WAMC’s New Weekly Segment: "Classical Music According to Yehuda"
“Classical Music According to Yehuda” is a weekly segment on WAMC Northeast Public Radio that airs each Friday during The Roundtable around 11:22 a.m. and lasts approximately 10 minutes. It re-airs during Midday Magazine each Saturday. In each segment, Alan Chartock, President and CEO of WAMC, poses questions about the world of classical music to cellist and teacher Yehuda Hanani.
“We all know that we’d like to know just enough to get by in a number of areas. For instance, we’d love to know what bottle of wine to order, and we’d all like to know just enough about classical music to avoid sounding like a Neanderthal,” Chartock says. “Now the famous cellist Yehuda Hanani is doing the heavy lifting for all of us. Questions such as who the most important classical musician ever was (and is), and what conductors do to get their musicians to perform, will be answered.”
Yehuda Hanani is a Professor of Cello at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and presents master classes internationally in conjunction with concert tours. He is equally renowned for performances with orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Berlin Radio Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, BBC Welsh Symphony, and more. Soloist, chamber musician, master teacher and ambassador of the arts, Yehuda inspires audiences around the world.
“We are delighted that Yehuda is doing this for WAMC, his station,” added Chartock.
Listeners can tune into their local WAMC frequency or listen online at wamc.org for “Classical Music According to Yehuda.”
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WAMC Presents a New Radio Series About the Hudson River with Support from the New York Council for Humanities
(ALBANY, NY OCTOBER 2009) – WAMC/Northeast Public Radio’s flagship morning program, The Roundtable, will broadcast a special series and take WAMC’s listeners on a cultural and historical audio road trip along the Hudson River to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage. The Roundtable will interview historians, authors, artists, and organizational leaders about the Hudson's history and culture. This series will broadcast live on three days from three different locations from 9am to noon.
President of WAMC Alan Chartock says, “WAMC is incredibly grateful to the New York Council for the Humanities for this opportunity to expand our reach and to be able to celebrate the Hudson River. WAMC has facilities up and down the river and our ability with the help of this grant to get experts to tell us about the history, polities, sociology, and art of the river is a dream come true.”
The audio voyage will start on Thursday, October 15th in New York City at the New-York Historical Society in Manhattan. This broadcast will focus on the role of the Hudson River in New York City history.
On Monday, October 19th the Roundtable will broadcast from the Olana Estate in Hudson, NY and will focus on the many historical and regional attractions in the Hudson Valley.
The series will conclude on Tuesday, October 20th with a special open to the public live broadcast at the Albany Institute of History and Art in Albany, NY. This broadcast will explore the history of the City of Albany, highlighting the region’s Dutch heritage and concluding with a panel discussion that will take a broad look at the Hudson River’s history and Albany Institute of History and Art exhibition, Hudson River Panorama: 400 Years of History, Art, and Culture. This exhibit features hundreds of artworks and artifacts related to the agricultural, industrial, and cultural history of the river. Listeners will be able to attend this live broadcast and ask questions to the panel. Panelists will include: Historic Hudson River painter Len Tantillo; author and Hudson River Panorama consultant Tom Lewis; curator Doug McCombs; archeologist and Hudson River Panorama consultant Christopher Lindner; Curator, The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College and consultant on Hudson Panorama. Seating is limited. To reserve a seat, please call 1-800-323-9262 or by emailing hudsonriver@wamc.org.
Joe Donahue, host of the Roundtable says, “I am thrilled that with the assistance of the New York Council for the Humanities, we are once again able to dig deep and provide an audio portrait of such a multi-faceted subject. We have an incredible line-up of intelligent, wise, witty people to tell us the amazing history of the Hudson and the people that live along it. We very much look forward to traveling the river and speaking with each of them.”
To hear this special broadcast, tune in to WAMC or listen online at wamc.org. Broadcast and guests schedule about the New York’s Hudson River series can be found at: http://www.wamc.org/roundtablehudsonriver.html.
The Roundtable, featuring award-winning journalist Joe Donahue, blends news, arts, culture, and live music. Whether reporting the day’s news, interviewing local and national authors, or chatting with fascinating people from around the corner and around the world, The Roundtable has something for everyone as it covers issues ranging from politics, arts, culture, history, the environment and everything in between.
This programming made possible through the support of the New York Council for the Humanities.
