Kids Commute

Welcome to a new week on IPR's Kids Commute. This week starts out on Monday, January 20, which is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In his honor, we've put together Civil Rights Week, with history and music that celebrates his legacy.

This week is a big week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio. It’s Beethoven Week! One of our loyal listeners, Landon, requested Beethoven Week over a year ago and his patience has finally been rewarded. Beethoven is a favorite composer for many people because he wrote so many beautiful pieces of music. He has such a broad body of work, the Kids Commute team decided to focus on his compositions that feature the piano. Beethoven lived a fascinating life, and wrote about 722 compositions over forty five years.

Brrr! It’s Snow Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio! Winter is in full swing, complete with all the wintery weather so the Kids Commute team thought it would be fun to choose some great music to help you enjoy this winter wonderland. We’ll learn about the Snow Maiden from Russian folklore, hear music from two classic movies. We’ll also hear a piece by Florence Price that was almost lost forever, and music from a new contemporary composer, Elodie Jolette. Lots of great music to enjoy, whether you enjoy the snow or not!

Hi Kids Commuters - it’s Nutcracker B-Sides Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio! The Nutcracker is one of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s most famous compositions. It’s performed in the winter because the story takes place around Christmas time. However, it’s so famous that we hear many of the “greatest hits” quite often. So the Kids Commute team thought it would be a good idea to play for you some of the music that’s not heard as frequently, but is still really good. We hope you enjoy this week’s selections.

Hi, Kids Commuters. Now is not the time to sit on a shelf. It’s ELF WEEK on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio! People have been telling stories about elves for centuries, so we thought it would be fun to highlight some music inspired by elves. These creatures were first imagined in old German folklore, and since then, they’ve been useful characters in all kinds of stories. This week’s music features all kinds of elves: mystic, house elves, dancing elves, and silly elves.

Gobble, gobble! Welcome to Food Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio. It’s a short week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but we’ve chosen some quite delicious music to whet your appetite. We’ll hear music from the musical, “Oliver,” music about apples from the West Indies, and Vivaldi’s rarely played piece for two violins titled, “The Turkey.” Since it’s a holiday week, the Kids Commute team is feeling generous and skipping the Kids Commute Quizlet. But fear not, you can still win yourself a Kids Commute Prize Pack.

Welcome to another week of Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio. It’s Monday and that means a new theme for the week, and that is not an unfortunate event - even though the story starts with an unfortunate event - the death of the composer!

Hello Kids Commuters; it’s Veterans' Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio! All week long, we’re saluting the brave men and women that have served, or are currently serving in the American forces.

We’ll be highlighting the anthems of each branch of the United States military.

We’re going to have some musical fun this week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio. It’s Jeux d’Enfants Week! “Jeux d’Enfants”, French for “Child Games,” is a suite of music by French composer, Georges Bizet. Bizet wrote a total of twelve short pieces with a child’s toy as the subject. Bizet uses imaginative musical ideas to create the image of each toy within our minds.

Happy Halloween, Kids Commuters! We've got a whole week of spooky tunes coming your way - weird sounds of all shapes and sizes! Tune in to Classical IPR weekday mornings at 7:40, or listen any time at the links below.

We'll ask your our super-spooky Quizlet question on Friday!

Welcome back to another week of Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio! This week we’re taking a look at the dark side...it’s Villains Week!

All week long, we’ll be listening to music that accompanied some pretty sinister characters ranging from the ancient Mephistopheles to futuristic villain, Darth Vader.

As always, we’ll have a quizlet ready for you, and if you text us the correct answer, you’ll win a Kids Commute Prize Pack!

The Kids Commute team is very excited because our guest host for the week is banjo superstar, Bela Fleck.

We’ll hear about how he got started playing banjo, why he plays classical music, and what inspired him to write classical music for the banjo.

Plus, Bela gives our audience some advice on how to decide which instrument may be right for you to learn. All of that, plus you’ll hear fantastic music played by Bela. And don’t forget about the Kids Commute Quizlet.

Send us the correct answer, and we’ll send you a Kids Commute Prize Pack.

Ladies and gentlemen, kids of all ages - welcome to Circus Extravaganza Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio!

Circuses have existed for thousands of years, and any big-time entertainment needs engaging music to accompany it.

All week long, we’ll listen to music written for and about circuses, clowns, and lion tamers.

Plus, we’ll let you know where we’ve hidden the answer to this week’s Kids Commute Quizlet.

EPISODE 325:

EPISODE 326:

EPISODE 327:

EPISODE 328:

EPISODE 329:

Hey Kids Commuters - welcome to William Tell Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio. 

We’re doing something a little bit different this week. We’re listening to a big piece of music in smaller parts, On Friday, we’ll listen to the whole thing.

The William Tell Overture is one of the most recognizable overtures in classical music. A portion of it was most famously used as the introduction to the radio and television program, “The Lone Ranger.” But there’s much more to the overture than just that famous section.

“MOM! Suzie won’t stop looking at me!” “DAD! Johnny is picking his nose!” Welcome back to Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio. It’s Sibling Week!

All week long, we’ll take a look at famous musical siblings. We have a pair of sisters, a sister and a brother, twin brothers, regular brothers, and a pair of brothers with a whole lot of sisters all contained in this very special week on Kids Commute. The Kids Commute team has found recordings by these outstanding musical artists.

 We’re really excited about this week, because pianist Jenny Lin is our guest host. Jenny is an incredibly talented concert pianist who has all kinds of great accomplishments under her belt.

This week she’ll be talking about her children’s book “Melody’s Mostly Musical Day.” This is super cool because not only is it a great story with illustrations, but it has its own soundtrack, played by Jenny.

Kids Commute host Kate Botello sat down with Jenny to discuss the book and the music.

With the start of the school year, the Kids Commute team thought it would be fun to introduce you to a teacher who has deeply influenced the course of music composition in the 20th century, Nadia Boulanger.

All week long we’ll hear music composed by Nadia Boulanger, and some of her most famous students, including Aaron Copland, Philip Glass and more.

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. 

Happy Friday!  It’s the final day of Request Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio.  All week long, we’ve been celebrating a fantastic school year by letting our listeners choose the music for the week.  We’ve heard some film music, a piano piece that’s a favorite of classical music fans everywhere, and music written for orchestra.  Today, Noah has chosen a piece that’s very appropriate for the end of the school year. “Pomp and Circumstance,” is a military march composed by Sir Edward Elgar.

It’s Request Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio!  The Kids Commute team thought it would be great to celebrate the end of the school year by putting the Kids Commuters in charge of selecting the music for this week.  So far, we’ve heard two pieces of film music chosen by Brendan and Ruth. For yesterday’s episode, Uma chose, “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” by German composer Richard Strauss.  Kids Commuter, Kelsey, has requested a piece of piano music for today’s show. In fact, it’s one of the most popular pieces of piano music in all of classical music.

Welcome back to Request Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio.  All week long, we’re playing music chosen by our listeners. So far we’ve heard music from the films, “Godzilla,” and “The Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring.” Today’s request comes from Kids Commuter, Uma, who has chosen, "Einleitung", from “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” by German composer Richard Strauss.  Kate Botello will translate the title, give us some information about the composer, and the piece itself. We’ll also hear ways in which the musical theme has been used in popular culture.