Program Guide June 2026

GM Report

We have some special programming lined up for this summer.

In commemoration of the tragedy, we will be rebroadcasting the amazing "The Hartford Circus Fire: An Audio Recollection," produced by WWUH volunteer Brandon Kampe, at 1pm on Monday, July 6th, the 82nd anniversary of the catastrophe.

And at 6pm the same evening, we will resume our 50+ year tradition of carrying the wonderful Paul Brown Jazz Concerts from Hartford's Bushnell Park. While we encourage people to go down to the park to experience this world-class series of Jazz concerts first hand, we realize that not everyone is able to do that so we bring the concerts to those who cannot attend. You can learn more about these wonderful concerts at hartfordjazzsociety.com Donations are still coming in from our spring Marathon. We're up to $61,200 in pledges! Thanks!

If you didn't get a chance to pledge you can donate securely on line at wwuh.org

John Ramsey

More WWUH History: 1974

Station Manager Judy Corcoran's annual report: Insight into WWUH" in May 1974.

"During the last promotional campaign for WWUH, we tried to find an adjective to describe WWUH. It is almost impossible to describe WWUH in one word. We feel it is too big to be called college radio. We’re not quite public radio because the government does not fund us, although we air the kinds of programs many public radio stations do. And we’re more than alternative rock, because we air some of the best soul, jazz, and classical music around. We finally decided on WWUH: Public Alternative Radio.  

Working at WWUH has been a unique experience for most of us. At most college stations, radio is a hobby. To most people at WWUH, radio is a lifestyle and WWUH is our family. The people rarely leave or lose contact with the station. This has been one part of the success of WWUH. The other part has been the staff’s dedication to forgoing almost anything to keep the station on the air with quality programming. And with a staff that turns over nearly each semester (some of us even graduate), keeping the high programming standard is no easy feat.  

Judging from listener response and due largely to the Program Guide, WWUH has a steady audience who are finally realizing that we offer different forms of programming at specific times. Consequently, they tune back. There is also a small audience who listen to UH most of the time, people who like jazz, classics, rock, public affairs, and special programs.

One advantage of non-commercial college radio is that it is constantly growing and experimenting. Some problems come and go, some remain, but the basic concern for the station is always there. WWUH has addressed three major concerns this year: lack of money, lack of space, and lack of academic credit for the work that is done.  

WWUH took a big step this year when it finally moved its transmitter to Avon Mountain. Besides making UH one of the largest college stations in the East, the move costs around $14,000.  After begging and borrowing, we came up with the money. In the past, WWUH had a reserve fund from the original Roth family grant but now that account is almost empty.  

Fiscal year '74-75 should be extremely tight. We have received $14,000 from the University for the past few years as an annual operating budget. This year we purchased a new audio control board for $3,000 and now we need automatic gain control, an FM exciter, cart machines, a production board, and eventually, a new transmitter.

There have been many meetings and memos this past semester regarding the building of the Communications Department to provide a Major in public communications. There is much interest among students at UH for such a program, as many people at WWUH have, are, and will work as professionals in broadcasting. Fortunately, WWUH allows non-students to work here, both on and off air. This is one of the reasons the air sound is so good. During this past year, about seven announcers have had previous professional experience. This arrangement is beneficial to both listeners and to students, who learn from these professionals.

The programming department became very strong during the past year. With much credit due to Roger Stauss, Program Director, WWUH has been on the air, with a few exceptions, for 20 hours a day, 365 days a year. WWUH has also regularly produced its own programs such as "Music from Czechoslovakia," hosted by Joza Karas, an hourly program featuring native artists performing music composed by Czechoslovakians. Another WWUH original weekly program is “African Worlds,” hosted by Professor Ifekandu Umunna, which highlights many different African cultures. 

On April 22, WWUH signed back on the air with its new transmitter facilities. The move cost a lot of money, caused a lot of work, produced a lot of headaches, and took a lot of time. The move is probably one of the most significant things that have happened to WWUH since it began. A big fundraising marathon and arts festival were planned for May but cancelled in April because at that time we didn't know when the transmitter move would be completed. It has been rescheduled for the fall.

Another project in the works concerns the rights of a non-commercial station to state its editorial opinions. Currently, Section 399 of the Communications Act of 1934 states: "No non-commercial, educational broadcasting station may engage in editorializing or may support or oppose any candidate for political office."  I have written to the FCC for confirmation that this law is still in effect. If so, I plan to notify the non-commercial college stations across country and work in a combined effort to change the law.

