Upcoming Community and Cultural Programs

Red River Radio offers a wide variety of programming, from classical, jazz and blues to news, public affairs, entertainment and information programming. We will also present specials for various holidays, cultural events, and documentaries on important issues of the day. Bookmark this page for information about these various specials. This page is updated weekly. If an item you heard was removed and you'd like more information contact Bill Beckett at wbeckett@lsus.edu

Here is what is coming up on Red River Radio

BURN: An Energy Journal
Hunting for Oil: Risks and Rewards
Airs Monday, April 30 at 8:00 p.m.
An Earth Day special that coincides with the two-year anniversary of the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the worst in U.S. History. What became of all that oil? And what’s the future of offshore drilling? Segments will include a profile of the work of social scientist Dr. Steven Picou from the University of South Alabama who has been listening to the human stories of those hardest hit in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: fisherman and charter boat captains and business owners. Picou first developed what he calls “peer listening training” after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, only to see a similar fate befall his own Gulf Coast home. Alex Chadwick will also interview two esteemed scientists, a marine ecologist and a chemist (both MacArthur fellows) with very different viewpoints about the safety of the water and the seafood in the Gulf of Mexico two years after.

New Orleans Jazz Fest
Highlights from Piano Night 2011
Airs Monday, April 30 at 9:00 p.m.
Piano Night: We look back on a night that honored the 88’s. Piano Night - every year on the Monday night between the two weekends of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage and Festival. This hour-long program includes music from Piano Heaven, a smaller stage for more intimate performances (Jessie McBride, Marco Benevento, Cynthia Chen) as well as the main stage at the House of Blues (Dr. Lonnie Smith, Victor Atkins, Bob Andrews, Tom Worrell), featuring full ensembles that change throughout the show.

Wynton Marsalis: Swinging into the 21st
Airs Tuesday, May 1 at 9:00 p.m.
Jazz is dead! Well, it's not true -- but in the history of the music, that statement is heard very often. Wynton Marsalis has found that the best way to combat that idea is simple - keep creating. Like any art form, jazz lives as an ongoing interaction between the artist, audience and larger culture. In this hour, Wynton reflects on his life and music in the 20th century and its continuation into the 21st.

Savannah Music Festival: Bela Fleck Africa Project, Episode Two
Airs Thursday, May 3 at 8:00 p.m.
Part Two of Two: Banjoist Bela Fleck performs alongside exceptional African musicians such as Toumani Diabate, Vusi Mahlasela, D'Gary, Anania Ngoliga and others. Recorded at the Trustees Theater during the Savannah Music Festival. Bela Fleck is often considered the premier banjo player in the world. While he is probably best known for his group The Flecktones, his musical projects have included straight-ahead and progressive bluegrass, as well as collaborations with jazz pianist Chick Corea, bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer, and Indian tabla master Zakir Hussain, among others. In the spring of 2005, Bela undertook his most ambitious project to date: on-location collaborations with musicians from Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, Mali, South Africa and Madagascar. He wanted to explore the African origins of the banjo. Transcending barriers of language and culture, Bela found common ground with musicians ranging from local villagers to international superstars such as kora player Toumani Diabate, to create some of the most meaningful music of his career. On this second half of a two-part program, we listen to highlights from Bela Fleck's Africa Project in a concert performed at the  Savannah Music Festival.

Jack Johnson & Friend: Best Of Kokua Festival
Airs Friday, May 4 at 9:00 p.m.
Since 2004, Jack Johnson has hosted annual concerts in Hawaii featuring his musician friends to raise money for the Kokua Foundation he and his wife created to support environmental education programs. This one hour radio special features the best, one-of-a-kind collaborations from past festivals. Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder, G Love and Ozomatli join Jack on his hits and covers.
Jack also sits in on unique versions of songs made famous by his guests Ben Harper, Taj Mahal, Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Ziggy Marley and Damian Marley. Jack Johnson, G. Love, Wil-Dog (Ozomatli), Taj Mahal, and Zach Gill (A.L.O, Jack’s Band) discuss these performances and the environmental mission of the festival. The program includes one exclusive non-album track – “Home” recorded live at Blue Planet Studio in Honolulu.

