Erin Wall, who made her San Francisco Symphony debut in 2004, has become something of a Bay Area favorite since then. The Canadian soprano returns for two S.F. Symphony programs in May and June. Here, she talks about working with MTT — the singer's conductor — the freedom of new repertoire, and the challenges ahead.

Kent Nagano, who stepped down as musical director of the Berkeley Symphony, returns, as conductor laureate, to lead the Berkeley Akademie on May 20. Here, he talks about his programming philosophy, working with Messaien and Frank Zappa, and entertaining at home — and home for Nagano always means California.

There's no one quite like Laurie Anderson. Here, the performance artist talks about her upcoming performance of Delusion, the mystery of how our minds work, her love of books and desire to write, and how "talking about music is like dancing about architecture."

New Yorker writer Alex Ross talks about the Golden Age of music and composing to "embrace the millions," whether or not there should be rules surrounding concert hall decorum, writing for music, and his respect for jazz.