WWUH has been gaining recognition in the community. The Program Guide, under the editorship of Terry Sobestanovich, has helped publicize both the station and the many different programs offered on WWUH. Donations have been averaging $20 a week, and many programs have been underwritten by commercial institutions. Complimentary letters average about three times a week. 

The main thing that I have noticed is that WWUH is becoming known as "a radio station." WWUH is often played in stores and can be heard on car radios and blasting from people’s rooms and homes. Window stickers are often sighted, and area professionals are aware of us. But we haven’t done it alone. Much of the credit for the current station’s success is due to the people who started WWUH. Everyone who has passed through its doors has been touched and has touched others. WWUH is a good place.”

From the Station History Document: 2004

FOLK STUFF IN WWUH HISTORY submitted by Ed McKeon on the occasion of his 20th anniversary on the air at WWUH:

Here are some random thoughts that I hope will help fill in the blanks.

When I came to the station for training in 1984, every FM on Toast show except for Wednesday was Folk music. Wednesday’s show was rock and called “Folk Off.” I trained just behind Ed Savage, and when the Tuesday show came open, Ed turned it into a Celtic show (he was followed by Maureen Brennan and then Steve). The Wednesday show opened in 1985 and I stepped in. I don’t think the rock show had many listeners, because I didn’t get many complaints when it became a folk show. In fact, I got a lot of calls from listeners happy to hear that folk was being played every weekday. Then I got a lot of calls from listeners complaining that what I was playing wasn’t “folk.” I played a lot of folk-rock, electric protest music (Billy Bragg, in particular), and raucous Celtic music. I also played a bunch of blues, zydeco, Cajun and world music. Edgy stuff for folk listeners. Obviously, all those genres are now pretty well represented on other shows. And I named my show “Fringe Folk” so I didn’t have to defend myself against the folk police.

Bill Domler brought me to the station. I used to buy some of the wildest folk albums at his shop on New Britain Ave in Elmwood. I first visited his shop to find a copy of a song I heard while driving West on I-84. I can remember the precise location, just past West Farms, and he played Kate Wolf singing “Give Yourself to Love,” followed by Andrew Calhoun singing “The Gates of Love.” I thought, “What’s this?” And I was hooked. We chatted frequently at his shop. Then I let him borrow some albums by Billy Bragg, the Pogues, the Men They Couldn’t Hang and others. I bought these albums at Capitol Records where I first met Susan Mullis, Mark Santini, Michael Clare, Mark Delorenzo and Andy Taylor. The music I was listening to didn’t appeal to Bill but he asked me to appear as a guest on his show to play some of them and to talk about them, and I did. Then he convinced me to go through training. He didn’t have to twist my arm.

Bill started his show because he listened to Susan Forbes Hansen on WHUS and WFCR, and figured he could do that. His was the first non-rock show in the FM on Toast slot (though not the first folk show on WWUH – there had been folk many years before, as old program guides atest). As he always told me, he didn’t know a lot about folk music when he started the Sounding Board, and then the radio show, but he learned as he went. He loved really traditional folk music and didn’t care too much for the progressive stuff. But occasionally his ears would settle on a newcomer (Nanci Griffith for example), and he would play the album relentlessly. He was also a big fan of old, old jazz (The New Black Eagles, the Cheap Suit Serenaders) and of Sir Harry Lauder, a Scottish balladeer from early in the century. Bill owned some amazing audiophile stereo equipment, but the irony was that he was deaf in one ear. For the longest time he was an analog defender and wouldn’t play CDs. He left the Sounding Board, and started the Roaring Brook Concert series, and then the Print Shop Concert series in his shop when it was on South Whitney St. Though he was the Speediest Printer in Town, his little shop within a shop was called Music Vale. Bill was also a relentless concert taper. I wish I knew where his collection of cassettes, dats and mini-CDs are because he taped (including one great Silly Wizard show which has reached legendary status - - Bill played it often on the air) nearly every concert he produced, or helped produce and he likely had some amazing early performances by some great musicians. If we could put our hands on them, we’d have a treasure trove.

Prior to, and certainly after, The Folk Next Door, I produced several concerts at the station. To be honest, my recollection of who performed is pretty hazy. I was usually going for an unknown artist. Most of the files I had concerning those shows were lost in my divorce. I do remember Dar Williams, The Nields, John Gorka, Eileen Weiss, Dick Gaughan, Rory McLeod, Richard Shindell, the Five Chinese Brothers, Susan McKeown and Chanting House, Eddy Lawrence, Kila, and…and…I think the station has taped copies of some of these.

