Sam Wisman
Production Director - 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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In this week’s episode, we’ll hear a reinvented opera overture, a genius makes his move, and one of the first works for saxophone quartet. UMKC Conservatory alumni and faculty perform works by Hector Berlioz, Ludwig van Beethoven and Alexander Glazunov. -
Do you believe in time travel? Thanks to the miracle of recorded sound, we can hear ten of the greatest violinists of the early to mid-20th century with recordings from as early as 1903. We’ll get a glimpse into performance traditions of the 19th century and know how Joachim, Ysaye, Sarasate, Kreisler and others actually sounded. -
In this week’s UMKC Conservatory Hour, we'll hear an ancient Chinese drumming tradition revisited by a renowned KC based composer, plus prize winning chamber music and a nostalgic waltz. -
Franz Schubert and Ludwig van Beethoven created poetry at the piano, but what does it have to do with Pterodactyls? -
Discover fresh new music and precious hidden gems of the classical repertoire with UMKC Conservatory students, faculty and alumni in this rich and eclectic program. -
From rippling water to beams of light, composers like Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy figured out how to translate the visual into something you can hear. -
Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” is one of the most famous works in the orchestral repertoire. Its inspired melodies and marvelous scoring were innovative when composed, and clearly a labor of love. We’ll hear it in a classic 1970 recording by the Boston Symphony that has been restored and remastered with amazing results. -
In this week's episode we'll hear a successful overture from a flopped opera, an epic piano masterpiece and a royal string quartet performed by the UMKC conservatory orchestra, String Quartet and faculty. -
There’s no controlling the weather, but composers attempt to harness its power to create musical drama. -
The UMKC Conservatory Orchestra performs a magical ballet by Igor Stravinsky. Plus, we'll hear a radiant string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven performed by the UMKC Graduate fellowship string quartet.