A Mother's Joy & Songs For Mother
Airs Wednesday, May 9 at 11:00 a.m.
Join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as the celebrate Mother's Day with “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” “Home Is a Special Kind of Feeling” from The Wind in the Willows, “My Favorite Things”
from The Sound of Music, “Thou Gracious God, Whose Mercy Lends,” “Evening Prayer” from Hansel and Gretel, “All Through the Night,” “Hush Little Baby,” “You Raise Me Up,” and “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” from State Fair.

Harmonia: A Gift Of Flowers
Airs, Thursday, May 10 at 11:00 a.m.
Harmonia offers a gift of flowers to celebrate Mother's Day, as we explore flower  themes in music, with a special focus on the rose, a symbol of love and beauty. Plus, later, we'll hear a featured release of Christopher Simpson's "The Monthes."  Includes music by Thomas Campion, Clemens non Papa, Tomas De Torrejon Y Velasco, Francisco Guerrero, and more.

Savannah Music Festival: Piano Showdown, Episode One
Airs Thursday, May 10 at 8:00 p.m.
Highlights from an SMF original production called Piano Showdown, including solo performances and duets featuring Aaron Goldberg, Bob Seeley, Eddie Palmieri and Henry Butler. Back in the 19-teens and 20s, piano players in clubs had to always be on top of their game in order to ensure that their playing could never be surpassed. The great stride piano player James P. Johnson used to go around New York and hear all of the other pianists play, and in case they played something he didn't, he would copy them and incorporate their work into his own style. The reason for this is so that no one could walk into his club and outplay him, and then take away his job. In the SMF production Piano Showdown, none of the players have to fear for their jobs, but all are driven by the spirit of friendly competition. Episode 1 of 2.

The Lyric Opera Of Chicago:
Jacques Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffman (in French)
Airs Saturday, May 12 at 12:00 noon
Features: Hoffmann: Matthew Polenzani
The Four Villains: James Morris
Olympia Anna Christy
Antonia: Erin Wall
Giulietta: Alyson Cambridge
Nicklausse Emily Fons
Four Servants: Rodell Rosel
Spalanzani: David Cangelosi
Crespel: Christian Van Horn
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
with the Lyric Opera Orchestra & Chorus

Harmonia: A Gift Of Flowers
Airs, Sunday, May 13 at 10:00 a.m.
Harmonia offers a gift of flowers to celebrate Mother's Day, as we explore flower  themes in music, with a special focus on the rose, a symbol of love and beauty. Plus, later, we'll hear a featured release of Christopher Simpson's "The Monthes."  Includes music by Thomas Campion, Clemens non Papa, Tomas De Torrejon Y Velasco, Francisco Guerrero, and more.

Savannah Music Festival: Piano Showdown, Episode Two
Airs Thursday, May 17 at 8:00 p.m.
A summit of keyboard virtuosos including Eddie Palmieri, Henry Butler, Bob Seeley and Aaron Goldberg. In the international music world, there are literally dozens of piano competitions across the globe. However, in jazz and blues music, the spirit of friendly competition has always been a part of the tradition. In this second episode, we'll hear more solos and duets by four distinct, versatile and unique players from different generations. Octogenarian and boogie woogie specialist Bob Seeley shares the stage with Aaron Goldberg, who is not even half his age. New Orleans-based Henry Butler and Latin jazz great Eddie Palmieri round out this one-time-only production recorded at the 2009 Savannah Music Festival.

The Songbird: Lee Morse
Airs Thursday, May 17 at 9:00 p.m.
In 1917, and the age of 20, Lee Morse began her career as a singer who became her strong, deep singing voice and vocal range. She was 5-feet tall and weighed in at about 100-pounds, yet she could belt out a song that would startle an audience. Plus, she did something very few pop performers tried: Yodeling. Lee also surrounded herself with very accomplished jazz musicians. Her career lasted until her death in 1954 and during those years she also appeared in vaudeville productions as well as Broadway. Later she would appear in several short films. Although she left an impressive musical legacy over the course of a few years, Lee Morse is all but forgotten today. Join us as we venture back in time for a visit with Lee Morse “The Songbird.” 