Bill Domler produced one big show at Lincoln Theater with Nanci Griffith and Eddy Lawrence opening. He also produced Nowell Sing We Clear as a Christmas show at least twice in the Wilde.

John Chapin produced a number of shows at the Wilde and Lincoln in his Lloyds Series, including Alison Krauss and Union Station, and a Winter’s Night tour with Cheryl Wheeler, Patty Larkin, John Gorka and Cliff Eberhardt.

The Folk Next Door was an idea that emerged in a phone conversation between Bruce Pratt and me. We wanted to do something that would bring money into WWUH, expose our listening audience to new artists, and create a permanent record of the event. CDs were pretty new, especially in the folk world, at that point, and we wanted to make one. So we came up with the scheme to charge a good ticket price, give each audience member a copy of the CD, ask the artists to perform for free and use the funds from the concert to press the CD (and cassettes, of course). The rest is history, and I think, documented in the Folk Next Door history I wrote at one point.

The second FND was a near disaster, as you likely remember. The daytime, outdoor, free show was scuttled and brought indoors due to the weather. It put us hours behind and brought noisy children into the Wilde which made taping nearly impossible. I remember the Nields, Hugh Blumenfeld and Bruce Pratt holding an impromptu concert under the eaves of the Harry Gray Center while we set-up inside. Folk Next Door concerts, especially at the beginning, were always long, but the second one was way behind schedule. I had bandmembers from Last Fair Deal screaming at me, and the Five Chinese Brothers, who had rented a car to drive down from NYC, left at 2 a.m. without having performed (we later mended fences). I remember getting out of there sometime around 3 a.m., and as I remember, my son Colin and your twins had used the elevator so much, it broke down. The star who came from that concert was Dar Williams. When the selection committee met to listen to prospects, her tape was rejected, but in my capacity as FND executive, I put her back into the show. She was the first performer in the evening ticketed session, and she floored the audience.

The Folk Next Door side project, At Home For the Holidays with the Folk Next Door was a successful concert we held in a hall at the Village For Families and Children, who also were beneficiaries of the concert. We convinced the Nields and Dar Williams to record their holiday songs in advance to use as promos on the air prior to the event. Nerissa Nields was a quick writer and she wrote “Merry Christmas, Mr. Jones,” but when she asked Dar to write a song, Dar was aghast. She wrote her songs methodically over the course of several weeks, and she didn’t think she’d come up with something in a matter of days. She wrote, “The Christians and the Pagans” which has become a Dar Williams classic. The original version has one slightly different verse. The CD is still very popular with listeners during the holidays.

The Nields have always been friends of the station. As you know, Katryna had a show for a while. They visited my show frequently when they lived in Windsor. And Nerissa wrote, “Ash Wednesday” for an Ash Wednesday appearance after I complained that as a Cajun and Zydeco fan, it was often difficult to do a show the day after Mardi Gras. Nerissa wrote the song while at a conference, and Katryna didn’t have time to learn the hellbent lyrics, so Nerrissa performed it on the show. The Nields, Hugh Blumenfeld, Stan Sullivan, Dar Williams, Steve Nystrup, Mad Agnes and others appeared live on various Marathon shows, which often ended with hootenannies. Hugh also wrote a song about Wednesday FM on Toast, and often composed impromptu songs for supporters who pledge to the station. I still recall one called “Rockadundee Road” based on an address on a pledge form.

For me, the highlights of the show were the interviews with musicians that I’ve conducted, either at shows or during visits to the station. Here’s a partial list, from memory. Billy Bragg, Michelle Shocked, the Horse Flies, Dewey Balfa, Leon Rosselson, Eliza Gilkyson, the Pogues, Shawn Colvin, Patty Larkin, Robbie Fulks, Dar Williams, the Nields, Mad Agnes, Madwoman in the Attic, Rod Picott, Eddie Reader, Peter Case, Richard Thompson, Dave Moore, David Mallett, Mojo Nixon, Michael Doucet, Steve Riley, the Oyster Band.

