Happy Public Radio Music Month!

VPR is proud to partner with NPR and stations around the country in the second annual Public Radio Music Month, a nationwide initiative that connects local public radio stations, artists and audiences in communities across the United States. 

Listen to VPR Classical and VPR News throughout April to hear special programs, conversations, and more to celebrate public radio's contributions to our state's musical landscape. NPR will also capture and share examples from around the country at publicradiomusicmonth.org, including a post today about VPR Classical’s new Student Composer Showcase, which also debuts this week.

Some other features we’re planning include:

• Guest hosts will join Joe Goetz, Walter Parker, and Kari Anderson on VPR Classical as well as Reuben Jackson on Friday Night Jazz and Robert Resnik on All The Traditions to chat about music in a segment we’re calling "Studio Buddies."
• Reuben Jackson will pay tribute to Duke Ellington, whose birthday is also this month (4/29), with reflections and recommendations for CDs and books, audio from his recent talk about Ellington, and photos.
• My Place Host Joel Najman’s lecture on Darlene Love.
• VPR Classical’s Beethoven Project.
• Vermont Edition live music performances.
• ...and more!

You can learn more at publicradiomusicmonth.org and by following the project on Facebook and Twitter. 

Pink Martini In The Kingdom

It may have been freezing and windy outside last night, but you'd never know it from inside Fuller Hall at Saint Johnsbury Academy last night. Pink Martini played to a sold-out crowd, with NPR White House Correspondent Ari Shapiro sitting in on lead vocals for several songs.

The band's encore was a sizzling rendition of "Brazil," where lead singer China Forbes encouraged the audience to start a conga line. Well, as someone commented on Kingdom County Productions' Facebook page, "be careful when you yell "Conga Line" to an audience of Vermonters with cabin fever!"

Here's some video footage to warm you up today. Thanks to Kingdom County Productions for a great show and to everyone who came out! It was wonderful to see so many VPR listeners in the house!

NPR's Ari Shapiro Performs With Pink Martini In Vermont

Pink Martini is coming to Saint Johnsbury Academy's Fuller Hall this Sunday evening at 7 p.m. The 14-piece band is known for performing songs from around the world, combining class and kitsch, swooning nostalgia, and delirious romance.

They'll be joined on stage by a familiar voice - that of NPR's White House Correspondent Ari Shapiro! 

Ari Shapiro has been moonlighting with Pink Martini since 2009. 



We asked Ari about his trip to Vermont. He said: "In the last year that I spent covering Mitt Romney's campaign, I spent a lot of time in New Hampshire. But for some reason I never made it over into neighboring Vermont. I'm so excited to rectify the situation this weekend with my favorite hometown band."

Check out the video above for a taste of what's in store. You can get tickets online here - and be sure to say hi to VPR while you're there. Looking forward to seeing you!

Introducing Friday Night Jazz With Reuben Jackson

We’d like to you meet Reuben Jackson, who will host Friday Night Jazz with Reuben Jackson from 8-11 p.m. beginning Friday, August 31.

Reuben takes you on a new adventure every week, exploring the great American invention called jazz. You’ll explore the back roads and alleys of the genre, the musicians and standards you love, and experience that essential element of surprise. Reuben also shares his in-depth knowledge of the stories behind the music.

Reuben Jackson is a poet, music critic and educator with jazz in his soul and radio in his blood. He hosted his first jazz radio program as a student at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. Now, after 50 years in Washington, D.C., Reuben has returned to Vermont to teach and share his passion for music.

Reuben was curator of the Duke Ellington Collection at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. for more than 20 years. His music reviews have been published in The Washington Post, Washington City Paper, All About Jazz, Jazz Times, Jazziz, and on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. Reuben is also a poet, a mentor with The Young Writers Project and educator. He now teaches English at Burlington High School in Burlington, Vermont.

“I am drawn to jazz's emotional and structural possibilities."
- Reuben Jackson

His decision to leave Washington and return to Vermont to teach is chronicled in a series of interviews on The Story with Dick Gordon.

Reuben says that he loves music – period, and because of that, he doesn’t always distinguish between genres. However, “I am drawn to jazz's emotional and structural possibilities. It allows the player room for his or her musical personality to profoundly shape the musical direction and output. I look forward to sharing what poet/musician Patti Smith dubbed the 'sea of possibilities' within this rich genre.”

What can listeners expect on Friday nights?