Levon Helm Rambles Home
Airs Friday, May 18 at 9:00 p.m.
A one-hour music and commentary show about the late musician Levon Helm, drummer for the seminal Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group The Band, and a revered solo artist. Helm died April 19, 2012 at the age of 71 from a recurrance of throat cancer that had threatened his life as far back as 1997. This program features Helms vocals and drumming with The Band, as well as some of his post-Band performances, with special attention given to his Midnight Ramble concerts held in recent years at his home in Woodstock, NY.  Among the commentators complimenting the music are music writer Anthony DeCurtis, musicians Shawn Colvin, Rich Pagano, David Gans, Grammy Museum head Bob Santelli and others plus archival clips of Levon Helm himself.

The Lyric Opera Of Chicago:
Gaetano Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor (in Italian)
Airs Saturday, May 19 at 12:00 noon
Features: Lucia: Susanna Phillips
Edgardo: Giuseppe Filianoti
Enrico: Brian Mulligan
Raimondo: Christian Van Horn
Arturo: René Barbera
Alisa: Emily Birsan
Normanno: Paul Scholten
Conductor: Massimo Zanetti
with the Lyric Opera Orchestra & Chorus

Carnegie Hall Live: The Cleveland Orchestra
Airs Thursday, May 24 at 11:00 a.m.
Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 bursts with life, and Shostakovich created his Sixth Symphony to convey "joy and youth" — a perfect springtime program from one of our nation's top orchestras, and virtuoso soloist Yefim Bronfman.

Savannah Music Festival: Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile
Airs Thursday, May 24 at 8:00 p.m.
The Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile live from the 2009 Savannah Music Festival in the historic Lucas Theatre for the Arts. Composer/Singer/Mandolinist Chris Thile released his first recording when he was just 13. But that was half his life ago, and the now 28-year old virtuoso is involved in an ensemble that has occupied his life since 2007 called the Punch Brothers. It was after the breakup of his very popular contemporary acoustic group Nickel Creek that Thile joined four of his musical buddies to conceive a modern bluegrass band - one with a lot of range, but aesthetically a bluegrass band. Tune in for an episode featuring the Punch Brothers' incredible performance at the Lucas Theatre for the Arts earlier this year during the Savannah Music Festival.

A Salute In Song For Memorial Day
Airs Friday, May 25 at 12:00 noon.
Starting with the Civil War, which spurred the eventual creation of Memorial Day, we present an objective, nostalgic, entertaining, and respectful music/sound chronicle of America’s war history. This program is highlighted by music of the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I & II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf, touching also on Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  It documents our country’s strife over our entry into some wars, but respectfully acknowledges the hardships of combat, and honors our fighting men and women who have given the ultimate. You’ll witness moments of entertainment and nostalgia with the U.S. Air Force Band, The Navy Band and Country Current, the BBC Orchestra & Royal Air Force Band, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Canadian Brass, Bette Midler; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Mitch Miller; Steppenwolf; Joan Baez; Jefferson Airplane; plus music from top Broadway shows such as The King & I, Bloomer Girls, Hair, Phantom of the Opera, and songs from talented unknowns.  You'll hear the heartfelt remembrances of Army and Air Force veterans, including Generals Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell, and the voices of Presidents Roosevelt, Eisenhower, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, and Obama. 

Bob Marley & The Wailers
Airs Friday, May 25 at 9:00 p.m.
Bob Marley is an icon - his music and image are instantly recognizable and can be found everywhere. Behind that legend lies a story of a man who wanted everyone to hear his deeply religious and political message. The documentary Marley traces Bob's life, from his early childhood in a Jamaican slum to becoming the first superstar to emerge from the developing world. In this one hour radio special, you'll hear highlights from the soundtrack and film and talk with Bob's friends and family.

The Lyric Opera Of Chicago:
Modest Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov (in Russian)
Airs Saturday, May 26 at 12:00 noon
Features: Boris: Ferruccio Furlanetto
Shuisky: Štefan Margita
Pimen: Andrea Silvestrelli
Varlaam: Raymond Aceto
Grigori: Erik Nelson Werner
Tchelkalov: Ljubomir Puškarić
Missail: David Cangelosi
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
STAGE DIRECTOR: Julia Pevzner
with the Lyric Opera Orchestra & Chorus

Savannah Music Festival: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Airs Thursday, May 31 at 8:00 p.m.
Bluegrass maven Doyle Lawson & his band Quicksilver during Savannah Music Festival original production entitled "Long Time Travelin'," which also featured Tim Eriksen, Dan & Rayna Gellert, Jim Lauderdale, Matt Hinton and the Tatnall River Shapenote Singers. As far back as he can remember, Doyle Lawson loved the sound of music. When he was growing up, just about everyone listened to the Grand Ole Opry, and his family was no exception. Of all the stars that played the Opry, the group that impressed Doyle the most was Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys. Doyle described their sound as "high lonesome," and it made him want to play that kind of music. On this episode, we listen to National Heritage Fellow Doyle Lawson performing with his band Quicksilver during the "Long Time Travelin'" show at the Savannah Music Festival.

