WWUH 91.3 FM Newsletter

Program Guide June 2025

Broadcasting as a Community Service of

The University of Hartford.

There are some exciting changes in our public affairs programming line up starting this month!


We haven't had a daily news program since Free Speech Radio News discontinued operation close to ten years ago and it is something that many of you have asked for. I'm thrilled to report that we will once again be featuring news daily, starting Monday, June 2nd, when the award-winning program Democracy Now starts airing on UHart Radio at noon, Monday through Friday.


Most of your favotrte noon-time public affairs programs, such as Alternative Radio, 51 Percent, Nutmeg Chatter, and T.U.C. Radio, have been moved to the evening community affairs slot. Here is the evening schedule effective June 2nd:

Monday, 8 - 9pm: Radio Ecoshock

Tuesday, 8 - 9pm: Alternative Radio

Wednesday 8 - 8:30pm: Nutmeg Chatter

Wednesday, 8:30 - 9pm: TUC Radio

Thursday, 7:30 - 8pm: 51 Percent

Thursday, 8 - 8:30pm: This Way Out

Thursday, 8:30 - 9pm: Gay Spirit

Friday, 7 - 7:30pm: Counterspin


Keep in mind that if a program you like is now on at a less inconvenient time, you can listen to it or any other UH program for up to 2 weeks after its air date via the WWUH Program Archive



John Ramsey

ramsey@hartford.edu

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.

Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz


Coming in July, the 58th Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz (PBMNJ) concert series will start July 7th and run through August 11th at Bushnell Park at the Thomas D. Harris IV Pavilion.


PBMNJ is the longest continuous jazz concert series in the US. WWUH will be broadcasting live from the park and will be simulcasting over WAPJ Torrington at 89.9 and 105.1 as well as WSIM, Simsbury at 103.5.


Admission is free, music is exciting as always and the park and grounds are a perfect place to listen, picnic and enjoy. When the musical acts are finalized, the lineup will be available on the Hartford Jazz Society website, HartfordJazzSociety.com and on the WWUH online program guide at WWUH.org  


Amazing Tales From Off and On Connecticut's Beaten Path


We encourage you to tune in to our newest program, Amazing Tales from Off and On Connecticut’s Beaten Path which airs Sunday afternoons at 4:30 right after the Opera.

Amazing Tales uses a story-telling format to focus on historically significant people, places, and events from Connecticut’s past. Host Mike Allen interviews subject matter experts on a variety of historical topics.

Host Mike Allen specializes in bringing local history to life, by using his journalism and story-telling skills with podcasting and public speaking. For 15 years, Mike worked as a radio journalist, both at NPR’s Boston affiliate WBUR and as News Director at i-95 (WRKI-FM) in western Connecticut. He subsequently worked in government and corporate before retiring and starting his podcast. As a resident of Connecticut for more than 50 years, Mike also makes public appearances throughout the state, speaking on topics of local history

 

AMAZING TALES SCHEDULE

Sundays, 4:30pm


June 8th

Woodbury Path

The "Old Woodbury Path" connected some of America's earliest farms with one of its earliest and nearly forgotten CT ports. Most of it is paved over now, but if you know where to look, parts of this 350-year-old cart path can still be hiked.

 

 


 June 15th

Motorcycle Secrets


In World War 1, General John Pershing had his top-secret documents in Europe carried by special motorcycle couriers who raced through enemy territory and dodged gunfire. Top speed in 1918 was just 45 miles per hour, but CT daredevil Carlton Stevens made it..



June 22d

Tweed Airport

The development of airports has occurred with many today surrounded by neighborhoods that were built when the airports were small. The Tweed-New Haven Airport fits this bill - and its runway is on the actual border between two towns

 


 

June 29th

Hear the Enemy

Veteran soldiers in the 1700s were as perplexed as ordinary towns folks - and even as scared - by the deafening, ongoing noise that woke them up on a particularly dark night. Nobody could see the source of the sound - a sound like never heard before. Were they under attack? Was it Judgement Day? When the morning light came, the mystery was solved.