Very occasionally, I’ve played some on-air jokes, often around April 1. For instance, I’ve pretended that the show is pre-recorded at an earlier date, usually from several years prior. The joke is that I insert current songs and concert listings with ancient ones. I do a fake announcement, something like: “this is a rebroadcast of a Folkrama show recorded July 14, 1988”. Most listeners don’t catch on. The phones go silent, and later in the week I bump into people who ask me where I was on that day. I’ve also used an alter-ego, and an alter-voice. I disguise my voice as a gravelly, Southern slur and call myself Tom Flighs (I haven’t done this one in awhile). I sound like a cross between Lightnin’ Hopkins and Tom Waits. I used to do this for a very practical reason – I used this voice when I was filling in for another folk show, having already done mine that week, and I didn’t want my bosses or co-workers to know that I was coming in late because I was doing another show at the radio station. One morning when I was using this voice the studio line rang, and on the other end was Joe Hoke, who at that time was president of Mintz and Hoke Advertising, Connecticut’s largest agency. He wanted to hire Tom Flighs to do some voiceover work for a commercial his agency was preparing. I tried to convince Joe that Tom Flighs was really me, and that I couldn’t do the voice for a commercial, because Tom Waits had just successfully sued someone who had done an imitation of his voice on a national commercial.  My most successful sound effect gag was one you’ll remember, John. During one horrendous flu season I was talking, on air, about how the foam microphone windscreen probably was full of spittle that had flown from dozens of announcers’ mouths and that, as such, it was probably the repository for some really potent bacteria. So I told the listener I was going to wring out the foam windscreen into the wastebasket, I pulled it off, on-air, then slowly poured a cup of water into one of the metal wastebaskets. It sounded gross, as many listeners called to tell me.  Finally, one Marathon a few years back, I knew I was going to be in Omaha Nebraska during my day for fundraising, so I convinced Steve Theaker to sub for me, but I left almost three hours of Marathon programming behind on CD. Steve did a great job, answering questions that I asked on the recording, like: “What’s the total now?”  With some basic cue sheets, he handled them all with aplomb. As I recall, we raised a record amount, and no one knew I wasn’t there. I also used to do a feature called “Keeping Up with the Smiths,” based on the group the Smiths (I used the song “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”) as a theme, and each week I’d play a piece of a cut from an alterative rock group with an odd name so parents would know what their kids were listening to. After about a year, I abandoned the feature by breaking an actual LP record on air.

One other feature of the show has been the Visit to the Library, a short, three-minute book review feature, first with Mike Donohue, who was an avid reader, and President of the Boothe and Dimmock library in Coventry, and later with Andrea Gaines, aka the bibliobabe."

In Central CT and Western MA, WWUH can be heard

at 91.3 on the FM dial. 

Our programs are also carried on:

WDJW, 89.7, Somers, CT



You can also Listen Online using your PC, tablet or

smart device.

We also recommend that you download the free app TuneIn to your mobile device for ease of listening. 

You can also access on demand any WWUH program which has aired in the last two weeks using our newly improved Program Archive.

WWUH Classical Programming

June 2026

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera… Sundays 1:00 – 4:30 pm

Evening Classics… Weekdays 4:00 to 7:00/ 8:00 pm

Drake’s Village Brass Band… Tuesdays 7:00-8:00 pm

Week 1 · June 1–7

Monday, June 1

–     Rossini: Semiramide Overture

–     Offenbach: Orpheus in the Underworld

–     Chopin: Berceuse in D♭ minor

–     Delibes: Sylvia Act 3, Divertissement Variation

–     Khachaturian: Toccata

–     Khachaturian: Spartacus Suite No. 1

Tuesday, June 2

–     Villa-Lobos: String Quartet No. 10

–     Price: Piano Concerto in One Movement

–     Copland: Our Town; An Outdoor Overture; Quiet City

–     Meyers: The American Album

–     Min Kwon: America/Beautiful 1

Drake's Village Brass Band: Bay Brass – Sound the Bells!

Wednesday, June 3

–     Host's choice

Thursday, June 4

–     Hewitt: New Federal Overture

–     Hagen: Lute Concerto in D minor

–     Reinecke: Flute Concerto in D Major Op. 283

–     Waxman: Carmen Fantasie

–     Gyrowetz: Grand Trio Concertante Op. 43

–     Gounod: Symphony No. 1 in D Major

Friday, June 5

–     Host's choice – Fran drives the train tonight

Sunday, June 7

–     Mendelssohn: Der Onkel aus Boston

Week 2 · June 8–14

Monday, June 8

–     Wagner: Siegfried Idyll

–     Grieg: Holberg Suite Sarabande

–     Schumann: Symphony No. 3 "Rhenish"

–     Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite

–     Borodin: String Quartet No. 2, Nocturne

Tuesday, June 9

–     Bacewicz: Symphony No. 3

–     Bacon: A Life for Cello

–     Luening: Cello Sonata

–     Schuman: A Free Song – Secular Cantata No. 1

–     Sowerby: Canticle of the Sun

–     Min Kwon: America/Beautiful 2

Drake's Village Brass Band: GA State Univ. Symphonic Wind Ensemble – American Manuscripts

