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Sam Wisman
Senior Producer - 91.9 Classical KC / Backup Announcer - KCUR 89.3Sam started listening to jazz on his local NPR affiliate when he was just 13 years old, and his life as a musician and radio guy continues to intertwine. Son of a merchant and a classical musician, he came to Kansas City to attend the UMKC Conservatory. During school, he shelved a lot of records and played “drop the needle” at The Marr Sound Archives, working with KCUR’s own Fish Fry host Chuck Haddix. After graduating Cum Laude with a degree in Percussion Performance, Sam became a versatile fixture in Kansas City’s music scene. He hosted Jazz Afternoon on 90.1 FM KKFI for over 10 years, and currently hosts Jazz Across America - Kansas City on San Diego's KSDS Jazz 88.3. Sam lives with his family in Roeland Park, and has yet to measure the volume of his kids with a decibel meter — but he has thought about it.
Email him at samwisman@classicalkc.org.
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This week we'll hear two recent Kansas City Symphony performances: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Serenade No. 10 known as the "Gran Partita," and Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis." The program closes with Peter Tchaikovsky's rousing Symphony No. 3.
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There are fewer performance opportunities for dancers and dance lovers during the summer months, but Moving Arts hopes to give the scene a lift. Christy L'Esperance speaks with Co-Founder/Artistic Director Logan Pachciarz and choreographer Heather Nichols about the group’s mission as well creating movement to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Giovanni Pergolesi.
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Kansas City has a rich accordion history thanks in large part to Joan Cochran Sommers. She's an iconic figure in the accordion world who, at 90 years old, is still conducting, teaching and yes, playing her accordion. Classical KC’s Christy L’Esperance spoke with Joan about creating an accordion program at the UMKC Conservatory and taking her group of Kansas City accordionists on multiple USO and world tours.
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This week we'll hear the Kansas City Symphony perform a delightful early symphony by Franz Joseph Haydn known as "The Philosopher" and Ludwig van Beethoven's groundbreaking third symphony: "Eroica." We'll also hear two crowd pleasing tone poems: Richard Strauss' "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" and Ottorino Respighi's majestic "Pines of Rome."
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This week we'll hear Kansas City Symphony perform Giuseppi Verdi's Overture to his opera "Nabucco" and Leoš Janáček's haunting work "The Fiddler's Child." The program closes with Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 9, the last symphony that he completed.
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Classical KC's Christy L'Esperance speaks with Dr. Rebecca Lepping about her work at the KU Medical Center, local collaborations in the field of neuroaesthetics and her life as a pianist.
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Summerfest is the annual series of concerts that brings some of the best chamber musicians in the region to Kansas City to perform together each July. Brooke Knoll speaks with Summerfest musicians and artistic advisors Jane Carl and Evan Halloin about the upcoming season. We'll hear music from Ludwig van Beethoven and Olivier Messiaen.
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After 19 seasons, Michael Stern is stepping down as music director of the Kansas City Symphony, with Matthias Pintscher taking over at the start of the 2024-25 season. Dan Margolies and Classical KC spoke with the outgoing maestro, as well as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, a longtime friend of Stern’s, about Stern's time in Kansas City and what’s ahead for the orchestra.
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As Michael Stern's time as Kansas City Symphony music director comes to an end after 19 seasons, he and co-host Dan Margolies put together a very special program of music from two of Stern's favorite composers: Leonard Bernstein and Richard Strauss. We'll hear Bernstein's shore leave ballet "Fancy Free," and Strauss tone poems "Death and Transfiguration" and "A Hero's Life."
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Classical KC's Brooke Knoll speaks with outgoing Kansas City Symphony music director Michael Stern about a brand new album for the group called "Brahms Reimagined" that features orchestral arrangements of Brahms' music by Virgil Thompson, Bright Sheng and Arnold Schoenbeg.