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WAMC Joins State Association Virtual Career Fair
If you're interested in a career in broadcasting, click on NYSBroadcastersCareerFair.com now and check out the virtual career fair. You’ll find jobs listed from radio and television stations throughout New York. You can attend the virtual career fair right now…without ever leaving the privacy of your home or office! At NYSBroadcastersCareerFair.com, you’ll see available jobs, learn about the stations, post your resume, even apply for a broadcasting job online. Just click on NYSBroadcastersCareerFair.com right now. It's easy, convenient and free!
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WAMC Northeast Public Radio Begins Broadcasts in HD RadioTM Technology - Static-Free Radio, with the Sound of a CD
Albany, NY- December 9, 2004 - Radio broadcasting has taken a giant leap into the 21st century. WAMC Northeast Public Radio has begun HD (for High Definition) Radio digital broadcasts from stations WAMC-FM, 90.3, Albany, WOSR(FM), 91.7, Middletown and WANC(FM), 103.9, Ticonderoga NY. These three are the first FM stations in the Capital Region, Hudson Valley and North Country to adopt the new technology.
The noise and interference that cause the static, hiss, pops and fades heard on today's analog radios is virtually eliminated with HD Radio digital broadcasting. In addition to crystal clear reception, HD Radio technology will dramatically enhance sound fidelity - AM will have the clarity of FM, and FM will have the clarity of compact discs. Equally impressive to the digital sound quality is that HD Radio technology allows for new wireless data services to be delivered from AM and FM radio stations. Pending Federal approval, this technology will also make possible additional programming on the same FM channel.
According to Alan Chartock, President & CEO of WAMC, "We're proud and excited to be in the forefront of bringing this new technology to our listeners. It will allow us to provide even better service and a stronger commitment to listeners - not to mention significantly improved sound."
After 80 years of analog transmissions, radio is poised for its digital migration to HD Radio technology. Soon, home audio receivers and after market auto receivers will be widely available to consumers through consumer electronics retailers. Some auto receivers are now sold as HD Radio ready.
Conversion of WAMC-FM and WOSR(FM) to HD Radio was made possible by grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) which is assisting public radio stations across the country to use this new technology. The Albany and Middletown stations commenced broadcasts in HD in the past week. WANC(FM), Ticonderoga was equipped with HD Radio during the Spring under a grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). WAMC Northeast Public Radio is pursuing additional grants to fund the "phase two" conversion of its remaining FM and AM stations in eastern New York and Western New England.
HD Radio technology was developed by iBiquity Digital and approved in October 2002 by the Federal Communications Commission. HD Radio allows AM/FM broadcasters to seamlessly transmit digital quality audio alongside today's analog-based broadcasts. Little or no change in listener behavior will be required since all local radio station dial positions will remain the same. Listeners will simply tune to their favorite programs and stations and receive them in either a digital or analog format depending on their radio. Because stations will begin digital broadcasting using a "hybrid mode," transmitting digital and analog signals simultaneously, listeners with analog receivers will still be able to pick up the broadcast and will be able to seamlessly upgrade to digital at their own pace.
WAMC Northeast Public Radio transmits over the following stations: WAMC 90.3 FM, Albany*; WAMC 1400 AM, Albany, WAMK 90.9 FM, Kingston; WOSR 91.7 FM, Middletown*; WCEL 91.9 FM, Plattsburgh; WCAN 93.3 FM, Canajoharie; WANC 103.9 FM, Ticonderoga*; WAMQ 105.1 FM, Great Barrington, MA; 93.1 FM, Troy; 88.9 FM, Oneonta; 107.7 FM, Newburgh, NY; and 91.9 Southington, CT. It can be heard on-line at www.wamc.org. (* now in HD Radio)
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Don't Look Down by Alan Chartock
The October Fund Drive is coming up. As usual, the station’s bank accounts are seriously depleted. These are tough times. WAMC will have to repair its main antenna on Mount Greylock which was partially destroyed by a chunk of ice the size of a Volkswagen. That isn’t going to be cheap but for those of you who have notice some diminution in our output, we should be back to normal once this repair is made. If you listen on other WAMC frequencies, please remember that if the main transmitter is broken, almost everything else that feeds from it will also be affected.
Look, it comes down to this. If each person who listened did something to support the station right now, we would be fine. But, the truth is that doesn’t happen. There are many of you who long ago recognized how important WAMC is to them in so many different ways. So we appeal to you to make a single crucial decision. When we say that "We can’t do it without you," we mean it. We are sort of like that mountain climber who keeps going up and up. We never want to look down. We have created one of the best, if not the best, public radio facilities in the country. Is it perfect? No, but we keep on trying to make it so. If you’ve listened to public radio anywhere else I leave it to you to make that decision.
