The official start of summer is around the corner, and we have a special invitation for you! Join us on Wednesday, June 17th and Thursday, June 18th to hear music that brings us together at this challenging time, focusing on the things that matter in our community. You'll hear music that embodies these ideals: Love. Family. Honesty. Justice. Spirit. Empathy. Peace. Last week we asked you to help us put together classical and jazz playlists with these themes, and we'll share the music with you on Wednesday and Thursday.
During Summer Listening Together we need 450 listeners to support the music on WRTI. Please take a moment and click here to contribute to this campaign. Keep WRTI going to strong for you and the entire community.
Here are some highlights of Summer Listening Together on WRTI:
On the classical side, the transcendent Requiem by Gabriel Faure is a beloved favorite of the WRTI family. Its gentle, yet powerful, beauty captures the imagination of new and regular listeners alike. Hosts Gregg Whiteside and Debra Lew Harder will share the "Sanctus" and "In paradisum" movements from a stunning performance of this piece by the Sixteen.
The music of Aaron Copland, with his distinctive American sound, never fails to stir the emotions and we’ll treat you to a few selections of his—some excerpts from Rodeo as well as the stunning Fanfare for the Common Man.
No summer is complete without sitting back to enjoy those lilting, lazy afternoons, right? Put the finishing touches on that with the perfect soundtrack from WRTI! What could be better than George Gerswhin’s Summertime from the glorious voice of Angel Blue, the Grammy-winning recording of Samuel Barber’s Knoxville Summer of 1915 by soprano Dawn Upshaw, and a unique recording of "The Summer Knows" from the 1971 blockbuster film, Summer of '42.
Rounding out our afternoon playlists will be music full of the hope and promise of a new era—something many of us are looking for these days. For this, Beethoven truly delivers and our hosts Debra Lew Harder and Kevin Gordon will share triumphant selections from Fidelio, Ode to Joy and Symphony No. 3 “Eroica,"plus the life-affirming finale, Make Our Garden Grow, from Bernstein’s operetta Candide.
Highlights on the jazz side include music that reflects the various themes that are on everyone’s mind for this particular summer, that will go down in history for many reasons. Songs like “Travelin’ Light” and “Key Largo” make us think of summer travel (or remind us of the lack thereof), while “Take Me To the Alley” and “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” echo the cries demanding the end of systemic racism in our country.
Join us as we let the music do the talking, and bring you the tunes that are on your mind as we enter this new season together. The livin’ may not be as easy as past years, but we can all, collectively, listen to some music that reminds us of Summertime. Bob Perkins and Ms. Blue will be your hosts.