What is the role of art in today’s political reality—comfort, challenge, escape… all of the above? In this wide-ranging, candid conversation, conductor Alyssa Wang joins Kate to wrestle with the big questions artists, leaders, and audiences are asking right now:

• Does art really “bring people together”—and what does that actually mean?

• How do we reconcile fundraising language with tangible community impact?

• Can programming be both an invitation to joy and a catalyst for reflection?

• Where does an artist’s responsibility begin and end—in the hall, on the podium, or in civic life?

• How can leaders speak authentically without polarizing their communities?

Alyssa shares openly about purpose, impact, and leadership in an era of stress, censorship, and escalating tension—and why empathy, community building, and honest dialogue may be our most essential artistic tools.

About Today's Guest:
Alyssa Wang is a passionate and versatile conductor, violinist, and composer. She is the Co-founder/Artistic Director/Principal Conductor of the Boston Festival Orchestra, the Music Director of the Cincinnati Ballet, and Music Director of the Cape Symphony (MA). Her honors include the 2024 New Music USA Creator Fund, 2023 Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award, and 2022 St. Botolph Emerging Artist Award. As a performer and composer, Alyssa has soloed with ensembles across the U.S., premiered her own violin concerto Swept Away, and recorded on Grammy-nominated projects (including Carlos Simon’s Requiem for the Enslaved).

In this episode, we discuss:

• The long game of artistic impact: what ripples are real vs. rhetoric

• “Bringing people together”: beyond bodies in seats to shared experience

• Escapism vs. engagement: why Pops can be active community-building

• Programming with integrity: reflecting a community without stopping there

• Leadership under pressure: speaking to humanity, not partisanship

• The artist as citizen: where civic action may satisfy the need for tangible impact

• Stress, doomscrolling, and giving audiences a place to listen and feel

• Balancing institutional voice and personal convictions as the public face of an org

Connect with Alyssa

• Instagram: @AlyssaWang1895

More from Kate

• Book: Beyond Potential — practical frameworks to realign your work and life

• Sign up for Kate's Newsletter: The Weekend List — weekly sparks for high achievers

• Connect on Instagram: @kkayaian

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