Playlist of music selected for Variations on a Theme episode Winter is Coming. Continue Reading Variations on a Theme: Winter is ComingRead More
Classical Music
Turn on your radio, pour a cup of tea, cozy up to a warm fire, and enjoy uplifting music, heartwarming stories and inspiring performances to celebrate the season.
Here’s a list of special programs coming your way throughout the month of December. Continue Reading Special Holiday Radio Read More
Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude. For food, family, friends, and for the first stewards of this land we call America: Indigenous Tribes. This Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day, join NWPB for music and stories that reflect the meaning of tradition and gratitude. Read More
The steins of beer. The plates of roast pork and chicken, sausages and dumplings. The brass bands. The throngs of people, many of them in traditional Bavarian dress. Dirndls or lederhosen, anyone? That’s how you probably identify Oktoberfest today. However, in the beginning, it had a very different feel. Read More
This week, we are saying goodbye to longtime classical music host Gigi Yellen. For more than ten years, Gigi has delighted NWPB listeners with music and commentary, and contributed to many more projects and initiatives. You can read or listen to her work on the Music and Culture page. We wish Gigi a happy retirement, and all the best on her next chapter. Gigi sat down with Read More
After more than 50 years behind the mic, and 10 years at Northwest public Broadcasting, Classical Music Host Gigi Yellen is retiring. Gigi’s last show will be September 27. Continue Reading Gigi Yellen RetiresRead More
Fair and carnival season is upon us! Catch music reminiscent of the fair in this edition of Variations on a Theme! Continue Reading Variations on a Theme: The Fair!Read More
El Grito de la Independencia Selections of Mexican composers, performers and conductors for the celebration of the Mexican Independence from Spain. It began September 15th 1810 with “The Shout of… Continue Reading Variations on a Theme: Mexican Read More
The first Labor Day was celebrated in 1882. The labor movement is long, varied, and complex. But at the heart of it is the desire for better living conditions for… Continue Reading Variations on a Theme: Labor Day!Read More
NWPB receives no funding and has no control over ads played on Spotify. All great composers were students and one time or another. Danse bohemienne by Debussy was written when… Continue Reading Variations on a Theme: Hearing HomeworkRead More
There’s nothing better than sun-warmed ripe fruits from the garden. Gardens are also very nice to walk in and to bask in their fragrance. In the Country Gardens, a standard… Continue Reading Variations on a Theme: GardensRead More
Music to commemorate the lunar landing of Apollo 11, July 20th, 1969. Music about the moon and moon related things. Continue Reading Variations on a Theme: Moon MusicRead More
This Variations on a Theme excavates music from composers active in 1799, featuring a Napoleon favorite, Haydn, Beethoven, and a celebration of the discovery of the Rosetta stone! Continue Reading Variations on a Theme: Party Like It’s 1799Read More
Music that sparkles! A musical pick-me-up to dazzle you. Continue Reading Variations on a Theme: Spark!Read More
Music for that free flow of summer, when adventure - or a nap - can happen at any moment. There's music written by composers on Summer retreats, and music that evokes the sun-faded feeling. Continue Reading Variations on a Theme: SummertimeRead More
Quick: name a classical music composer. Chances are, the first names that come up are not women. Now there’s a new database that opens up centuries of women composers, linking their names to stories, performing scores, and recordings Continue Reading Music Moment: The Read More
When’s the last time you watched a Tiny Desk Concert? NPR’s popular in-office show became the Tiny Desk (Home) Concert when the pandemic hit. On June 24, 2021, one artist’s home studio performance came from a remote island in the south Pacific Ocean, two thousand miles west of Chile. The pianist Mahani Teave (teh-AH-veh) offered not only Handel and Chopin, but also a tour Read More
You’ve heard so much about the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach, but there were daughters, too. Bach was 23, and his wife Maria Barbara was 24, when the first of their children was born. They named her Catherina Dorothea. CD grew into a singer, and helped out in her father’s music work. Fifteen years passed, her mother died, her father remarried, and finally, CD Bach Read More
