4 by Frédéric Chopin Used with permission. Artist-preferred link
Étude Tableaux in E flat minor, Op.39, No.5: Appassionato by Sergei Rachmaninoff Used with permission.
About the Show & Production Notes
Written, produced, and hosted by Dr. Scott Catey, The Sum of All Wisdom: Conversations on Music, Makers, and Meaning is a long-form, reflect...
Religion, separation, and community fracture
America’s unresolved racial history and its cultural consequences
Teaching and mentoring Native youth in Arlee, Montana
About Andre Floyd
Andre Floyd is a Montana-based musician whose career spans decades of performance, recording, collaboration, and community-building. The son of an Air Force Tech Sergeant, Andre’s early life moved from Alabama to Kansas, Maine, Panama (where he kept an ocelot as a pet and dated Tata Vega), and eventually Montana.
He has performed across the country and around the globe, with some of world’s most storied artists. His band Mood Iguana was a staple of the regional scene before he dissolved it rather than allow it to become less than his original vision.
Today, his work increasingly centers on mentoring Native youth in Arlee, Montana—offering tools for self-definition and nontraditional success.
The Sum of All Wisdom: Conversations on Music, Makers, and Meaning is a long-form podcast exploring the lived experience of working musicians and music-adjacent creatives whose work shapes communities in visible and invisible ways.
Written and hosted by Dr. Scott Catey, produced by Ravenna Studios.
