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Jewly Hight

The massive sound of The Aristocrat of Bands, a highly respected HBCU marching band, and the overflowing history of gospel combine on a single album (with a great title) — 'The Urban Hymnal.'


Tennessee State University's Aristocrat of Bands

Sir The Baptist

How to fit a top-tier HBCU marching band and the gospel tradition onto one album

Listen to the Story

Samantha Balaban

Angelina is a determined little mouse in a pink tutu who dreams of becoming a ballerina. Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig revisit their beloved character, the star of more than 25 picture books.


Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

40 years after she took the stage, 'Angelina Ballerina' is still dancing

YOU asked for it!  Your requests for this month.

September Listener Requests

Lynne has been at this radio thing since 1984 when she fell into an historic job at KFAC AM and FM, the commercial classical station in Los Angeles.  She was the first woman staff announcer in the station's history, and it was such big news back then, it made the LA newspapers and national radio publications.  She is thrilled women in radio is no longer newsworthy.


Lynne Warfel

This week’s episode of Saturday Cinema, with host Lynne Warfel, features listeners’ favorite tracks from ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ ‘Amistad’ and ‘Blade Runner.’ Listen now!


Saturday Cinema

Olivia Hampton

Pianist and composer Chad Lawson releases a double album recorded at Abbey Road, joined on some tracks by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, violinist Esther Yoo and cellist/composer Peter Gregson.


Chad Lawson - with you (Official Music Video)

Michael Zamora/NPR

Pianist Chad Lawson seeks to heal in new album

An ecstatic exploration of classical music that’s aesthetically and uncompromisingly Black.

Rhapsody in Black - Jean-Paul Coffy

Haitian composer and educator Jean-Paul Coffy has always seen the importance of music in early childhood development. It has been the center of his work in the community and compositions. Find out more in the latest episode of the 'Rhapsody in Black' podcast. 


Rhapsody in Black - Coffy

Rhapsody in Black

Manuel Martinez / WBEZ

Jean-Paul Coffy impacts his community through music

Steve Seel is the host of YourClassical’s weekly SymphonyCast and the trailblazing music show Extra Eclectic. He possesses a broad knowledge of many musical genres, having hosted radio programs ranging from classical to jazz and even avant-garde music at radio stations around the country. Steve began his love affair with public radio at 24 working whatever shifts he could at his hometown station of WUSF-FM in Tampa, Florida, and from there worked his way to snowy Buffalo, New York, and its renowned classical station WNED-FM, where he hosted middays and the weekly experimental-music show Present Tense.  In 2005, Steve became one of the founding voices on Minnesota Public Radio's eclectic station, the Current. While there, he hosted afternoons and mornings, and conducted in-depth interviews with pop music luminaries ranging from Brian Eno to David Byrne to Tori Amos. Steve is a basement composer obsessed with all things both minimalist and slow, and might actually be incapable of writing anything that exceeds 75 beats-per-minute.


Steve Seel

Betsy Jolas’ “bTunes” is about how tech has radically changed music.


A pair of headphones against a black background.

Extra Eclectic

Frank Septillion/Unsplash

Technology continues to change music

New Classical Tracks - Claire Bryant (Extended)

New Classical Tracks - Claire Bryant

Julie Amacher's desire to introduce others to great music is what led her to radio. She began her professional broadcast career at a station in Sun Prairie, Wis. She went from rock 'n' roll to the Rocky Mountains, where she found her niche in public radio at KUNC in Greeley, Colo. Julie spent 13 years at KUNC, where she managed the announcers and their eclectic music format. During that time, she earned four national awards for best announcer. She joined Minnesota Public Radio in 1997 as an on-air host and also produces New Classical Tracks, a weekly podcast critiquing a new release each week. It airs locally at 7:15 a.m. Wednesdays and 5:15 p.m. Fridays.


Julie Amacher

In this week’s New Classical Tracks, cellist Clair Bryant talks about her work with incarcerated musicians who gave her the courage to release her debut album, ‘Whole Heart.’ 


Delta Sunrise by Jessica Meyer; film by Carleen Maur

New Classical Tracks® 

Courtesy of artist

Cellist Claire Bryant uses her voice to uplift incarcerated musicians

1939: A Year to Remember

This week’s episode of Saturday Cinema, with host Lynne Warfel, explores what is still considered one of the greatest years in American film history with a look at the outstanding films of 1939 including ‘Stagecoach,’ ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ ‘Wuthering Heights’ and more. Listen now!


Turner Entertainment Co. and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

1939:  A Year to Remember

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Ifedayo Gatling of the Harlem Gospel Travelers, and the group's producer and mentor Eli "Paperboy" Reed, about their second album Look Up! which is out Friday.


Provided

Harlem Gospel Travelers' album has a '70s vibe but subject material is of this moment

Rob Schmitz

Since its founding over 1,000 years ago, this Catholic music school and song group in Regensburg, Germany, has been boys only. Until now.


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