Vanessa Finney
News Host / ProducerVanessa Finney is JPR's Arts Reporter, All Things Considered host, and the award-winning host of My Better Half - exploring how people are thriving in the second half of their lives - and The Creative Way, which profiles regional artists. Outside of JPR, Vanessa sings Jazz & Bossa Nova and produces The Work of Art for Southern Oregon PBS. Originally from California, she graduated from UCLA with a BA in Literature then earned an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Antioch University Los Angeles.
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Based in Ashland, Art Authority blends fine art, technology and longstanding museum partnerships to create an immersive, customizable virtual museum experience. -
An interactive exhibition by Crystal Proffitt explores hair as culture, memory and power. -
From student voices to new commissions, Southern Oregon Repertory Singers blend legacy and renewal for a holiday concert at the Holly Theatre. -
The Ashland Sarcasm Festival brings national and local comedians to venues across town, offering stand-up, improv and workshops that showcase Ashland’s creativity. -
Raised in a family deeply rooted in the Rogue Valley’s musical life, Shaw returns with the internationally acclaimed Dover Quartet to open the Chamber Music Concerts season. -
Ashland New Plays Festival offers space for writers to experiment, connect and grow, both on and off the stage. -
JPR’s Vanessa Finney recently spoke with three artists creating a song cycle about survivors of the 2020 Almeda Fire. Composer Jesse Sanchez, director Dalia Ashurina and lyricist Sami Horneff describe their collaboration on “Letters from Almeda." -
TV favorites Jane Lynch and Kate Flannery reunite for a night of classic pop, quick laughs, and vintage cabaret charm in Medford. -
The milestone concert was conceived to be more inclusive of the Spanish-speaking community. JPR’s Vanessa Finney talks with three people at the heart of the process: Rachel Jones, Diana Ramos, and Victoria Bencomo. -
JPR's Vanessa Finney interviews Emily Hartlerode, Director of the Oregon Folklife Network, about the organization's mission to support traditional arts and cultural heritage in Oregon. -
As a young immigrant to the U.S., Karen Zacarías was moved by the classic Western novel "Shane." Now an accomplished playwright, she has adapted the story for the stage, reimagining the coming-of-age tale with more cultural accuracy. Zacarías joins director Blake Robison in a conversation with JPR’s Vanessa Finney to discuss the creative and collaborative process behind the adaptation. -
Martin Majkut has conducted and studied music around the world, but in Oregon, he’s been known since 2010 as the adventurous, growth-oriented music director of the Rogue Valley Symphony. He also has a long-standing collaboration with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Now, he's adding another title -- music director of the Oregon Coast Music Festival. He recently shared his packed performance calendar with JPR’s Vanessa Finney.