Wednesday, June 10

–     Host's choice

Thursday, June 11

–     Bonporti: Violin Concerto in F Major Op. 11 No. 5

–     R. Strauss: Morgen Op. 27 No. 4; Don Juan Op. 20; Horn Concerto No. 1 Op. 11

–     McKay: Suite on 16th-Century Hymns

–     Floyd: Susannah – Ain't It a Pretty Night

Friday, June 12

–     "It's a bird, it's a plane. It's…" (you fill in the blank)

Sunday, June 14

–     Grétry: Zémire et Azor

Week 3 · June 15–21

Monday, June 15

–     Bizet: Carmen Suite No. 1

–     R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks

–     Sibelius: Karelia Suite

–     Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila

–     Respighi: Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 1

Tuesday, June 16

–     Yo-Yo Ma: Made in America

–     Copland: Appalachian Spring; Lincoln Portrait (with Henry Fonda)

–     Joshua Rifkin: Joplin Rags Vol. 1

–     Min Kwon: America/Beautiful 3

Drake's Village Brass Band: Summit Brass – All American Brass

Wednesday, June 17

–     Host's choice

Thursday, June 18

–     Pleyel: Octet in B♭ Major; Symphony in G Major Op. 68

–     Popper: Dance of the Elves Op. 39; Hungarian Rhapsody Op. 68

–     Heuberger: Serenade for Strings Op. 7

–     Rosenthal: Les Petits Métiers

–     Tubin: Estonian Dance Suite

Friday, June 19

–     A celebration of today — Juneteenth

Sunday, June 21

–     Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini

Week 4 · June 22–28

Monday, June 22

–     Holst: St. Paul's Suite

–     Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol

–     Britten: Simple Symphony

–     Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2

Tuesday, June 23

–     Thompson: Americana

–     Milwaukee Symphony: American Festival

–     Paragon Ragtime Orchestra: Meet Me at the Fair 1

–     Min Kwon: America/Beautiful 4

Drake's Village Brass Band: American Brass Quintet; The Yankee Brass Band – Music from Mid-19th Century America

Wednesday, June 24

–     Host's choice

Thursday, June 25

–     Charpentier: Louise – Depuis le jour

–     Benoit: Flute Concerto Op. 43a

–     Danzi: Flute Trio in D Major Op. 71 No. 3

–     MacDowell: Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor Op. 23

–     Castrucci: Concerto grosso in G minor Op. 3 No. 11

–     Price: Piano Sonata in E minor

Friday, June 26

–     Let's watch TV… on the radio!

Sunday, June 28

–     Foroni: Cristina, regina di Svezia

Week 5 · June 29–30

Monday, June 29

–     Elgar: Enigma Variations (Nimrod through Finale)

–     Schumann: Piano Quintet in E♭ Major

–     Wagner: Prelude to Act III

–     Khachaturian: Gayane – Sabre Dance Finale

–     Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 – In the Hall of the Mountain King

Tuesday, June 30

–     Thompson: Americana

–     Milwaukee Symphony: American Festival

–     Paragon Ragtime Orchestra: Meet Me at the Fair

–     Min Kwon: America/Beautiful 4

Drake's Village Brass Band: American Brass Quintet; The Yankee Brass Band – Music from Mid-19th Century America

______________________________________________________________

SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT THE OPERA

your "lyric theater" program

with Keith Brown



Programming for June 2026

SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT THE OPERA

your "lyric theater" program

with Keith Brown

programming for the month of May, 2026

Sunday June 7th Mendelssohn, Der Onkel aus Boston

In my notes for the broadcast last month of Franz Schubert’s lyric comedy “Die Verschworenen”, (1823), I mentioned that Schubert still remains under appreciated as a composer of opera, even though he wrote 16 operatic works. Well Felix Mendelssohn also wrote a small quantity of operatic music remains practically unknown even now in the 21st century. All of Mendelssohn’s lyric theater music which was written early on in his life as a child prodigy. It’s thought his three-act comic opera, Die Beiden Neffen, Oder Der Onkel aus Boston was composed in 1821 when he was twelve years old. Der Onkel was given two private performances in 1824 at the Mendelssohn family residence in Berlin on the occasion of his fifteenth birthday. Der Onkel is the last of four such surviving German language Singspiel compositions by the boy Mendelssohn. German conductor Helmut Rilling prepared a modern performing score of Der Onkel for the world premiere recording in 2004 of the entire opera for the German Hannsler Klassik Record label. Mendelssohn’s music for Der Onkel builds upon the lyric theatrical precedence of Mozart and Weber. There’s nothing in it that prefigures Wagner, although you might think of a style more along the line of Otto Nicolai’s operatic take on Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor (1849). The recording of Der Onkel was made in the Philharmonie Hall in Essen for West German radio WDR. Rilling conducts the two performing groups he founded, with chorus of the Gachinger Kantorei of Stuttgart and the orchestra of the Bach Collegium Stuttgart. The Hannsler Klassik recording was released stateside on CD courtesy of the now defunct Musical Heritage Society. Selections from Mendelssohn’s Der Onkel went over the air on this program not so long ago on Sunday, April 19th of this year.