 



 

Never Miss Your Favorite WWUH Programs Again!
The WWUH Archive!
We are very excited to announce that our archive has been completely upgraded so that it is usable on most if not all devices. The archive allows you to listen to any WWUH program aired in the last two weeks on-demand using the "Program Archive" link on our home page.

WWUH Classical Programming

June 2025


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


Sunday 1st

Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

.


Monday 2nd

Wagner Tristan end Isolde; Bedřich Smetana Czech Dances II, JB 1:114: No. 7; Carlos Salzedo Tango Carlos Salzedo; Gould : Boogie-Woogie Etude; Will Duchon Prelude In D Major, Op. 23, No. 4


Tuesday 3d

Bloch Concerto Grosso #1; Williams: Sea Sketches for String Orchestra; Kapustin: Piano Sonata #2; Bernstein: The Age of Anxiety (Symphony #2 for Piano and Orchestra); Gregg Smith Singers-The Great Sentimental Age Part 2

Drake’s Village Brass Band: The ABA Commemorative Recording Series – John R. Bourgeois and the United States Marine Band

Wednesday 4th

Franz Liszt, The Mephisto Waltzes; J.S. Bach, Brandenburg Concert #1; J.S. Bach, Cantata #131, “Aus der Tiefe”; W.A. Mozart, Piano Concerto #17; W.A. Mozart, Missa Brevis in F Major; Christopher Tin, The Lost Birds; Joel Puckett, Concert Duo


Thursday 5th

Benatzky: The White Horse Inn: It Must Be Wonderful Indeed; Tubin: Estonian Dance Suite; Lvov: Violin Concerto; Sainton: The Island, Moby Dick: Sea Music; Somervell: Piano Concerto in a minor 'Highland'.

Friday 6th

Visiting Connecticut Summerfest past – 2025 concerts begin a week from tonight

Sunday 8th

Donizetti, La Favorite (original French version)

Monday 9th

Johannes Brahms Hungarian Dances Nos. 1 - 21: No. 1 in G minor, No. 3 in F and No. 6 in D flat; Yo-Yo Ma Arabian Waltz Rabih Abou-Khalil;

Samuel Zyman Flute Concerto: I. Allegro assai Samuel Zyman


Tuesday 10th

Honegger: Judith – A Biblical Music Drama; Gregg Smith Singers – The Great Sentimental Age Part 3; Price: Piano Quintet; Prokofiev: Symphony #3

Drake’s Village Brass Band: Slide Action – Rebuild


Wednesday 11th

Rossini: L'ingannofelice: Overture;  John Field: Piano Concerto No. 5 in C Major, H. 39, "L'incendie par l'Orage"; Carl Maria von Weber: Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 19, J. 50; Mena, Juanjo; Daniel Francois Esprit Auber: Fra Diavolo, S. 18: Overture;   Daniel Francois Esprit Auber: Fra Diavolo, S. 18: Or son sola; Camille Saint-Saëns: Oboe Sonata in D Major, Op. 166; Vincent d’Indy: Lied, Op. 19 (version for cello and piano);  Jules Massenet: Suite No. 1, Op. 13;  Henri Herz: 3 Nocturnes caractéristiques, Op. 45: No. 1. La dolcezza;   Ottorino Respighi: 5 Canti all'antica, P. 71: No. 5. Canzone di Re Enzo; Franz Liszt: Spirto gentil from Donizetti's La Favorite, S400a; Emilie Mayer: Piano Quartet in E-Flat Major; John Knowles Paine: As You Like It Overture, Op. 28; Edward MacDowell: Romance for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 35;  Henry Kimball Hadley: Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 64, "North, East, South, and West";


Thursday 12th

Nordraak: Maria Stuart: Purpose, Valse Caprice; Grieg: Funeral March for Rikard Nordraak; Tansman: Suite for Bassoon and Piano; Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier: Suite; Strauss: Roses from the South.


