Jason Heilman
Host, Classical TulsaMusicologist and Classical Tulsa host Jason Heilman is no stranger to Tulsa’s concert audiences, having been a frequent speaker at concerts by Tulsa Camerata, Chamber Music Tulsa, and other local groups.
Originally from Wisconsin, Jason grew up in Tulsa, where he began playing trumpet in his middle school band. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance from the University of Tulsa, a master’s degree in music history from Northwestern University, and a Ph.D. in musicology and European Studies from Duke University. Jason’s area of expertise is the music of Vienna circa 1900, and while he was completing his dissertation, he lived in Vienna for a year and a half. Officially, he was there as an invited fellow at the IFK International Research Center for Cultural Studies, but in reality, he spent most of his time attending concerts and sampling the city’s many bratwurst and kebab stands.
Jason has taught music courses at Duke and at the University of Texas at Austin, but his real calling is inspiring people to experience the vast diversity of classical music firsthand. After returning to his hometown of Tulsa, he and three other local musicians co-founded Tulsa Camerata in 2010. In addition to his innovative role as Tulsa Camerata’s concert narrator, he also served for two years as its executive director. When Tulsa Camerata commissioned Michael Daugherty’s This Land Sings: Songs of Wandering, Love, and Protest Inspired by the Life and Times of Woody Guthrie, Jason wrote the narrator’s part and performed it at the world premiere in Tulsa in April 2016.
Jason met his wife, Rosalyn, when they were both sixth graders at Byrd Middle School and they married twenty-five years later. His three passions in life are music, beer, and coffee, and he doesn’t consider a day complete without all three.
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It was his instrumental requiem for his late sister which ultimately became his own: Jason Heilman introduces Felix Mendelssohn's String Quartet in F minor, Op. 80. -
Introducing Beethoven's String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat, Op. 130, in 10 minutes or less.
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Introducing Mozart's Serenade No. 12 in C minor, K. 388 (384a), in 10 minutes or less.
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Classical Tulsa host Jason Heilman introduces Robert Schumann's Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 63, in 10 minutes or less.
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Chamber Music Tulsa and Public Radio Tulsa present Season 5 of Masterworks in 10 Minutes or Less, with six new podcasts from Classical Tulsa host Jason Heilman.
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We think of Maurice Ravel as the quintessential French composer, but many of his works reflected his Spanish Basque heritage – and perhaps none more than his only piece for piano, violin, and cello: Classical Tulsa host Jason Heilman introduces Ravel's Piano Trio in A minor in 10 minutes or less.
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Joseph Haydn may be remembered as the man behind some of our most serious musical genres, but he also had a sense of humor, which often manifested itself in his music. Classical Tulsa host Jason Heilman introduces Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 33, No. 2 in E flat, Hob.III:38, – the "Joke" quartet – in 10 minutes or less.
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It’s Ludwig van Beethoven's final completed work, but with its economical form and an optimistic tone that borders on cheerfulness, it stands apart from his other late quartets: Classical Tulsa host Jason Heilman introduces Beethoven’s surprising String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135, in 10 minutes or less. You can hear the Rolston Quartet perform the piece as part of Chamber Music Tulsa's 2022-23 season on February 19 at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.
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Chamber Music Tulsa and Public Radio Tulsa present Season 4 of Masterworks in 10 Minutes or Less, with six new podcasts from Classical Tulsa host Jason Heilman.
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After coming home from the New World, Antonin Dvořák began to embrace Czech folk music and culture unapologetically in his final works. But in one of his last string quartets, he seems to be saying goodbye to the Viennese classicism he had long sought to emulate: Classical Tulsa host Jason Heilman introduces Dvorak's String Quartet No. 13 in G major, Op. 106, in 10 minutes or less. You can hear the Maxwell Quartet perform this piece as part of Chamber Music Tulsa's 2022-23 season at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center on November 13.
