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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, soprano Nadine Sierra explores iconic female roles in opera that are similar to her grandmother’s restrictive life in her latest album, ‘Made for Opera.’  


New Classical Tracks - Nadine Sierra (Extended)

New Classical Tracks - Nadine Sierra

Nadine Sierra & Sophia Muñoz – Gounod: Romeo et Juliette: Je veux vivre

New Classical Tracks® 

Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera

Soprano Nadine Sierra is 'Made for Opera'

Susan Stamberg

The Lincoln Memorial has held some of the most important cultural moments of the last 200 years - like when singer Marian Anderson, denied a stage due to her race, was offered to play at the memorial.


Listen to the Story

Marian Anderson performs at the Lincoln Memorial, 1939

Marian Anderson performs at the Lincoln Memorial, 1952

Harris & Ewing photograph collection | Library of Congress 

Encore: Denied a stage, Marian Anderson sang for a nation

In this week's selection from the StoryCorps' Military Voices Initiative, Ryan Walz remembers his father, Sgt. 1st Class Jodi Walz, who played trumpet in the United States Army band.


Bruno Pego/Unsplash

A son remembers his father, an Army band trumpeter

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

On this episode of Saturday Cinema, host Lynne Warfel presents her annual Memorial Day show with film music in honor of those who sacrificed everything for their country. Listen to her 2023 Memorial Day show now, including music from ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ ‘Platoon,’ and ‘War Horse.’


Saturday Cinema - Memorial Day

Saturday Cinema

Film-music tribute to Memorial Day

Terry Gross

In June, Lansbury will receive the Tony Award for lifetime achievement. The ‘Murder, She Wrote’ star previously won Tonys for her performances in ‘Gypsy’ and ‘Sweeney Todd.’


Collins, Bob

Angela Lansbury looks back on her great performances on stage and screen

Lynne Warfel presents music from some of the great war films, such as ‘Patton’ and ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ and explores the history of Memorial Day and it's significance after the Civil War, including music from ‘Lincoln’ and ‘Gettysburg.’


Saturday Cinema:  Memorial Day 2020

Amblin Entertainment

Saturday Cinema:  Memorial Day

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

In a week of unspeakable tragedy, we offer two hours of reflective works from contemporary composers.


Music for a week of mourning

Extra Eclectic

David Tomaseti / Unsplash

In this week’s New Classical Tracks, pianist Lara Downes continues her work of uplifting Black composers on her record label, Rising Sun Music, with her latest CD, ‘Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered.’ 


New Classical Tracks - Lara Downes (Extended)

New Classical Tracks - Lara Downes

Lara Downes: Scott Joplin - The Chrysanthemum

Courtesy of artist

Lara Downes reflects on the music of Scott Joplin

Mary Louise Kelly

Kat Lonsdorf

Patrick Jarenwattananon

On a new album, the classical stars revisit the concerto Williams composed specifically for Ma, as well as some of Williams' most affecting film scores.


Three Pieces from Schindler's List: I. Theme

Lawrence Sumulong/Courtesy of Sony Music

Composer John Williams and cellist Yo-Yo Ma bring together 'A Gathering of Friends'

Last summer, YourClassical MPR’s Tesfa Wondemagegnehu traveled across the United States, looking for ideas and people who could help repair communities through his project ‘To Repair.’ His first stop was George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, where Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020. Listen now to the choral work that was inspired by Wondemagegnehu’s journey.


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