Vegan Nation features an interview with vegan activist/speaker, Dr. Joanne Kong. Dr. Kong is the editor of the anthology, Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers. She joins us from Richmond, Virginia. In this interview, we hear about all 52 contributing writers to Vegan Voices! Joanne is also a pianist, and we learn about her recently formed partnership with an amazing German cellist, Christoph Wagner, who is also a vegan advocate! They call themselves “Vegan Virtuosi”. They are going to be featured in a documentary, Taking Note, about vegan musicians.  It will be released next Summer, and the producer is UK filmmaker Chris Hines, who is also in Vegan Voices.  Dr. Kong is going to the UK and Europe this month, to film more interview footage. 

Tune in Tuesday, December 13, 2022! WCUW 91.3 FM over the airwaves in New England; and worldwide online: https://wcuw.org/listen/ 4 PM Eastern Standard Time. Vegan Nation is a 1/2 hour radio show, on-air since 2015. Hosted by Marlene Narrow, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. Archived shows can be heard anytime at: https://vegansradio.com/ This episode also includes a recording of the Vegan Nation interview (2017) with vegan activist, Katina Czyczelis, in Adelaide, Australia. Katina is one of the essayists in Vegan Voices. Thank you for caring enough to hear and be heard.

Vegans Make a Difference (Dr. Joanne Kong’s websites) Joanne Kong Music Music in this 12/13/22 Vegan Nation show includes: Harpsichordist Joanne Kong, and Vegan Virtuosi (the partnership of pianist Joanne Kong & German cellist Christoph Wagner). Also, a snippet of “A Little Bit of Something” by flutist Katina Czyczelis is included.

Strands of Compassion – Vegan Virtuosi

Christoph Wagner, a native of Germany, is a sought-after cellist who has concertized on four continents. In 2018, he received the Sviatoslav Richter Grant from Rice University, followed by the Amici di Via Gabina Fellowship in 2019. His many concerts include a 2019 tour of Italy, appearances at Wiesbaden Winter Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, the Holocaust Museum in Houston, Texas, and performances as orchestral cellist throughout the US and Germany. Mr. Wagner is currently completing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Rice University, and his current research focuses on the role of
nutrition in musical peak performance. A passionate advocate for Sustainability and Plant-Based nutrition, Wagner created Rice Vegan Society in 2017, advocating for a more veg-friendly and zerowaste environment at Rice University, as well as sharing information about the manifold benefits of a vegan diet and lifestyle: environmental sustainability, animal rights, health, social justice and world peace. He holds a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University.

Dr. Joanne Kong
Pianist Joanne Kong’s performances have been praised for “great finesse and flexibility” (The Washington Post), and “superb artistry” (San Antonio Express-News) in works “sensitively played” (New York Times). She premiered Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Colgrass’s concerto Side by Side, and has received numerous national and international honors including a fellowship from the American Academy of the Arts in Europe and the Grand Prize in the 1985 International Piano Recording Competition. She is currently director of chamber music ensembles at the University of Richmond. Dr. Kong speaks around the world as an animal, environmental and vegan advocate.
Her TEDx talk, The Power of Plant-Based Eating, has over 1 million views, she is editor of Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers, and appears in the major documentary, Eating Our Way to Extinction. An award-winning performer across the US, Asia, Europe and South America, she draws upon a diversity of skills as a writer, speaker and creative artist in her advocacy activities.