Sunday June 14th Gretry, Zemire et Azor

This delightful French comedy-ballet is actually a reworking of the old tale of Beauty and the Beast put into an exotic Persian setting. You could never call Andre Modest Gretry (1741-1813) a learned composer, but his vocal melodies and delicate dance orchestrations charmed the Parisian public again and again. Zemire et Azor (1771) was a huge success when it was staged at Fontainbleau Palace for the royal court of Louis XV. This work was an international triumph for the composer as well. It was acclaimed in London in 1776 and reached New York City in 1787. Gretry was a Belgian by birth. It’s fitting that the definitive recording of Zemire et Azor was made in Brussells in the studios of Belgian Radio and TV in 1974. Soprano Mady Mesple, a specialist in French lyric comedy roles, is heard as the Beauty “Zemire”. This same EMI Classics CD reissued of Gretry’s best loved work was first broadcast on Sunday, August 12th, 1990.

Sunday June 21st Berlioz, Benvenuto Cellini

Hector Berlioz’ comic opera Benvenuto Cellini (1839) is infrequently performed today because in makes so many demands on singers and instrumentalists alike. Although he was the most advanced French composer of the earlier Romantic era, Berlioz’ music was more readily accepted in Germany. Paris premiere of Benvenuto Cellini witnessed a storm of protest. Berlioz maintained it deserved a better fate. The audience at Weimar thought better of it. Franz Liszt championed this work and helped Berlioz revise it. Portions of it wound up in orchestral form in the Roman Carnival Overture. Berlioz identified himself with the hero of the opera. The name Benvenuto Cellini was a true Renaissance man: a great creative artist and restless free spirit who was ever at odds with officialdom. The actual story of the opera has to do with the trials and tribulations of casting a bronze statue on commission from one of the Sixteenth century popes. The artists wayward love life also gets in the way, but in the end Pope Clement VII sees to it that all comes out right. Way back on Sunday, October 4th, 1987 I aired a Philips recording made with the cast of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with tenor Nicolai Gedda in the title role. Colin Davis directed the cast and Covent Garden chorus and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Fanfare magazine’s reviewer Adrian Corleonis liked that recording, but had reservations about the 2003 Opera D’Oro CD release that captures a live 1973 broadcast of a theater performance of a further rearranged version of the opera made by RAI Radio Italy, Rome. The Pope in this version reverts to the status of a Cardinal. Tenor Franco Bonisoli is heard as Cellini. Seiji Ozawa conducts the RAI Orchestra and Chorus. This recording might be a bootleg affair, made by someone in the audience. It’s in mono sound in the stereo age- maybe a giveaway of its questionable origins. Yet the sound isn’t bad exactly. Tenor Bonisoli’s voice is clearly heard, and his vocal characterization is bold and impressive, so reviewer Corleonis tells us. (Fanfare, July- August 2003).