The Lyric Opera Of Chicago:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute (in German)
Airs Saturday, June 2 at 12:00 noon
Features: Pamina: Nicole Cabell
Tamino: Charles Castronovo
Papageno: Stéphane Degout
Queen of the Night: Audrey Luna
Sarastro: Günther Groissböck
Speaker: Richard Stilwell
Monostatos: Rodell Rosel
First Lady: Elisabeth Meister
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
with the Lyric Opera Orchestra & Chorus

The Lyric Opera Of Chicago:
Richard Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos (in German)
Airs Saturday, June 9 at 12:00 noon
Features: Ariadne :Amber Wagner
Zerbinetta: Anna Christy
Composer: Alice Coote
Bacchus: Brandon Jovanovich
Music Master: Eike Wilm Schulte
Harlequin: Matthew Worth
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
with the Lyric Opera Orchestra & Chorus 

The Lyric Opera Of Chicago:
Jerome Kern: Show Boat (in English)
Airs Saturday, June 16 at 12:00 noon
Features: Ravenal: Nathan Gunn
Magnolia: Ashley Brown
Julie: Alyson Cambridge
Joe: Morris Robinson
Queenie: Angela Renée Simpson
Capt. Andy: Ross Lehman
Ellie: Erika Mac
Frank: Bernie Yvon
Parthy: Cindy Gold
Conductor: John DeMain
with the Lyric Opera Orchestra & Chorus 

The Lyric Opera Of Chicago:
George Frideric Handel: Rinaldo (in Italian)
Airs Saturday, June 23 at 12:00 noon
Features: Rinaldo: David Daniels
Almirena; Julia Kleiter
Armida: Elza van den Heever
Argante: Luca Pisaroni
Goffredo: Sonia Prina
Eustazio: Iestyn Davies
Conductor: Harry Bicket
with the Lyric Opera Orchestra & Chorus 

The Lyric Opera Of Chicago:
Giuseppe Verdi: Aïda (in Italian)
Airs Saturday, June 30 at 12:00 noon
Features: Aïda: Sondra Radvanovsky
Radames: Marcello Giordani
Amneris: Jill Grove
Amonasro: Gordon Hawkins
Ramfis: Štefan Kocán
Conductor: Renato Palumbo
with the Lyric Opera Orchestra & Chorus 

Metropolitan Opera: 2012 National Council Auditions Winners
Airs Saturday, July 7 at 12:00 noon
Five young singers win $15,000 cash prizes in the prestigious competition that has launched the careers of numerous major opera stars.
     The Metropolitan Opera today announced the winners of the 2012 National Council Auditions. They are: Janai Brugger, soprano from Darien, IL; Anthony Clark Evans, baritone from Owensboro, KY; Matthew Grills, tenor from Newtown, CT; Margaret Mezzacappa, mezzo-soprano from Euclid, OH; and Andrey Nemzer, countertenor from Moscow, Russia. The winners were selected from nine finalists who performed arias with the MET Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Davis. Each winner receives a cash prize of $15,000, as well as invaluable career exposure: the audience for the auditions includes influential opera executives, artist managers, and music critics, and some of the biggest stars in opera received their first major recognition as National Council Winners.
     The Grand Finals Concert is hosted by renowned bass-baritone Eric Owens, a 1996 National Council Auditions winner. During the judges’ deliberations, he gave a special performance of “Ella giammai m’amò,” King Philip’s aria from Verdi’s Don Carlo.

Dame Joan Sutherland, La Stupenda – A Celebration
Airs Monday, July 14 at 12:00 p.m.
This profiles the life and music of one of the most acclaimed performers in musical history, the legendary Dame Joan Sutherland. Her life is recalled by two of the world’s most highly distinguished singers, Marilyn Horne and Thomas Hampson, and the feature include interviews with Dame Joan, her husband conductor Richard Bonynge, and others.