Studs On The Radio

"Working With Studs" will air at 7 p.m. July4th on VPR.

In all honesty, when I saw the name of this program, I thought it might be some ironic piece about beautiful radio hosts whose faces are never seen.

It didn't take me long to find out that Studs is a singular proper noun. "Studs" is the name everyone called Louis Terkel. Studs Terkel, I learned, is THE original iconic radio voice of Chicago.

I couldn't believe I hadn't heard of him before! Talk about long running shows, The Studs Terkel Program aired on 98.7 WFMT Chicago five days a week from 1952 - 1997. He's known for preserving the oral history of the American working class, in their own words.

Studs' energetic voice is nothing short of inspirational. His charisma and curiosity brought out the truth people didn't even know they had in them until they were interviewed by Studs.

Our own Walter Parker interviewed Studs Terkel in 2005 to promote his book, And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey. And after his passing in 2008, Commentator Bill Mares recalled his experience with Studs Terkel.

Tune in Monday night at 7 for "Working With Studs," a remembrance told in a seamless blend of documentary and reminiscence by a crew of Stud's co-workers paired with previously unheard tapes of Studs himself.

Young Radio Players Take Over VPR Studios

This week, VPR is teaming with enthusiasm from young writers and performers.

The Flynn Center's summer camp program has taken over VPR's Performance Studio. Camp is all week and creativity is in the air. Walking down the hall, you can hear experimental noises creeping out of an open door.

Evidence of their creativity is apparent in the elaborate brainstorm maps posted along the walls. Other evidence of burgeoning brilliance includes: toys, instruments, mysteriously bulging bags and a variety of props.

This crew is here for the week to write, rehearse, and perform a dramatic classic radio play. They are learning how to construct sounds and use their voices in clever ways to tell a story and create a picture with audio. These talented kids are learning from one another and from their instructor; singer, songwriter and performing artist, Jon Gailmor.

Camp culminates with a live performance of their original radio program recorded by VPR's audio engineer Sam Sanders. At the end of the week each child will go home with a CD of their performance.

VPR News Wins Three PRNDI Awards

I had the honor over the weekend to accept three from our peers in public radio at the annual conference of Public Radio News Directors Inc.

VPR competes in the large station category for PRNDI and won two first-place awards and one second.

Jane Lindholm won first in the Use Of Sound category for one of the Summer School pieces on Vermont Edition. Jane taught us how to milk a cow. There's nothing like hearing the milk hit the bottom of the pail or the cows bellowing to sonically take you to the barn.

Commentator Madeleine Kunin took a first for her commentary "Requiem." She told of hearing a performance of Verdi's Requiem in Burlington on the anniversary of a similar performance at the Theresienstadt Nazi concentration camp outside Prague. I won't give away the ending, except to say it's worth listening to this poignant piece.

And, finally, VPR News took a second place for spot news coverage of the 2010 election when Brian Dubie conceded in the governor's race.

These awards may have been won by individuals, but they represent the hard work of the entire team of reporters, producers and hosts who bring you VPR News every day. And we hope they also demonstrate how valuable our listeners' support is in producing meaningful reporting.

The Performance Studio Is Heating Up For Summertime

From VPR Classical Host Joe Goetz:

As the summer music festival season begins, the VPR Performance Studio is heating up. Today marked the first summer music festival appearance on VPR Classical, as Walter Parker welcomed musicians from the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival to share a preview of their upcoming season. Pianist Paul Orgel shined in two performances: Francis Poulenc’s Violin Sonata, where he was joined by Kevin Lawrence, and the first two movements of Beethoven’s C Major Cello Sonata, Op. 102, No. 1, in collaboration with cellist John Dunlop.

If you missed it, you can listen to the performance again here.

There’s more live music on VPR Classical tomorrow morning, when Walter welcomes the new 802 Quartet to the Performance Studio at 11 a.m.

(Photo from this morning's performance. From left to right: Kevin Lawrence, Paul Orgel, Walter Parker, John Dunlop)

Book It: Time for the Vermont Edition Summer Reading Show

I am the luckiest substitute host ever! Seems every time Jane Lindholm goes on vacation, I get to fill in for one of the Vermont Edition reading shows, and I admit to having a special fondness for them because, well, I love to read...and to hear what others are reading so I can get a lead on that next great book!

This Friday we're celebrating the summer reading season with a terrific panel of guests including Linda Ramsdell, owner of The Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, and Bennington College Librarian Oceana Wilson, who won the 2009 national "I Love My Librarian" award, sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the New York Times.

And of course we'd love to hear your suggestions. Whether it's novels, non-fiction, memoir, poetry, science, even the back of a cereal box you found especially compelling, add your favorites here. I've already listed my recommendations, so hop to it...summer may have only just started, but it's short!

We'll also take your phone calls during the program this Friday at noon. You can catch a rebroadcast that evening at 7.

So forget all that nonsense you hear about "no one reads" anymore...prove that books are alive and well and being devoured by readers like you, by contributing to the annual Summer Reading Show on VPR!

Improved VPR Classical Signal in Central Vermont

Update for Tuesday, June 28: WVXR 102.1 FM is up to full power as of 3 this afternoon! Thank you for your patience as we finished this big project. I hope you'll try it out and let us know how it sounds!

We have great news for classical music fans in Central Vermont! Engineers are getting ready to replace the antenna for WVXR 102.1 FM in Randolph, which will allow us to broadcast the station consistently at full power. This upgrade will result in a stronger, higher-quality signal for more of the WVXR coverage area.

VPR Classical went on the air in Central Vermont last fall, but due to significant problems with the antenna, we have not been able to broadcast consistently at full power.

As long as the weather holds out, work will begin Monday, June 27 and will take 1-2 days to complete. For the safety of the tower crew we’ll need to take the station off the air during that time, but when it returns it will be a more robust signal than before.

WVXR reaches about 92,000 Vermonters across a large swath of central Vermont including the communities of Randolph, Bethel, Brookfield, Tunbridge, Sharon, Barnard, Woodstock, Royalton, Chelsea, Barre, and more.

We look forward to improving our service to you with this critical upgrade!

Visit the new VPR Classical Homepage

Today we launched a new VPR Classical Homepage at VPR.net with new content, features, and design.

At the top of the page, you'll find the controls to Listen Online, view Today's Playlist, and contact the VPR Classical hosts. You'll also find the program On Now and On Next, and the current piece playing on-air (when it's available). We've also made it easier than ever to find the featured content, such as upcoming Live Performances, Musical Conversations, local Classical Events, and, of course, your favorite VPR Classical Hosts.

In the lower half of the page we've added a lot more content from the world of classical music, including the latest from the NPR Classical Blog "Deceptive Cadence", Classics In Concert from NPR Music, the most recent classical posts from the VPR Blog, and the latest classical posts on the VPR Facebook Page.

Finally, we placed the link to "Share Requests & Comments" right at the top of the page. We hope you'll continue to use that link to share your feedback with hosts about the programming and the music, to send them your musical requests, and to tell us what you think of the new VPR Classical Homepage.

Thanks for listening to VPR Classical!