I recently received a letter from someone who doesn’t like The Roundtable. He’d rather hear a syndicated program from NPR. The Roundtable is one of the best community resources anywhere. Joe Donahue and Sarah LaDuke do a phenomenal job. The Roundtable team interviews the very best of our local community leaders, representatives of area arts organizations, and the best authors in the world. The program beats the hell out of anything else I’ve ever heard on the radio. Where else are you going to hear that kind of material? We play all of the NPR stuff on our HD 2 stream that you can find online at WAMC.org or listen to if you have an HD radio.
There will always be folks who just don’t get it. These are the people who say, “You don’t need us, the government gives you money." True, but very, very little – only about 10% of the over $6 million dollar price tag. There are others who insist that they only listen in the car or only at home or only in the mornings. All of you understand this is just not fair. Why not? Because you end up paying for them.
Frankly, I will do what I can but I cannot do it alone. I know that almost all of you are doing something to keep what I refer to as a fragile experiment alive. So I ask you givers to do me a favor. I need you to think of yourselves as passionate ambassadors. You need to speak for all us at WAMC. You need to reach out every time you hear someone say, "I heard that on WAMC," or "I heard that on NPR," and say, "I’m sure that you’ve made a contribution," or "I just sent mine in, have you given?" Be tactful, be kind, be supportive but be there.
Recently I saw a woman’s dog deposit something on my neighbor’s lawn. I didn’t have the guts to tell that lady she should obey the law and do the right thing. I was wrong. I should have spoken up. This kind of thing is never easy but I tell you that this station will not make it if you are not there to work just as hard as you can to bring it on home.
I guess it all comes down to how deeply you feel about this unique enterprise. I recently met a woman in a store who made me cry. She thanked me for everything she said that I had done and then she said, "Don’t ever worry, Alan, we’ll always be there to protect you and the station. Your contribution has been immense but don’t think for a moment that we won’t be there for you.” I was pretty taken with that. I believe her. Please don’t wait to send something in. If you have never contributed, we’ll welcome you with open arms. If you can do more, please understand that I am not lying to you when I tell you how serious this is. We mean it when we say, "We can’t do this without you
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September 2010 Programming Notes by Katie Britton
Happy August everyone!
Ahn Nyeong, WAMC listeners!
It’s the beginning of the school year, so I thought I’d teach you how to say ‘Hello’ in Korean. Soon we can expect to see the leaves change their colors in the beautiful Northeast while the squirrels are gathering up nuts and we are putting our gardens to bed for the winter. We’ll be with you all throughout the fall with great radio.
I hope you’ve been enjoying the new programs we added to our schedule this summer. Now that Tanglewood has ended, we’ll be back to our regular schedule (which you can find on-line), so if you haven’t checked it out yet, tune in Thursdays at 10PM for On the Media, and Sunday afternoons for Bob Edwards Weekend. We’ve had a tremendous response to The Moth (aired the first Friday of each month) and as a thank you for the warm welcome, we’re bringing you two very special episodes of The Moth this Labor Day as well as several other holiday specials. Here’s what’s planned for Labor Day:
9AM – 10AM The Moth #101
In this hour, a batboy for the New York Yankees goes on a wild goose chase for a left-handed bat-stretcher; an Irish-Catholic family obsessed with the Kennedys dedicates a summer to spying on their idols; a comedian experiences the ultimate heartbreak; and a drill sergeant faints at the sight of blood. The Moth's Executive and Creative Director, Lea Thau, hosts.
10AM – 11AM The Moth #102
This hour we’ll hear about how a severely stuttering child years later becomes the world's premier jaguar expert. Plus, a Texas tale of moon pies and bedazzlers; the surprising story of a Harlem man who ends up at a rodeo in Oregon; and one father's way of coping with a son who loves the color pink. The Moth's Artistic Director, Catherine Burns, hosts.
11AM – 12PM Special Performance Place hosted by Paul Elisha
2PM – 3PM The Beatle Finale: Let It Be
In this program, producer Paul Ingles presents the 5th in his series of programs deconstructing great Beatles albums. His panel of musicians, music writers and Beatle fans includes: Anthony DeCurtis, a writer for Rolling Stone Magazine, Los Angeles Times Critic Ann Powers, Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times, Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune, Beatle book authors Steve Turner and Richie Unterberger, and musicians David Gans, Jon Spurney, Richard Goldman and Shawn Colvin.
Enjoy and happy listening!
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