POSTED October 28, 2011 — On Halloween, you can count on spooky classics from Classical Public Radio at 89.9 and wdav.org. Our programming will feature Bach’s Toccata and Fugue and Saint-Saën’s Danse Macabre, Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz and more. From 7 to 9 p.m., listen for a reprise of the two-part Reel Music Halloween special, with music from classic horror films such as The Bride of Frankenstein, Cat People, Rosemary’s Baby, The Omen, and Silence of the Lambs. And at 9 p.m., Frank Dominguez opens his bag of tricks and treats for a special edition of Halloween Night Music, featuring more haunting classical favorites.

WDAV has your Halloween soundtrack. It should be devilishly good fun!

Effective November 11, 2011, WDAV will begin distributing the popular program World of Opera, which had previously been distributed by NPR. Listeners’ experience of the show will be unchanged: World of Opera will continue to feature the same high-quality operas from European and American opera houses, and Lisa Simeone will continue as host. World of Opera, carried by some 60 public radio stations across the nation, is the only radio show in America devoted to broadcasting full-length operas captured in performance from around the world. Productions from La Scala, Bayreuth, Vienna, Paris and Geneva regularly grace World of Opera’s airwaves, as well as performances from great American opera companies, including Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Glimmerglass, Santa Fe and New York City Opera.

We are seeing a lot of misleading media reports about WDAV’s relationship to World of Opera host Lisa Simeone. To clarify and correct:

As host of World of Opera, Lisa Simeone is an independent contractor of WDAV Classical Public Radio. Ms. Simeone’s activities outside of this job are not in violation of any of WDAV’s employee codes and have had no effect on her job performance at WDAV. Ms. Simeone remains the host of World of Opera.

 We continue to work with NPR to find a solution to the issues surrounding World of Opera, and we’ll publish any updates here!

You may have heard or read news coverage of an issue with NPR World of Opera and our host, Lisa Simeone. Here’s WDAV’s statement:

WDAV and NPR have different missions. WDAV respects NPR’s mission to serve as a leading news provider. WDAV on the other hand, exists to serve as a leading provider of arts and cultural programming nationally and internationally. Based on the differing missions of these two organizations, we are working together to find a solution to the issues surrounding NPR World of Opera.

We’ll offer updates here as they are available!

POSTED October 15, 2011 — October 22, 2011 marks the 200th birth anniversary of pianist and composer Franz Liszt. To celebrate, WDAV brings you Liszt-o-mania!

During the week of Monday, October 17th – Saturday, October 22nd, you’ll hear Liszt’s most important works on WDAV, as well as commentary on each piece from Bruce Murray, concert pianist and dean of the Brevard Music Center in Brevard, North Carolina.

On Liszt’ actual birthday, Saturday, October 22nd, we’ll feature a  Liszt “Mini-Marathon” between 7 am and 7 pm, with a different Liszt work scheduled each hour. There’ll be CD giveaways and more! Join in the week-long birthday party, as we celebrate the life and works of Franz Liszt!

(Now, if only we could get Liszt to enjoy himself…)

Thank you to the 1,300+ listeners who helped us make our Fall Membership Campaign goal of $210,000 — the largest campaign goal in the station’s history. We are grateful for your support, as well as the tireless efforts of our volunteers, the generosity of area restaurants who fed us all for the last ten days, and the patience of our colleagues, family and friends!

Thank you for supporting the best classical music from the Carolinas and beyond on WDAV Classical Public Radio!

POSTED September 19, 2011 — Our friends at the KnightArts Blog fund and chronicle stories about great art. Susannah Schouweiler in St. Paul, Minn. posted this article about a recent collaboration between the young composer Nico Muhly, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the all-male chorus Cantus.

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO), under the direction of conductor Joana Carneiro, drew a full house to the Ordway on Saturday night. It was opening weekend of the 2011-2012 performance season for this Knight Arts grantee, but that’s not the only reason the performance hall was humming with anticipation. We were all especially eager to hear Cantus, a nationally acclaimed men’s vocal ensemble that would be joining the lauded musicians of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra on stage for the evening’s headline performance. That performance was the world premiere of an ambitious new work, “Luminous Body,” jointly commissioned from buzzed-about young composer Nico Muhly by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Cantus and the Minnesota Commissioning Club. Read more…

Check here to listen on-demand to the September 10th broadcast from Minnesota Public Radio

POSTED September 9, 2011 – WDAV Classical Public Radio announced today that it will broadcast the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra’s season-opening concert from the Belk Theater on Friday, September 16, 2011. Music Director Christopher Warren-Green leads the CSO in an all-Russian program, and the centerpiece of the concert features Croatian pianist Martina Filjak making her CSO debut in the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. WDAV’s Mike McKay and Matt Rogers take on the hosting duties when the live broadcast begins on WDAV 89.9FM and wdav.org at 8 p.m., direct from Charlotte’s Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.

“WDAV loves taking our listeners to this region’s best classical music performances, and this CSO program offers wall-to-wall musical blockbusters,” said WDAV General Manager Scott Nolan. “The WDAV staff and I look forward to meeting concert-goers in the Belk Theater lobby on Friday night and enjoying the concert broadcast with our audience. We’re grateful to the players and staff of the Charlotte Symphony for making this concert broadcast possible.”

Added Jonathan Martin, President and Executive Director of the CSO, “We are thrilled to begin Christopher Warren-Green’s second season with the Charlotte Symphony through this special live broadcast. It exemplifies the close partnership with WDAV and allows the Charlotte Symphony to reach thousands more listeners.”

Before the concert, the CSO presents “Musically Speaking,” an engaging conversation from the stage in which WDAV’s Program Director Frank Dominguez previews the CSO’s 2011-12 season with CSO Music Director Christopher Warren-Green and CSO Associate Conductor Jacomo Bairos. “Musically Speaking” is free to all ticket-holders and begins in the Belk Theater at 7 p.m.

Concert tickets start at $31.50 and are available through the Charlotte Symphony Ticket Office at 704-972-2000 or the CSO website.

Live concert broadcasts on WDAV Classical Public Radio are made possible by generous members and by WDAV’s Listen Live Fund. Contributors include the estate of Carol Ann Douglas, the Jane Cooke Brynn Music Education Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts.

About the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
The Charlotte Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in the Charlotte region and the largest professional orchestra in the central Carolinas, employing more than 100 musicians, 62 on full-time contracts. The orchestra performs nearly 100 concerts each year, reaching more than 200,000 listeners. The CSO also operates the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras and the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte and is committed to broad educational outreach. The CSO is supported by ticket revenue, generous corporate and individual giving, and foundation grants and receives operating support from the N.C. Arts Council and the Arts & Science Council.

About WDAV 89.9 Classical Public Radio
WDAV is one of America’s leading producers of original classical music programming. In addition to producing 156 hours per week for its own broadcast use, the station produces nationally-distributed programs, including NPR World of Opera, Concierto, SummerStages, and, in partnership with ETV Radio of South Carolina, Carolina Live. A service of Davidson College in Davidson, NC, WDAV’s 89.9FM signal reaches a 22-county region centered in the Charlotte, NC metro area and ranging from Rock Hill, SC to Galax, VA. WDAV’s broadcasts can be heard live online 24 hours a day at wdav.org and iTunes, as well as on any iPhone or iPad equipped with the “Tuned In,” “NPR Music” or “Public Radio Player” app.