“I seek to achieve chronological, stylistic and emotional balance. I'm a romantic with a real thing for ballads, so I have to constantly remind myself that I'm not in my living room (although I hope listeners feel that degree of comfort), and that not everyone wants to hear ninety versions of 'Time On My Hands.' I also think that we as jazz programmers have to include more female performers - and not just vocalists.”

“I think that a well-arranged show is not unlike a well-written piece of music. You want it to be interesting to the audience, and you want the audience to feel like they’re part of the experience. I also feel that variety is important. I'm reminded of something the great saxophonist Lester Young told a journalist: 'You've got to be original, man.'"

We hope you’ll join Reuben, a true original himself, on Friday nights beginning August 31!

All The Traditions Moving To Sunday Evenings

A note from All The Traditions Host Robert Resnik:

Happy New Year! I wanted to let you in on some exciting news that I announced on All The Traditions today: beginning next Sunday, January 8th, we’ll be moving our weekly kitchen party to Sunday evenings from 7-10 p.m.!

In the 40-plus years that I have been hosting radio programs in our area, this is the very first time that I have ever had an evening show! The show will continue to feature the best folk music from Vermont and around the world, plus live performances and my weekly calendar of upcoming concerts and events. Plus, the new time may also provide opportunities to add some occasional live performances by local and touring musicians.

I hope you’ll join me for this new adventure! You can read more about the other changes to VPR’s Sunday schedule here.

Best wishes for a happy and musical new year!

Robert Resnik

Bob Kinzel and The Barn Band Release "The Spirit Of Vermont"

You know VPR Reporter Bob Kinzel for his outstanding coverage of the Statehouse and Vermont's political scene. But did you know that he's also an accomplished musician? His band, The Barn Band, recently released an original song to raise money for Irene recovery. Jane Lindholm spoke with Bob about the song on today's Vermont Edition. Check out the full video of "The Spirit of Vermont" and its lyrics below.



The Spirit of Vermont

Mother Nature
Do what you want
You can’t break
The spirit of Vermont.

Try anything,
Take your best shot,
You can’t break
The spirit of Vermont.

Big rains came
Flooded our land,
We joined together,
We took a stand.

Folks in Waterbury,
All gathered round,
Went door to door,
Rebuilding the town.

CHORUS

Roads got washed out,
Soon it was clear,
Rochester to Rutland,
You can’t get there from here.

Some folks lost all,
But all lent a hand,
From mucking the floors
To clearing the land.

CHORUS

Now the sun is shining
There’s lots to be done,
Down in Wilmington,
It’s already begun.

We’ll end up stronger
Than we did at the start,
We helped each other,
With our hands and our hearts.

CHORUS

Beautiful Voices for the Holidays

We had such a great time last Friday at VPR's annual Winter Concert. Bella Voce gave a wonderful performance - you can see photos from the event below!



The music and celebration continues this week. Listen tomorrow night at 9 for Paul Winter’s 30th Winter Solstice Celebration live from New York City. Christmas Even starts with Willem Lange’s Favor Johnson at 7:50 a.m., followed by A Christmas Carol told by Willem at noon, A Vermont Christmas with Counterpoint at 8 pm, and then Holiday Jazz until midnight. Christmas morning brings A New England Christmas with Willem Lange at 9:30am.

On VPR Classical, tonight at 8 we'll hear L’enfance du Christ on In Concert @ 8. A few other highlights include the Rose Ensemble at 8 p.m. tomorrow, Magnificent Magnificats with Joe Goetz at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Echoes of Christmas Thursday at 8 p.m. followed by A Chanticleer Christmas at 9. We’ll hear the annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols live from King’s College in England on Christmas Eve at 10 a.m., and A Vermont Christmas with Counterpoint at 8 p.m.

You'll find our full holiday schedule online here, and best wishes to you for a joyous, peaceful, and healthy holiday season!

I've Got An NPR Tat And An NPR Tote...

As a fan you may have already seen this public radio hip-hop video floating around the Internet over the last day or so. If you haven't, not to worry - you still qualify as a fan. How big a fan, of course, depends on how many public radio references you catch in the video below.

Check it out and let us know your favorite lines...or make up your own!

A Living Library

From VPR Classical Host Joe Goetz:

One of the most common questions I receive when meeting listeners is "what do you do when you're not on the air?" It's a good question. I'm only on the air for four hours each afternoon, yet the job is full-time. So what do I do for the other part of the day? I like to tell people that I'm a librarian.