LaFarge’s Chopin journey began with an email to the creator of the video game “Frederic: The Resurrection of Music” during the 200th anniversary year of Chopin’s birth. An amateur pianist, she wanted to explore the game’s use of Chopin’s iconic “funeral march.” Of course, like all explorers, she couldn’t stop there. Read More
James DePreist was a gifted communicator whether speaking, writing, or conducting. He is the subject of this “Music Moment” from NWPB Classical. Continue Reading Music Moment: James DePreistRead More
From our very first broadcasts, in December 1922, music has been an important, and popular, part of this station’s programming. Listeners were thrilled to hear music on the new medium of radio, so a partnership quickly developed between the station (then known as KWSC) and the Washington State College School of Music. 100 years on, the collaboration continues. Read More
Dr. Jacqueline Wilson of Yakama Can an instrument suit your personality? Dr. Jacqueline Wilson of Yakama would say so. She believes her personality fits best with a large, low sounding,… Continue Reading Using Her Bassoon To Elevate Indigenous Voices – Read More
Do you know a girl who bounces across the lawn, no matter what dress she’s wearing? Jumping, singing, climbing trees? That’s the kind of girl this story is about. Continue Reading BOOK REVIEW: Rise Up With A Song: The True Read More
You'll hear an interview of Dr. Jaqueline Wilson about her upcoming album featuring new music by Native American Composers, and how her high school band teacher guided her to her music goals. Continue Reading Meet Bassoonist Dr. Jacqueline Wilson (Yakama)Read More
Today marks the 150th birthday of one of England's most revered composers, Ralph Vaughan Williams, who is also widely beloved beyond Britain. A folksong expert who logged long trips collecting traditional tunes all over the British Isles, Vaughan Williams famously produced gently modal folksong fantasies evoking England's "green and pleasant land." Read More
From the first festival held in Munich over 200 years ago, Oktoberfest has spread around the world, even to Northwest Public Broadcasting! If the drinking songs and autumn music you hear on NWPB Classical has you in the mood to attend an Oktoberfest in your area, here are a few festivals happening in October. Read More
NWPB Classical is proud to present a special re-broadcast of the west coast premiere of Damien Geter’s An African American Requiem. The program airs Monday, June 20 at 8:00 pm. Continue Reading Juneteenth Special Program: Damien Read More
Twenty-five years ago, Angèle Dubeau had a thriving career as a concert violinist, having studied with the legendary Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School in New York. She had become a popular broadcaster at home in Québec, where she hosted a weekly French-language program on CBC. She already had her Arthur (as she calls her prized Stradivarius violin), but she envisioned Read More
Read On Thursday March 10th, public radio stations around the world, including NWPB, will air Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 “Choral” in support of Ukraine’s public broadcasting system. The project is… Continue Reading A Read More
Claudio José Brindis de Salas y Garrido. A renowned violinist, born in Cuba in 1852. A contemporary journalist described his playing, and the effect it had on his listeners. “His eyes sparkled. His fingers multiplied…reaching into the deep nerves of the melody…leading a rapt audience to drunken emotion.” Read More
Can singing in harmony fix our broken world? If you’ve sung in a chorus, perhaps you’ve felt it can. You’re not alone. Watch this presentation by the award-winning ensemble The King’s Singers, making the case for the choral community’s duty to help heal our fractured societies. It’s from the Chorus America Virtual Conference in 2020. Read More
The holiday season has always been popular for introducing new works, including many perennial favorites. In Italy, the day after Christmas became especially meaningful to composers and impresarios. Continue Reading ‘Tis The Season Of Read More
The holiday season inspires all kinds of thoughts, often having to do with reflection, celebration and renewal. For musicians and concert presenters, this time of year has long served as a period for introducing new works, whether specifically related to the season or not. Classical music offers a wealth of examples. Read More
If you find yourself asking, “Who is Florence Price?” you’re not alone. Which is why that’s the title of a lively new book for and by young readers. Continue Reading BOOK REVIEW: Who Is Florence Price? Young Musicians Read More