Friday 13th

“The Future Is Now” - Music from my my set-asides for the future


Sunday 15th

“The Future Is Now” - Music from my my set-asides for the future


Monday 16th

Heitor Villa-Lobos Harmonica Concerto, Op. 86, W524: I. Allegro moderato; Michel Colombier: Piano Concerto: Fast-Vigorous 



Tuesday 17th

Coleridge-Taylor: Hiawatha’s Departure; Wallen: Dances for Orchestra; Copland: Violin Sonata, Duo for Flute and Piano, Nonet for Strings; Grainger: Music for Pianos

Drake’s Village Brass Band: The Royal Band of the Belgian Air Force – The Synthesists Revisited


Wednesday 18th

Henry Eccles, Double Bass Sonata; Johann Baptist Vanhal, Double Bass ; Concerto in E-Flat Major; Eric Whitacre, Alleluia; Dominick Argento, Walden Pond; Aaron Jay Kernis, Ecstatic Meditations; Jean Yves Daniel-Lesur, Le Cantique des Cantiques


Thursday 19th

Janitsch: Sonata da camera in g minor 'O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden'; Catalani: La Wally: Ebben? Ne andrò lontana, Andantino in A Major, Contemplazione; Zeller: Der Vogelhändler Concert Overture, Der Obersteiger Overture; Lefebvre: Caprice for Viola & Piano Op. 106bis; David: Violin Concerto No. 4 in E Major Op. 23; Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in e minor Op. 64; Stamitz: Clarinet Concerto in B Flat Major.



Friday 20th

Music from the movie “Can Can” and other musicals


Sunday 22d

Verdi, I Masnadieri


Monday 23d

Zoltán Kodály Dances of Galánta; Bremen/Daniel Harding Leonore Overture No. 3 Op. 72; Manuel Barruerco Sierra: Folias


Tuesday 24th

Tuesday Night at the Movies - Copland: Of Mice and Men; Williams: Jaws; Bernstein: True Grit

Drake’s Village Brass Band: Tempo Di Bourgeois – Col. John Bourgeois and the Keystone Wind Ensemble


Wednesday 25th

Host's Choice


Thursday 26th

Kozeluch: Symphony in D Major, Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major; Cardonne: La Dauphine; New Additions to the WWUH Library.


Friday 27th

Listener’s Choice – a program of music chosen by you. Please email your requests to The20thCenturyLimited@aol.com no later than June 21st.


Sunday 29th

Ricky Ian Gordon, 27


Monday 30th

Otto Nicolai Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (The Merry Wives of Windsor): Overture; Albéniz Iberia, Book 3: I. El Albaicin (arr. L. Brouwer) 







______________________________________________________________




SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT THE OPERA

your "lyric theater" program

with Keith Brown



Programming for June 2025





SUNDAY JUNE 1ST 

Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Spoken word presentations have always been part of my broad spectrum concept of lyric theater programming. I have broadcast recordings of many of William Shakespeare's plays. Often these were on early stereo Decca/Argo LP's These studio recordings, made between 1957 and 1964, were part of Decca's series of the complete recorded works of Shakespeare issued in commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of his birth. It was an audio project of historic significance equal to Decca's recorded series of Wagner's Ring cycle of operas made during the same period with Georg Solti conducting the Vienna Philharmonic and a singing cast of some of the greatest operatic voices of the mid twentieth century. Decca's Shakespeare project engaged distinguished director George Rylands and the Marlowe Dramatic Society of Cambridge University, plus other "professional players," who included some of the finest Shakespeareans that Britain possessed at the time. Some of them remain famous names even now in the twenty first century. In 2016 the entire Decca Shakespeare series- all thirty seven plays, the sonnets and narrative poems- was reissued on one hundred discs to mark the four hundredth anniversary of the Bard's death. I last drew upon the CD reissue for the broadcast of Shakespeare's late tragicomedy Cymbeline (1610) on Sunday, November 4, 2024. Spring is the season for lovers, and June is the month traditionally associated with weddings, when lovers bond for life, so I figured now is the perfect moment for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1595), his first great tragedy and perhaps the single alltime greatest story of tragic love ever set forth upon the stage, also successfully rendered into operatic form. I'm surprised to note that, over decades of those Shakespeare broadcasts that I have never previously broadcast a recording of the complete play, although on the opera show for Sunday, June 19, 2005 I presented audio scenes from the play performed live in the WWUH air studio, when members of the local Capitol Classics company of actors came on the air to promote their upcoming production. In Decca's old recording of the play Richard Marquand is heard as Romeo opposite Janette Richer as Juliet.