Most of the time, my desk is covered with sticky notes, purchase orders, and several large stacks of CDs. Classical music CDs that arrive at VPR come to my desk, where I sort through them, log them, stick a label on them, and enter their track information into our massive music scheduling database. It's an exhaustive process, but it is also a very fulfilling one. After I have entered a CD into our database, I know that it will always be available to us for airplay, and that it can be enjoyed by our listeners for years to come.

(Volunteers Ann and Bruce, negotiating library space)--->

Recently it became clear that our library space was becoming more and more constrained. About a month ago, our trusty music volunteer, Ann Larson, mentioned to me that she just did not have room to shelve some of our new CDs. Luckily (thanks to a previous volunteer library project!), there are are now several rows of empty shelves that can accommodate the surplus. So I looked over the situation, came up with an (admittedly flawed) action plan, and enlisted another VPR volunteer, Bruce Simmons, to help Ann in making a mass move of CDs to the empty shelves.

As it happens I had already planned for a personal day off on March 5th, the day that all this was scheduled to happen. I left Ann and Bruce detailed notes about my -- "incredible" -- vision for the process, and left them to it.

Most of us have found out at some point in life, just because one has a plan doesn't mean it will work exactly as one had envisioned it. Ann and Bruce, early on in the process, ran into the shortcomings of my plan and decided to do it their way. And it turned out great! Our library now has the breathing room to continue expanding at its current rate, by my estimation, for at least another three years.

Thanks so much to Ann and Bruce for their help, and to our contributing listeners whose support enables us to keep adding essential material to our living, breathing, and always evolving music library.

Sing a Song of the Lake

This past Thursday evening, the last piece neatly settled in place for VPR's musical celebration of Lake Champlain. Like the Lake itself, the legacy of songs about it are a rich blend of history, culture, and - most important of all - the diversity of people connected to this special region.

Singer, songwriter and historian Deb Flanders joined Robert Resnik in the VPR Performance Studio for conversation and an enchanting set of songs including classics like The Butcher Boy and 10,000 Miles, along with a few newly written tunes.

VPR's music showcase is part of the Champlain 400 project.

On July 5th, All The Traditions will feature the voices and music of the French Canadian fiddling/guitar duo Lisa Ornstein and Andre Marchand; singer/songwriter Alan Greenleaf; and this intimate recording session with Deb Flanders.

Later in the summer (August 2nd at 4pm) we'll share highlights from all of these performances, with a lively set of traditional and original songs about the Lake from Robert Resnik and Marty Morrissey.

A Quadricentennial celebration calls for music of equal scope and magnitude, and these talented musicians deliver!

Music for the Quadricentennial

Staffers know it, so do many listeners. And word has gotten around, so local musicians definitely know it. At VPR we're very fortunate in the fact that the performance space in the heart of our Colchester building is one of the acoustically finest recording studios in the state.

I spent yesterday in there, interviewing and hosting several musicians for a showcase we’re producing for the Lake Champlain Quadricentennial anniversary. Not sure when it will air, but if you keep an eye on the website we'll let you know as soon as possible.

The day started off on the right foot (and the left, and the left-right-left!) with Lisa Ornstein and André Marchand, the French-Canadian fiddler and guitarist/singer duo. They were in town for an evening concert at UVM, but they took a little time to stop by and share some of their wide repertoire of chansons, dances, reels and other traditional tunes. They’re great. Lisa has a longstanding connection to this area, as a protégée of the legendary fiddler Louis Beaudoin. Among André’s credits is several years with Quebec’s Juno-winning La Bouttine Souriante. We all got a laugh from Lisa describing her move from Canada back to the family home, after graduating: “It was in Maine. Northern Maine. So far North in fact that when I moved back I had to go NORTH from Québec City to get there!”

Next up was one of my favorite local acts, Marty Morrissey and VPR's own Robert Resnik. With more than 30 instruments and 50 years of experience between them (25 of those years playing together), these two really know how to share some learning, have a great time, and get everyone else involved in the fun too. And why not? There’s a lot to keep a songwriter entertained here: a rich maritime and military history, wildly unpredictable weather, breathtaking natural beauty (every season!), Champ, farming culture, and…yep, even rock snot. And other invasive species.

After a short break we were joined by singer/songwriter Alan Greenleaf. A farmer himself, fittingly, he had spent the earlier part of the day playing at the opening weekend of a local farmer’s market. He offered a final set of songs ranging from the whimsical to the poignant, covering everything from the flood of 1927 to the austere landscape of our northern winters, and that hallowed Vermont summertime tradition, the Strolling of the Heifers.

