Partnership will bring DSO concerts to capital area listeners, MSU concerts to southeast Michigan
EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Thanks to a new partnership between radio stations WKAR in East Lansing and WRCJ in Detroit, classical music lovers in the capital region will be able to hear Detroit Symphony Orchestra concerts live, and listeners in Detroit will be able to tune in concert performances from Michigan State University's College of Music.
"WKAR is thrilled about this new partnership between Michigan State University and WRCJ," said WKAR Radio Station Manager Peter Whorf. "MSU College of Music performances represent some of the finest music making by renowned faculty and gifted student artists. And, of course, having live broadcasts of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will now bring world-class performances to thousands in the Capital Region."
Detroit Symphony Orchestra Live will debut on 90.5 FM WKAR on Friday, April 21 at 10:45am. The new monthly broadcast presents live concert performances of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from historic, acoustically acclaimed Orchestra Hall. The debut broadcast will be hosted by WKAR's Peter Whorf and WRCJ's Dave Wagner. The concert will feature Leonard Slatkin leading magnificent orchestral transcriptions by J.S. Bach, followed by two jazz inspired DSO firsts! Hear the orchestra's premiere performance of Shostakovich's Jazz Suite No. 1, and the debut of an all-new jazz trio concerto by Grammy Award winning composer and pianist Michel Camilo. Broadcasts go on hiatus after June 2, and return in the fall for a new season.
“We love to connect Michigan’s classical and jazz performers with wider audiences,” said WRCJ Station Manager Dave Devereaux. “This collaboration is in tune with that mission and brings new musical experiences to our listeners.”
Also beginning in April, MSU in Concert will reach WRCJ listeners across Detroit and southeast Michigan and WKAR listeners in the capital region.
MSU in Concert is a new weekly hour of recorded concert performances featuring faculty artists, student ensembles, and guests from around the world, captured in performance at Cook Recital Hall, Fairchild Theatre and Wharton Center Cobb Great Hall on the MSU campus. WKAR's Peter Whorf is the host.
"The College of Music is pleased to join in partnership with WRCJ and WKAR to provide excellence in classical and jazz programming," said James Forger, dean of MSU College of Music at Michigan State University. "With our internationally acclaimed artist faculty and more than 500 talented and diverse students -- 50% of whom come from Michigan, 30% from 36 states, and 20% from 24 nations -- we are delighted to share the power of music with a wider audience!"
MSU in Concert airs 3 PM Fridays and Sundays on 90.5 WKAR East Lansing beginning April 7 and at 9 AM Saturdays on 90.9 FM WRCJ Detroit beginning April 15.
Also new for WRCJ listeners will be the WKAR original, What's New in Classical, featuring new classical releases hosted weekly by WKAR's Peter Whorf. The program will air at 9 AM Sundays on WRCJ Detroit beginning April 16.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra Live, MSU in Concert and What’s New in Classical can also be heard at each station’s live audio stream at the scheduled times, at wkar.org and wrcjfm.org
WRCJ 90.9 FM, “Classical Days, Jazzy Nights,” is a listener-supported service of Detroit Public Television and Detroit Classical and Jazz Educational Radio LLC, and is heard worldwide on wrcjfm.org.
WKAR 90.5 FM is a service of WKAR Public Media, a division of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University. WKAR is funded in large part by community viewer and listener contributions with additional support from Michigan State University and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.