Kate Botello

Hi Kids Commuters! Welcome to a brand new season of Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio! The Kids Commute team is excited about all the fun things we have planned for our third season.

We have some very special guest hosts, and recordings of the Kids Commute theme played by very talented artists. This season is packed with interesting information to get you excited to learn more about music. 

Traverse City's Old Town Playhouse will soon open a production of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest." The play features many delightfully oddball characters, including the staunch Victorian Lady Augusta Bracknell, portrayed in this production by Betsy Willis.

Willis came to IPR's Studio B in character as Lady Bracknell to share some of that great lady's favorite music, interspersed with some firm Victorian opinions about edifying music, a fondness for German respectability and a general suspicion of all things French.

Soprano Lauren Fleming is about to be a senior at Traverse City Central High School. For two years running, she was named one of the top soloists in the state of Michigan and performed at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival.

Lauren, a musical theatre performer from a young age, stopped by Studio A to chat with IPR's Kate Botello about making the switch from theatre to opera. She performed two pieces: "Villanella" by Eva Dell'Acqua and "Ma rendi pur contento" by Vincenzo Bellini.

Hear the interview and performances below.

Terry Barber  is an internationally touring countertenor and educator. His voice appears in recordings on every major record label. He will be performing a special concert to benefit the the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts and Michigan Legacy Art Park, a couple of leading nonprofit arts organizations in Northern Michigan.

Terry Barber visited IPR’s Studio A to perform some music and talk about the special flexiblity he applies to his voice and his work. Hear the entire performance and interview below.

The Cadillac Footliters have expanded their theatre program for young people to include a new teen production, opening this weekend. The musical "Freaky Friday" is based on the beloved 1971 Mary Rodgers book, and it has been made into two (non-musical) films in 1976 and and 2003.

The show's director Julie VanHaitsma and music director Shelley Taylor spent an hour on Classical IPR talking about the show and sharing some of its appealing score. Listen to the interview and music below.

The show runs July 25-26 and August 2-3 in the Cadillac High School Auditorium. 

Fourteen-year-old violinist Ellen Zhou was recently named a winner of this year's Intermediate Concerto Competition at Interlochen Arts Camp.

On July 24, she'll perform the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor on a concert with the Intermediate Concert Orchestra and Intermediate Symphony Orchestra.

Tenth Intervention is a collective of musicians and a concert series that presents new music in New York City. They collaborate with composers, musicians, visual artists, choreographers, dancers and community organizations. Tenth Intervention is in Traverse City for performances with the Traverse City Dance Project and the Music House Museum this week.

Russian Renaissance is a Russian chamber ensemble working to redefine the possibilities of their traditional Russian folk instruments. Russian Renaissance is here on a tour as an internationally acclaimed chamber music group.

Angela Kim is a pianist and frequent guest soloist with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra. Ms. Kim will be performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with them this Thursday.

Angela Kim visited IPR’s Studio A to perform Chopin's Nocturne Op. 62, No. 1. She talked about Beethoven, as well as her work as both soloist and collaborator. Hear the entire performance and interview below.

Erin Anderson Whiting, Executive Director of the Parallel 45 Theatre Company, dropped by to IPR studios to share music and context surrounding the revolutionary rock musical "Hair." Parallel 45 will open its production of "Hair" at the Amphitheater at Civic Center Park in Traverse City on Thursday, July 11th. The show will run through August 3. Visit parallel45.org for tickets and more information.

Erin joined IPR host Kate Botello to frame context around the show, its music and its place in 1960's American culture.  

Carrie Lynn Brannen is a cellist and private instructor in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. She will perform with the Benzie Area Symphony Orchestra this weekend.

Carrie visited IPR’s Studio A to perform some music and talk about her connection with the Benzie Area Symphony and Mabel, her very special "mystery cello." Hear the entire performance and interview below.

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee recently presented a recital in Interlochen's Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall. Brownlee, along with collaborative pianist Myra Huang, performed "Dichterliebe" by Robert Schumann (text by Heinrich Heine) and "Cycles of My Being" by Tyshawn Sorey (text by Terrance Hayes).

Listen Friday at 8 p.m. on Classical IPR or any time below.

For the full texts and translations, see below. Click each image for a larger view.

This week on Classical IPR in Concert - we'll go to Studio A with Interlochen Arts Academy composers, poets and singers. Inspired by a collaboration between their instructors, students teamed up to create works that gave full voice to all three disciplines.