This was just one of those days where I felt lucky. Blessed to live where I do, fortunate to be involved in special gatherings like this, and grateful to have the ears and eyes to be able to take it all in.

Thanks to Robert, Nora, Chris, and everyone else who made the recording session possible.

The final words for the day come from Mr. Greenleaf: “I never get tired of looking out the window. This is a beautiful place we live in, Vermont. It’s worth a lot of songs.”

Look for a complete overview of our Quadricentennial programming on the Champlain 400 page at VPR.NET.

----

Cheryl Willoughby

VPR Dir. of Music Programming

Sunday Bach's Grand Finale

Easter Sunday, 2009 closed the score on VPR's popular program Sunday Bach.

For the last eight years host Mark Vogelzang and producer Karen Anderson worked together to bring a wide variety of the great composer's offerings (dare we say, Musical Offerings?) to the air, including Bach's complete cantata cycle (in sequence - twice!); masterpieces like the St. Matthew Passion and Brandenburg Concertos; and lesser-played works like the Art of the Fugue.

It's been my great pleasure to work with Mark and Karen over the last few years to help them find new and unusual recordings of Bach's music to bring to the program. Now, after nearly a decade, with the show having accomplished everything it set out to do, Sunday Bach has concluded production.

I know I speak for many in saying that Sunday mornings just won't be the same without it. And yet while we could never hope to replace such a special show, we do hope you will enjoy the new Sunday morning lineup on VPR Classical which includes our early music program, Harmonia (7 to 8am), and Suzanne Bona's Sunday Baroque (8 to 11am). You can see our entire programming schedule here.

Spring is a season of remarkable changes, and in that spirit we send out the very best wishes to Mark, who has moved on to his new position at NPR in Washington, DC. (Karen continues to work on other projects at VPR, as an integral part of our operations and production teams.)

As Bach always wrote at the top of his manuscripts, "Soli Deo Gloria"! And cheers to the promise of the new season ahead.

Cheryl Willoughby
Director of Music Programming

Springtime and Renewal on VPR Classical

There is natural poetry in the fact that one of the symbols of the Easter season is eggs, with so much potential for life represented in such a small package. Much like springtime itself.

For the next several days VPR Classical is featuring sounds of the season...all of them! We'll go well beyond birdsongs and pastoral music usually associated with this time of the year to hear how composers have used their unique creative skills to interpret Biblical events like the Easter earthquake, the ferocious pounding hailstones of the Exodus, and Mary's solemn grieving at the foot of the cross.

Exploring Music this week focuses on Bach's masterpiece, the St. Matthew Passion.

On Friday night for another perspective on the Easter story, we'll go In Concert at 8 for a special new performance of Bach's magnificent St. John Passion with Apollo's Fire.

Easter Sunday itself brings the grand finale of VPR's Sunday Bach with Mark Vogelzang. After many memorable years on the air the program has now come full circle, concluding on its 8th anniversary in a grand celebration of the holiday as only Bach can provide.

And then on Monday we break free from the pre-Easter trepidation and somberness in a joyous outburst of dances, 'Alleluias', and celebratory music to welcome springtime and all of the renewal it brings.

This time of the year has served as inspiration for some of the most poignant and vividly powerful sounds in all of classical music. Whatever your traditions, I hope you enjoy the music this week and join VPR Classical in our springtime celebration!

Cheryl Willoughby
Dir. of Music Programming

Blind Boys of Alabama

Well-known gospel group the Blind Boys of Alabama were the guests on On Point on Friday, and they joined the conversation from VPR's Norwich studio!

Here's a photo taken by Betty Smith, who staffs our Norwich studio. You can listen to the program here.

Curating a World-Class Music Library - Your Pledge at Work

One of the questions I'm asked most often is, "how many CDs are there in the library?". I wondered myself a few years ago so I counted them. But I soon realized that was a much better exercise for providing an estimate than a hard number, because of the constant stream of new recordings coming in every day.

The reason? There are actually two, and they work together: one is the serious committment VPR has to building a multi-genre, world-class, music library; the other is the listener-funded music budget that supports that vision.

Listener support also helps to pay for subscriptions to periodicals like BBC Music, Opera News, F-Roots, and Down Beat magazines. These are great resources for finding out about the newest releases around the world, as well as new venues and new artists on the scene, emerging styles and performance techniques, and industry trends.

Every music host at VPR is a curator in their specialized area of the library. Based on their reading and the years of experience and expertise they bring to the job, hosts send me suggestions and requests for new recordings. My part of the process is placing the orders and managing the annual acquisition budget to make sure everyone's accommodated. (I admit it, I'm never shy about including a few of my own picks as well!)