There’s a recipe for just this baroque-era staple included in The Little Bach Book by the Oregon-based tenor, Bach specialist and book designer David Gordon (Lucky Valley Press, 2017). Only 160 pages, including maps, glossary, timeline, recommendations for further reading and, yes, recipes, Gordon’s little book reveals the magnificent Johann Sebastian Bach as a man of his Read More
Every beer tent at Oktoberfest in Munich has its own take on traditional food. So here are a few (non-taditional) offerings from the NWPB tent, submitted by NWPB staff. Continue Reading Guinness Stew, Sauerkraut Roast, And Read More
Nettie Asberry opened many doors in her lifetime, including her own. Her teaching and her activism left an indelible mark on the Northwest. Continue Reading Women’s History Music Moment: Nettie AsberryRead More
What is it about some music that feels just right for these challenging times? In Victoria, BC, the theme of the 13th Annual Pacific Baroque Festival is “From the Ground, Up,” featuring just that kind of music: the kind that builds on repetition. Marc Destrubé, the internationally-acclaimed violinist and teacher, and the Pacific Baroque Festival’s Artistic Director, says Read More
Freshly sharpened pencils. New spiral notebooks. Markings of a new school year and a new opportunity to fill your brain with math and English and music. Many composers led double lives as teachers, and some of the music we remember best originated in the classroom. Read More
When a student becomes an award-winner, you congratulate the teacher, right? A teacher like Dr. Chris Dickey, assistant professor of tuba at WSU. His student earned this year’s first prize in European Music at the Charleston International Music Competition. The student is WSU sophomore Tim Schrader. Read More
With the height of the Perseids on August 11 & 12, it’s a great time to reflect on the inspired music of composers entranced by the celestial objects that surround us. The sky has had a long history of captivating its audience. Continue Reading Composers And The Night SkyRead More
Theaters of the 1920’s were nothing short of magical. Elaborate architecture and stunning decor housed vaudevillian acts and traveling shows for an evening or two, while making way for a rapidly growing hunger in America - a desire for movies. The Lincoln Theater in Mount Vernon was born during this enchanting time of art and growth and today serves as a home to Read More
Music and technology - two things you probably can't live without! But can you tell the difference when given just a name? Is Frescobaldi a composer or music software. Or both! Take a couple moments to see if you can guess composer from music software. Continue Reading Quiz: Read More
Who needs a concert hall when there’s a barn nearby? Or a brewery? Or an old electric power plant? The Northwest is home to some classical music venues with decidedly non-classical histories. This is the story of Trillium Woods Farm, home of Concerts in the Barn. Read More
The orchestra tuning up. A quieting audience. Applause as the conductor enters the stage.
Familiar sounds marking the start of a live performance. After a year and a half pause, symphony season has been a notably missing companion in our community. Continue Read More
A 24-year-old New York man packed a Jeep with some essentials and a few cans of gas and made his way across Arizona in 1916. The man, Ferde Grofé, arrived at his destination after dark, unaware that his life was about to change with the sunrise of the next day. Continue Read More
Conducting a symphony orchestra is hard. It takes a special set of skills to bring out just the right sound from a stage full of players. Even after Bellingham Symphony’s Music Director Yaniv Attar finished his studies with legendary classical guitarist Sharon Isbin, he found that she still had a thing or two to teach him about conducting. Read More
“I promise you, children become what they are told they are.” The words of the first teacher to be awarded the National Medal of the Arts, Dorothy DeLay. Her violin students numbered in the hundreds, and they include some of music’s biggest names: Midori, Nigel Kennedy, Sarah Chang, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Anne Akiko Meyers, Gil Shaham and Itzhak Perlman. Read More
Classical music has historically been dominated by white voices. Black composers and musicians have been silenced and barred from musical careers, with a long history of not receiving proper credit for their contributions, and even so far as being kept from being audience members for much of music history. But the future of classical music is diverse and inclusive and Read More
From the teaching studio to the concert hall, musicians are uniquely poised to create community through their work. For one Tacoma-based violin teacher, inspiration comes from camaraderie with fellow performers and students. Continue Reading Read More