SUNDAY JUNE 8TH 

Donizetti, La Favorite This opera is now better known to the world in its later Italian language remake, but it started out as a French grand opera, more along the lines of Meyerbeer, intended for the Parisian stage. It was in 1839 after the success of the French language Lucie de Lammermoor in Paris that Donizetti decided to take a commission to set a new opera to a French libretto. He pieced together a new score drawn mostly from his own L'Ange de Nisida (1838), plus some other newly composed or recycled parts. La Favorite was a triumph at the Paris Opera in 1840, and for generations thereafter it was the single one of his many lyric stageworks that remained in the international repertoire. I have never previously broadcast a recording of the French or Italian versions of this work, but I have presented the Opera Rara release of L'Ange (Sunday, June 2, 2019). La Favorite the French opera was recorded live in concert hall performance in Munich in 1999. Marcello Viotti conducts the Munich Radio Orchestra and Chorus of Radio Bavaria with a lineup of seven vocal soloists.

SUNDAY JUNE 15TH Charpentier, Le Malade Imaginaire, Boismortier, Don Quichotte When it comes to opera of the French baroque, one might immediately think of the long series of lyric tragedies of Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-87). True, Lully provided incidental music for Moliere's satirical comedy Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (1670), but that was a sideline in his musical output. Listen today for two comic works of the French baroque, first one from the late seventeenth century, then another from the end of the era in the mid eighteenth. Lully's younger colleague Marc Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) also collaborated with the illustrious playwright and provided vocal airs and dances for Moliere's Le Malade Imaginaire (1673). The American conductor William Christie is a specialist in the historically accurate recreation of the theater music of this period. He recorded the music for Moliere's spoken word hypochondriac comedy in 1990. In the staged revival of this work, not only were the stage performers in costume of the period, the "period" orchestra was costumed appropriately and even conductor Christie himself wore a curly wig-a peruke. Another work by Charpentier Les Arts Florissants (1686) gave the name to Christie's period instrumental ensemble. Le Malade Imaginaire was reissued on two compact discs in 2023 through the French Harmonia Mundi record label. The CD reissue includes a bonus track: Charpentier's incidental music for yet another Moliere comedy Le Marriage Force (1664). The HM France reissue celebrates the four hundredth anniversary of Moliere's birth. 

   Yes, comic opera of the French baroque can be satirical. It can also, strangely enough, be crazy in a very modern way. Consider the musical treatment of the famous old Spanish picaresque novel to be encountered in Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse (1743) by a composer from the late baroque, Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689-1755). The libretto for this ballet comique is a French sendup of the original Spanish sendup of chivalry, sending Cervantes to a new fantastical level. Don Quichotte was Boismortier's first success in music for the stage. The librettist Favart was bold in the way he surprised and amused his Parisian audience. His collaborator Boismortier charmed them with his lovely vocal numbers and sprightly dance sequences. Boismortier's Don Quichotte has been twice recorded by the same conductor and his period instrumental ensemble: Herve Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel. The earlier 1996 recording I broadcast on Sunday, July 21, 2024. I would not normally put the same opera again over the air eleven months later, but the new recording may be slightly better and bears a close comparison in audition. The new one was made in December of 2020 in the opera house of the royal palace of Versailles and was released in 2022 on silver disc courtesy of Chateau de Versailles Spectacles.

SUNDAY JUNE 22ND 

Verdi, I Masnadieri This was the opera Verdi wrote immediately after Macbeth (1846), the first of his early masterworks to be revived in the twentieth century. I Masnadieri had a fairly strong premiere in London in 1847 at Her Majesty's Theatre, the Haymarket- the venue of Italian opera in England going back to the days of Handel. Soprano Jenny Lind, the famous "Swedish Nightingale," was in the original cast. Verdi's music for "The Brigands" is on a par with his truly masterful Macbeth. As a piece of singing it imposes heavy demands upon the vocal principals. The acknowledged diva Spanish soprano Monserrat Caballe was up to the challenge, topping the bill in the PHILIPS studio recording sessions in 1974, but she's the only female voice in the cast. Tenor Carlo Bergonzi and baritone Ruggero Raimondi took the leading male roles. Lamberto Gardelli directed the chorus of Ambrosian Singers and the New Philharmonia Orchestra. I have presented that PHILIPS recording twice before on Sunday, June 5, 1988 and again on Sunday, October 12, 2008. It was not so long after the esteemed Madame Caballe essayed the role of Amalia that the Australian soprano Joan Sutherland, that prima donna assoluta took her own try at it, with splendid results. I Masnadieri was recorded in London's Kingsway Hall in 1982 for release through the Decca/London label of the UK, Also in the cast was baritone Samuel Ramey in the role of Count Moor. Sutherland's husband Richard Bonynge led the Orchestra and Chorus of the Welsh National Opera. I Masnadieri was re-released on two London compact discs in digitally upgraded sound in 1992. 