Performances in Studio A were engineered by Brock Morman, Michael Culler engineered the performances in the Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall.

Zikuan "Harvard" Zhao is a sophomore at Interlochen Arts Academy. The pianist from Shangdong Province, China came to Studio A to perform music of Franz Liszt.

Hey Kids Commuters! Welcome to Day Two of Bernstein Week on IPR's Kids Commute! This week, we're looking at the life and career of Leonard Bernstein - beloved 20th century composer, conductor and educator.

Today, we'll hear some jolly-sounding wickedness from Bernstein's 1956 operetta "Candide" - based on the philosophical novel by the French author Voltaire. The dastardly Governor of Buenos Aires, Argentina sends Candide off on a voyage - on a leaky boat!

Hi Kids Commuters! Welcome to "Bernstein Week" on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio. This week, we’re looking at the life and career of Leonard Bernstein, one of the most popular conductors of the 20th century. His expressive conducting style, his love for music education, and his ability to connect with people made Bernstein a household name.

Classical IPR in Concert presents the Interlochen Arts Academy Singer-Songwriters in Studio A.  We caught up with a group of five students as they were about to embark on a tour of the Midwest with instructor Kyle Novy. Fellow instructor Courtney Kaiser-Sandler took a different student group to South by Southwest.

Listen Friday at 8pm, stream any time below!

Happy Wednesday! Welcome to Day Three of "Carmina Burana" Week on IPR's Kids Commute. "Carmina Burana" is a oratorio (a piece for voices and orchestra) written by the German composer Carl Orff in 1935.

Happy Tuesday! Welcome to Day Two of "Carmina Burana" Week on IPR's Kids Commute.  "Carmina Burana" is a oratorio (a piece for voices and orchestra) written by the German composer Carl Orff in 1935.

Happy Monday! Welcome to a whole new week on IPR's Kids Commute. This week is going to be huge - it's "Carmina Burana" Week! "Carmina Burana" is an oratorio (a piece for chorus and orchestra) written by the German composer Carl Orff in 1935. He based the work on texts written by medieval monks and religious workers - on their days off. Some of those folks had a pretty wild imagination!

Joining us this week is Kevin Rhodes, Conductor and Music Director of the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. The TSO will be performing "Carmina Burana" along with the Northwestern Michigan College and Interlochen Arts Academy Choirs this coming weekend. Tune in to find out how to win a pair of tickets!

Happy Friday, Kids Commuters!

We hope you've enjoyed celebrating April Fool's this week by becoming fools...for the polka! We've heard some fun, goofy polkas all week, and we'd still love for you to send your best (or worst!) joke to our Quizlet line!

What better way to wind up Polka Week than with America's current, beloved polka king - Weird Al Yankovic! He's been a big star since the 1970's, known for writing silly parody versions of hit radio songs. Today, though, we're hearing an original polka composition by Weird Al, written for "Pokemon 2000: The Power of Love."

Welcome to Day Four of Polka Week on IPR's Kids Commute!

Since Monday was April Fool's Day, we are celebrating this week by becoming fools...for the polka! We'll be listening to some fun, goofy polkas all week, and give you a chance to goof around with us at Quizlet time.

Today, we'll hear the wicked little "Devil's Polka" by Czech composer Vitezslav Novak. Listen for everything he does to make the music sound more "devilish!"

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"Devil's Polka"
Vitezslav Novak
Prague Symphony Orchestra/Vaclav Smetacek

Visiting vocal faculty member soprano Angela Yoon is giving a concert in the Dendrinos Chapel and Recital Hall tonight at 7:30pm. Joining her will be Dr. Jason Terry, a member of the piano faculty at Bradley University.

Welcome to Day Three of Polka Week on IPR's Kids Commute!

Since Monday was April Fool's Day, we are celebrating this week by becoming fools...for the polka! We'll be listening to some fun, goofy polkas all week, and give you a chance to goof around with us at Quizlet time.

Today, we'll enjoy an explosive polka by Johann Strauss II. Oh - you didn't think polkas could be explosive? Think again!

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Explosions Polka
Johann Strauss II
Vienna Philharmonic/Zubin Mehta

Happy Tuesday! Welcome to Day Two of Polka Week on IPR's Kids Commute!

Since Monday was April Fool's Day, we are celebrating this week by becoming fools...for the polka! We'll be listening to some fun, goofy polkas all week, and give you a chance to goof around with us at Quizlet time.