It says a lot about the dedicated support of VPR's listeners that I've never before had the scope or depth of resources available to do the job I do at VPR. That translates into direct benefits for all of us: more new recordings, a better variety of choices, deeper cuts, and an expansive, ever-growing range of repertoire and performances.

Thank you for making it all possible! And yes, we definitely take requests.

(By the way - the answer is "around 35,000". Today.)


Cheryl Willoughby
Dir. of Music Programming

Enduring Classics - But Why?

Yesterday afternoon in Middlebury the Mahaney Center for the Arts hosted five young musicians as they auditioned for the 2009 Alan and Joyce Beucher Concerto Competition. Officially, I was there to act as a judge for the event. But on a purely listener level, I couldn't have been more pleased to experience the music I heard being made as each student musician took their turn on the stage. Whether it was the singing lyricality in the DeBeriot and Sibelius violin concertos, the technical fireworks of Ravel's fierce "Tzigane", the violin's evocative yearning in Bruch's g-minor concerto, or the always-elegant loveliness that is Mozart's first flute concerto...there were many moments when music filled the whole golden space of the auditorium and nothing besides that performer, playing that piece, at that moment, seemed to exist.

In the end, a choice had to be made to award one of those performers the opportunity to play their concerto with the Middlebury College Orchestra later this spring. That IS what I was there for, I told myself. And it was humbling to be part of that process.

Afterward, on the drive home, I had some time to reflect on the experience and revisit a long-held conviction that there are good reasons why these pieces of music, often centuries and decades old, endure as 'classics'. One of those reasons is the renewal the music enjoys every time it is learned for the first time, practiced to perfection, and given vital, fresh interpretation at the hands of sensitive and gifted musicians like the ones I had just heard play. It is timeless because it is infinitely adaptable, because it is alive, because it is not satisfied being contained in a single interpretation, like a static snapshot from a past age.

And so, to each one of yesterday's fine young performers, a sincere congratulations: more than learning a concerto, you are contributing to the artistic continuum - you are learning to make music!

Cheryl Willoughby

Dir. of Music Programming

Live Jazz a hit on VPR

VPR recieved many comments about the live jazz on George Thomas' show on December 10th. 

On listener wrote: " Loved your live program....took my winter blues away...and Ellen Powell was GREAT as was her guitarist...will go to Leunigs on Thursday night in Jan to hear in person...like your laid back style..will continue my membership because of this performance...thanks."

I'm glad you connected with last night's show. It's always a treat to have live music and the quiet melodic sound fit my mood too. Do introduce yourself to Ellen Powell when you see her live, she'll
be happy to hear you enjoyed her performance with Geoff Kim.

Thanks for listening & writing,
George Thomas

Listen to the performance here!

Sunsets and Radio: Bringing Us Together

Who says November in Vermont is bleak and colorless? Probably no one who ever caught one of our signature stunning autumn sunsets! In a time when technology can occasionally work to isolate people it's comforting to be able to still have a shared human experience like a sunset that simply stops you in your tracks. Radio is like that too. Last evening's sunset pyrotechnics were followed by the Will Patton Gypsy Jazz Ensemble's red-hot performance at 8 on VPR. Could it get any better than this? [If you missed the show, you can listen here: Will Patton Live on VPR ]

Cheryl Willoughby
VPR Interim Director of Programming (and fan of great sunsets and swingin' gypsy jazz!)

Behind the Scenes of a Live Performance at VPR

Walter Parker hosted not one, but two live classical performances here at Vermont Public Radio studios last Friday - the first by Boston-based ensemble A Far Cry with flutist Karen Kevra, and in the second by cellist Allison Eldredge and pianist Yoshie Akimoto. If you missed them or just want to hear them again, click here to listen online and see photos.

The telltale sign that you're hearing a perfectly engineered live performance is, well...nothing. The listener notices nothing except for seamless, clear, perfectly balanced, beautiful music. But it takes hours of preparation to pull off a live performance (not to mention two in one day!). We think no one does it better than our own Sam Sanders, one of our production engineers.

Prep work starts well in advance of the performance when Sam sets up the performance studio for the guests. Musicians normally arrive at least an hour before the performance to tune up and do a sound check.

Walter and Sam listen from the control room next door to make sure the sound is just right. If anything needs tweaking, Sam works with the musicians to shift their positions so that everything is perfect for air time.

Listen and enjoy!