Every weekday morning and afternoon during the school year, Interlochen Public Radio presents Kids Commute, an interactive exploration of classical music centered around weekly themes, designed to educate and entertain our youngest listeners.
Our mission is to inspire love and appreciation for classical music among young people by providing history, context, and insights into composers and their works.
Kids Commute chooses weekly themes around which selections of classical music are chosen including mermaids, operas, and elephants.
We also explore ballets, their stories, and the music that goes along with them ("Sleeping Beauty" and "Cinderella," for instance), along with time-honored classics like Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf."
Every week, we ask listeners a trivia question ("quizlet") related to that week's theme. Those who answer correctly get to hear their names on the air.
Composers who have been highlighted include the best known names of classical music, but also new composers including the teenaged Alma Deutscher who was the highlight of her own week. Her album “From My Book of Melodies” is a collection of works that she wrote from age five to fourteen. Her week aired only six weeks after her Carnegie Hall debut.
National level talent featured on our show include Béla Fleck, who discussed his arrangements of classical pieces during Banjo Week. Classical pianist Jenny Lin promoted her book, “Melody’s Mostly Musical Day.” Each day of that week featured a track from the classical music CD that is included with the purchase of the book.
Kids Commute educates and inspires our audience by connecting them to not only the mainstays of classical music but also introduces them to what’s new and relevant in classical music.
Many within our audience are learning a musical instrument themselves and we encourage them to record their version of our show’s simple theme song on their instrument. To date, dozens of students have submitted their greetings, artwork, and stories, and they are used regularly on the program.
Kids Commute Live concerts regularly engage over 300 kids and parents during each annual public performance. Through these live public performances we ignite a lifelong passion for the arts through excellence in educational, artistic, and cultural programs that enhance their quality of life through the universal language of the arts.