Around the Lakes

The Podcast

Music, faith, and friendship in deep-listening conversations born around Notre Dame’s lakes.

A dignified, photographic scene of a grand piano in a quiet, wood-paneled room, its polished ebony lid half-open to reveal gleaming strings and hammers. On the music stand rests a well-worn orchestral score, flanked by a slim, leather-bound devotional book. Behind the piano, out of focus, a large leaded-glass window suggests collegiate Gothic architecture reminiscent of an academic chapel, with soft, overcast daylight diffusing through. The camera is positioned at a low three-quarter angle along the keyboard, emphasizing depth and the graceful curve of the instrument. The atmosphere is reverent and scholarly, capturing the intersection of performance, musicology, and faith that defines the podcast’s personality.
A polished wooden studio desk arranged for a music podcast, featuring two elegant vintage-style condenser microphones on black shock mounts facing each other across a dark walnut surface. Between them sits a pair of over-ear studio headphones with soft leather ear cups resting on a worn leather-bound hymnal and an open orchestral score. In the background, softly blurred shelves hold classical vinyl records and a small model of a gothic-inspired university chapel. Warm, directional lamp light pools across the desk, creating gentle highlights on the metal mic grilles. Photographic realism, eye-level composition with shallow depth of field, sophisticated and contemplative mood, perfect for a podcast show description or main hero image.

Why Around the Lakes

Around the Lakes invites you into unhurried conversations where two friends explore great music through history, performance, and prayer, tracing how specific works illuminate faith, doubt, joy, and the ordinary rhythms of life.

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Your Hosts

A close-up, photographic view of a high-end digital audio interface on a matte black desk, its tiny LED meters glowing green and amber beside a coiled braided cable and a neatly stacked set of annotated score pages. A slim laptop displays a spectral audio editing timeline, softly blurred in the background. Beside it lies a small, carved wooden rosary cross and a fountain pen with dark blue ink staining the nib. Cool, focused desk lamp lighting creates crisp reflections on brushed metal surfaces, with the rest of the room fading into soft shadows. Shot from a slightly elevated angle with a refined, minimalist composition, conveying intelligent craftsmanship and the behind-the-scenes work of episode production and editing.

Aarav Sharma

CEO

Elliott Smith, Notre Dame-trained musicologist, listens for history, theology, and human stories.

An overhead, photographic shot of a dark oak table laid out with the elements of a music, faith, and life podcast episode: an open choral score annotated in neat pencil, a small portable recorder, and two elegantly designed ceramic mugs half-filled with tea, subtle steam rising. A leather notebook lies open with a simple treble clef sketched at the top of the page, while a tablet shows a blurred list of episode titles. Soft afternoon window light falls diagonally across the scene, creating a calm interplay of light and shadow. The mood is reflective and intellectual yet inviting, ideal for visually representing show notes, transcripts, or episode archives.

Mateo García

CTO

Emerson Eads, conductor and composer, brings liturgical roots and fearless curiosity to every score.

A dignified, photographic scene of a grand piano in a quiet, wood-paneled room, its polished ebony lid half-open to reveal gleaming strings and hammers. On the music stand rests a well-worn orchestral score, flanked by a slim, leather-bound devotional book. Behind the piano, out of focus, a large leaded-glass window suggests collegiate Gothic architecture reminiscent of an academic chapel, with soft, overcast daylight diffusing through. The camera is positioned at a low three-quarter angle along the keyboard, emphasizing depth and the graceful curve of the instrument. The atmosphere is reverent and scholarly, capturing the intersection of performance, musicology, and faith that defines the podcast’s personality.

Zuri Ndlovu

Engineer

Together they unpack great music through performance, scholarship, and faith-filled conversation.

A polished wooden studio desk arranged for a music podcast, featuring two elegant vintage-style condenser microphones on black shock mounts facing each other across a dark walnut surface. Between them sits a pair of over-ear studio headphones with soft leather ear cups resting on a worn leather-bound hymnal and an open orchestral score. In the background, softly blurred shelves hold classical vinyl records and a small model of a gothic-inspired university chapel. Warm, directional lamp light pools across the desk, creating gentle highlights on the metal mic grilles. Photographic realism, eye-level composition with shallow depth of field, sophisticated and contemplative mood, perfect for a podcast show description or main hero image.

Leila Haddad

Designer

Their friendship, forged walking Notre Dame’s lakes, grounds each episode in prayerful, joyful honesty.

Reviews

A close-up, photographic view of a high-end digital audio interface on a matte black desk, its tiny LED meters glowing green and amber beside a coiled braided cable and a neatly stacked set of annotated score pages. A slim laptop displays a spectral audio editing timeline, softly blurred in the background. Beside it lies a small, carved wooden rosary cross and a fountain pen with dark blue ink staining the nib. Cool, focused desk lamp lighting creates crisp reflections on brushed metal surfaces, with the rest of the room fading into soft shadows. Shot from a slightly elevated angle with a refined, minimalist composition, conveying intelligent craftsmanship and the behind-the-scenes work of episode production and editing.

Aya Nakamura

This show finally gives me language for why certain pieces move me so deeply; it’s like walking the lakes with a wise friend.

An overhead, photographic shot of a dark oak table laid out with the elements of a music, faith, and life podcast episode: an open choral score annotated in neat pencil, a small portable recorder, and two elegantly designed ceramic mugs half-filled with tea, subtle steam rising. A leather notebook lies open with a simple treble clef sketched at the top of the page, while a tablet shows a blurred list of episode titles. Soft afternoon window light falls diagonally across the scene, creating a calm interplay of light and shadow. The mood is reflective and intellectual yet inviting, ideal for visually representing show notes, transcripts, or episode archives.

Mateo García

Around the Lakes weaves musicology and spiritual insight so beautifully that I finish every episode both smarter and unexpectedly consoled.