Sunday June 28th Foroni Cristina, Regina di Svezia

Since 2012 I have designated the last Sunday in June as my “Stonewall Sunday”, named for the gay riot that took place on the last Sunday in June 1969 in Greenwich Village, NYC. The Stonewall riot sparked the gay liberation movement in the United States and elsewhere worldwide. In my “Stonewall Sunday” programming I try to feature music by gay or lesbian composers or librettists, or performed by openly lesbigay or trans singers. Often these Stonewall operas have an LGBTQIA+ historical theme. On this “Stonewall Sunday” I invite you to play the “Gay Name Game”, as I present for a second time the opera first featured on Sunday, June 24, 2012: Cristina, Regina di Svezia (1848) by Italian composer Jacopo Foroni, (1825-1858). This was my very first “Stonewall Sunday” presentation on that date. Queen Cristina of Sweden (1628-89). World history is full of the names of famous people reputed or factually known to be homosexual men or lesbian women. Queen Cristina was the daughter of the illustrious King Gustavus Adolphus, Sweden’s great military hero. Cristina was one of the leading female intellectuals of her time, and a documented patroness of opera. She has long been reputed to have been a lesbian. Foroni’s opera about her is dubbed a “Historical-Lyrical Drama”. The composer fled revolutionary upheaval in Milan for employment with an Italian opera company in Stockholm. Wouldn’t you know, his operatic treatment of the queen’s life has a fictitious male love interest. Here she’s a victim of unrequited love for her court favorite, much as in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda. Foroni’s opera received its world premiere recording under the Swedish Sterling label on two compact discs issued in 2010. Tobias Ringborg conducted the Goteborg Opera Orchestra and Chorus with an all-Swedish cast of dramatic singers. The recording was made in the hall of Vadstena Castle, where Queen Cristina herself once witnessed opera performances.

keithsbrown1948@gmail.com

Boomer's Paradise

Monday's 1-4 PM with your host, The Turtle Man

We're at the halfway point on the 2026 calendar winter is in the rearview mirror and hopefully nice weather up ahead in our journey this year.

"To celebrate this calendar milestone this month we'll look back 50 years to June 1976 and enjoy tracks from albums released that month. This will really jog your memory in a delightful way.

Next up is a little "give" and "take", words referenced in song titles followed by more Nordic Love Songs.

From there we'll head to Motown and hear tunes from Hitsville USA along with a Big Box of Blues.

Moving on to song titles that relate to the elements (fire, ice, water, earth, sky) and song titles that reference ways of terrestrial travel (roads, streets, highways, etc.).

We close out the month with songs that are about kids and children and another round of Girls In The Garage (Rock).

Enjoyable variety is what you'll find each Monday from 1-4 PM on Boomers Paradise with your host, The Turtle Man on WWUH 91.3 FM/wwuh.org, 1-4PM. See you then.

.

Tune in on the radio (91.3 FM) or streaming online at wwuh.org.

Here is our current schedule:

Monday: Noon–1 p.m. Democracy Now

8 p.m.–9 p.m. Radio Ecoshock

Tuesday: Noon–1 p,m, Democracy Now

8 p.m.–9 p.m. Alternative Radio

Wednesday: Noon–1 p,m, Democracy Now

8:00-8:30 p.m. Nutmeg Chatter

8:30-9 p.m. T.U.C. Radio

Thursday: Noon–1 p,m, Democracy Now

7:30-8 p.m. 51 Percent

8:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m. This Way Out

8:30 p.m.–9:00 p.m. Gay Spirit

Friday: Noon–1 p,m, Democracy Now

Friday: 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. Counterspin

Sunday: 4:30 p.m.–5 p.m. Amazing Tales About History

Alternative Radio you have an idea for a radio program?

If you have an idea for a radio program and are available to volunteer late at night, please let us know.

We may have some midnight and/or 3am slots available later this year. Email station manager John Ramsey to find out more about this unique and exciting opportunity for the right person.

Qualified candidates will have access to the full WWUH programmer orientation program so no experience is necessary. He/she will also need to attend the monthly WWUH staff meetings (held on Tuesday or Sunday evenings) and do behind the scenes volunteer work from time to time. This is a volunteer position.



After completing this process, we will review the candidate's assets and accomplishments and they will be considered for any open slots in our schedule.

Leaving Your Legacy

Have you ever considered making a planned gift to UHart Radio? Those that do so provide vital support to ensure the future of WWUH while securing benefits for themselves and their loved ones now.

Some of the types of planned giving include:

Bequests - A gift made through your estate, which can provide estate tax and capital gains savings.

Charitable gift annuities - An irrevocable contract where an annual payment is received for life in exchange for a gift to the station. 

Charitable remainder trusts - A gift that allows you to maintain income while providing a tax deduction for the future IRAs or qualified plans. A charitable bequest funded with an IRA or retirement plan can be made with pre-tax dollars. 

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) - A DAF can be used to give now or later, or both, and can include a succession plan for members of your family. 

With a variety of options to choose from, your gift can offer the advantages of an income stream or tax savings. UHart has a team that is here to guide you through your options and can help tailor a plan to your interests and philanthropic goals. You can contact then today at founders@hartford.edu or by calling 860.768.2400.

