Kids Commute

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:

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EPISODE 327:

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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.

Thanks for listening to Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio.  It’s Request Week, and we’re listening to music chosen by you! Yesterday, Brendan selected music from the 1954 movie, “Godzilla.”  Today, Ruth requested, “The Breaking of the Fellowship” from “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” She says, “I chose this song because of the different themes and I really like the boys choir near the end.”  Those are some pretty good reasons, in our opinion. Once we hear the music, we’ll give you the first hint for this week’s Kids Commute Quizlet.

It’s the last week of Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio, and we thought the best way to celebrate the end of the school year would be to put you in charge.  It’s Request Week!  All of the musical selections this week were chosen by you.  Some selections are from previous episodes and some are just great pieces of classical music.  Our first request comes from Brendan. If you’re a regular Kids Commute listener, you’ve probably heard his Kids Commute introduction a few times.  Brendan chose a piece of music from episode 234 from Monster Week.

Happy Friday!  Welcome back to Randomizer Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio.  All week long, we’ve been highlighting pieces of great music that doesn’t fit into any particular theme, but are still super fun to listen to.  Be sure to look back and check out any episodes you may have missed. Today, we listen to a lighthearted version of a very serious (and very famous) musical work.  Kate will tell you all about the musical ensemble, The Swingle Singers, who have won five Grammy awards for their extensive body of work.

It’s another random day during Randomizer Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio.  This week, the Kids Commute Randomizer Machine churned out five pieces of great music that don’t really fit into a weekly theme, but are still fun to listen to.  So far this week, we’ve listened to, “The Typewriter,” by Leroy Anderson, “Uh-Oh,” by P.D.Q. Bach, and “Ill Wind,” by musical comedy duo Flanders and Swann. Today, we get a little silly with modern things like video games, zombies, and tangos.

We’re happy to have you back for another episode of Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio!  It’s Randomizer Week, and that means that the Kids Commute Randomizer Machine has chosen five pieces of great music that have nothing to do with each other, but are still fun to listen to.  Today, we’re getting a little ill. Not in the sense that we’re getting sick, of course. “Ill Wind,” is a parody song based on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4.

Welcome to Randomizer Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio!  As the Kids Commute team begins to wrap up this season, we thought it would be fun to highlight pieces that don’t fit into a weekly theme, but are still fun to listen to.  So we threw a bunch of ingredients into our Randomizer Machine, fired it up, and out came five great musical selections that have absolutely nothing to do with each other.  Today, we take a look back on an invention that at one time was absolutely essential for many people.  The typewriter!  Do you know what that is?

It’s another random day in Randomizer Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio.  Our theme this week is that we have no theme! Only great music that is fun to listen to, but doesn’t quite fit into a weekly theme.  Yesterday, we listened to, “The Typewriter,” written by Leroy Anderson about a device that was once essential for many people, but has largely been replaced by computers.  Today, we go in an entirely different direction, and listen to, “Uh-Oh,” from “A Little Nightmare Music,” composed by P.D.Q. Bach, otherwise known as Peter Schickele. Mr.

  TGIF!  It’s the final day of SATB Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio.  If you’ve listened all week, you know that SATB is the musical abbreviation for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass (also referred to as baritone).  Each day, we’ve heard musical selections that demonstrate how each of these vocal parts are used. Today, we get to hear how each of these parts weave together as we listen to “So You Want To Write a Fugue,” composed by the famous Glenn Gould.  After the music, we’ll reveal the answer to this week’s Kids Commute Quizlet.

Today, we’re getting down to the bottom of things as we decode the last letter of SATB Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio.   So far, we’ve soared with Joan Sutherland as she sang, “The Doll Song,” by Jacques Offenbach. We’ve lamented with the altos as we listened to, “Alto’s Lament,” by Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich.

  We’re back to decode the next letter of the musical abbreviation, “SATB”.  You may already know what it stands for, but in case you don’t, we’ll give you all the answers during SATB Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio.  So far this week, we’ve decoded S and A. Today, guest host Lynne Church reveals what ‘T’ stands for before we listen to famous singer Luciano Pavarotti perform, “Una Furtiva Lagrima,” from the opera “L’Elisir D’Amore,” composed by Gaetano Donizetti.  Stick around after the music for the second hint for this week’s Kids Commute Quizlet.

  Welcome back to SATB Week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio.  Do you know what SATB means? Each day this week, we’ll decode one of the letters in this musical abbreviation.  Yesterday, we found out what ‘S’ stands for and listened to “The Doll Song,” from the opera, “Tales of Hoffman,” composed by Jacques Offenbach.  Today, guest host Lynne Church decodes the letter ‘A’ before we hear a funny song written by Interlochen alumna Marcy Heisler. After hearing “Altos' Lament,” maybe we’ll all have a little more sympathy for the fact that altos rarely get to sing the melody.

Welcome to a brand new week on Kids Commute from Interlochen Public Radio.  Do you know what SATB stands for? Tune in all week long and special guest Lynne Church, Interlochen Arts Academy voice instructor, decode it for you one letter at a time.  Today’s episode is brought to you by the letter ‘S’ as we listen to “The Doll Song,” composed by Jacques Offenbach for his opera, “Tales of Hoffman.” We’ll also introduce you this week’s Kids Commute Quizlet after the music.  Do you think you can guess the answer without any hints? If you can, we’ll send you a Kids Commute Prize Pack.