Hartford Jazz Society

The longest continuously operating jazz society in the country

Founded in 1960, this all-volunteer organization produces jazz concerts featuring internationally acclaimed artists as well as up and coming jazz musicians. Our mission is to cultivate a wider audience of jazz enthusiasts by offering concerts, workshops and educational programs to the Greater Hartford region. The area’s most complete and up-to-date calendar of Jazz concerts and events.

Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz is coming again, beginning July 6th and will be going on through August 10th.

WWUH has been hosting and broadcasting these wonderful and free concerts live from Bushnell Park for 5 decades! Stay tuned for a listing of the bands and artists that will again be making great music at the bandshell.

Check out their website here

The mission of the Connecticut Symphony Orchestra is to provide opportunities for advanced musicians and emerging professionals to perform a high level of repertoire while engaging and collaborating with diverse communities in mutual growth through the joy

of making music.

Coming Up

Burning Bright

Sunday, June 7, 2024 / 3:00 PM

Congregation Beth Israel

701 Farmington Ave, West Hartford, CT 06119

PAUL MCSHEE, Music Director

GIOVANNI GABRIELI - Sonata Piano e Forte

ARTURO MARQUEZ - Conga del Fuego Nuevo

JOHN WILLIAMS - Selections from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

JEAN SIBELIUS - Karelia Suite

IGOR STRAVINSKY - Suite from The Firebird

connecticutsymphony.org

https://connecticutsymphony.org

Connecticut Lyric Opera

Connecticut Lyric Opera is the state’s leading opera company, performing to thousands in Hartford, Middletown, New Britain, and New London. We have earned the reputation as an innovative company that is renowned for our world-class singers, phenomenal concert-quality orchestra and programming choices that go beyond the well-loved standards of the repertoire to include lesser-performed yet equally compelling works.

https://ctlyricopera.org/

Manchester Symphony Orchestra and Chorale

Tickets can be purchased at the door. For further information, visit the MSOC Web site at www.msoc.org or the Manchester Symphony Orchestra and Chorale Facebook page.

Coming Up



Manchester Symphony Orchestra and Chorale

POPS – Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 7:30 pm

Bailey Auditorium, Manchester High School

134 Middle Turnpike East, Manchester, CT

J. Strauss: An Artist’s Life Waltz, Op.316

Arturo Márquez: Danzón No. 2

Aaron Copland: Hoe-Down from Rodeo

Darude: Sandstorm

Jose Antonio Rincon: Bullerengue

Antônio Carlos Jobim: Áquas de Março

Alejandro Vivas: Coro de Romanticos

Diana Saez; Suzzette Ortiz: Canto ‘E Libertad

Huayno Pandillero; Victor Cuentas Ampuero: Cholitas puneñas

Arr. Barbara Harlow: Cielito Lindo

Arr. Manuel Olra I Ferrer: Lorenzo y Catalina

Arr. Roger Emerson: Dancing Queen

Annie Lenox, Dave Stewart: Sweet Dreams (are made for this)

msoc.org

http://www.msoc.org

Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra

Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra is one of Connecticut’s premier community orchestras dedicated to promoting musical excellence. We believe that classical music provides a magical experience that inspires, delights, and brings our community together.

Founded in 1981, the Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra performs 6-7 concerts each season with a variety of classical, romantic and popular holiday favorites. The orchestra serves Farmington, Canton, Avon, Simsbury, Burlington, Bloomfield, West Hartford & Hartford, as well as Greater Hartford and the Connecticut River Valley. We are your local, civic orchestra and look forward to seeing you at one of our concerts!

Coming Up



June Pops: Happy 250th Birthday America!

Saturday, June 6, 2026, 5:00 pm picnicking, 6:00 pm performance

Lawn at First Church of Christ, 75 Main St, Farmington, CT 06032

KEY: Star Spangled Banner

COPLAND: Variations on a Shaker Melody

BERLIN: God Bless America

WARD: America, The Beautiful

SOUSA: Stars & Stripes Forever, The Thunderer, Liberty Bell

WILLIAMS: Star Wars Suite

Additional music by the FVSO Jazz Combo

Join the FVSO in celebrating America’s 250th Birthday with a presentation of classic American composers such John Sousa and John Williams. Bring your picnic and blanket and sit back for an afternoon of classic orchestral pops and jazz melodies.



Visit http://www.fvso.org for ticket information

Further information is available at FVSO.org or by calling 800-975-FVSO.

fvso.org

www.fvso.org

West Hartford Symphony Orchestra



Learn more at WHSO.org

South Windsor Cultural Arts

SWCA Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SouthWindsorCulturalArts

https://www.facebook.com/SouthWindsorCulturalArts