SUNDAY JUNE 29TH 

Gordon, 27 I like to designate the last Sunday in June as "Stonewall Sunday," referring to the Stonewall Inn gay bar and the riot that took place in Greenwich Village on the last weekend in June, 1969. The Stonewall Rebellion in New York City gave birth to the gay liberation movement in the United States and worldwide, and to so much of the history of the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights that would follow. On Stonewall Sunday I program lyric theater music by LGBT of queer composers or performers or on some gay-related theme. This Sunday we focus on an iconic American lesbian of the earlier twentieth century, the writer Gertrude Stein (1874-1946). Stein and her life partner Alice B. Toklas maintained a salon for fellow American expats and European artists alike at their longtime residence in Paris at number 27 Rue de Fleurus. Picasso was in their circle of friends! An American composer of the twenty first century, Ricky Ian Gordon (b. 1952) captured the very spirit of the eccentric lesbian poet in his opera 27, first staged by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2014. Contralto Stephanie Blythe portrays-you might say is spiritually channeling- the larger-than-life persona of Stein, opposite soprano Elizabeth Futral as Alice B. David Robertson directs the St. Louis Symphony. Gertrude Stein as a writer became an opera librettist for the twentieth century American composer Virgil Thomson (1896-1989). She collaborated with Thomson on two of his operas: Four Saints in Three Acts (1924), which premiered here in Hartford, and The Mother of Us All (1947) about the iconic figure of feminist Susan B. Anthony. I have aired recordings of both works. Before 27 the opera Ricky Ian Gordon wrote a ballad opera dealing with the American Civil War Rappahannock County (2011) and an operatic treatment of The Grapes of Wrath (2007) after John Steinbeck's famous novel of the Depression era. Both of those operas went over the air a decade ago on Sundays in May and September of 2015. Rappahannock County I rebroadcast on Sunday, May 28, 2023. 27 the opera in its world premiere recording had been my offering once before on Stonewall Sunday, June 28, 2015, this amounting to an audio trilogy of Gordon's lyric theaterworks broadcast in the course of that year.       



keithsbrown1948@gmail.com

Boomer's Paradise


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


Welcome to June, you're in luck because there are five Mondays this month and five opportunities to hear great tunes on Boomers Paradise with your host, The Turtle Man.


Kicking off the month we once again step back 50 years to June 1975 to hear cuts from album releases that month. You will experience an auditory flashback that should elicit a multitude of memories. We also return to a more British Psychedelic sounds of the 60's and 70's.


From psychedelia we swim to some tasty surf music and dive into some big box of blues.


Being summertime we'll take another listen to songs whose titles reference the elements (fire, water, earth, sky) and since summer is the time for traveling we'll present songs whose titles reference various various ways of terrestrial travel (streets, roads, highways, etc.).


We continue with songs whose titles include "give" and "take" and then we end the month with a bit more surf music and songs whose titles include "child", "children(s)" and "kid(s)".



 

You'll find this each week at WWUH 91.3 FM/wwuh.org on Mondays from 1-4 PM with your host, The Turtle Man. See you then.



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

Listening to WWUH
Real Alternative News
For over 54 years WWUH has aired a variety of unique community affairs programs.


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.

The WWUH Scholarship Fund
In 2003 WWUH alums Steve Berian, Charles Horwitz and Clark Smidt helped create the WWUH Scholarship Fund to provide an annual grant to a UH student who is either on the station's volunteer Executive Committee or who is in a similar leadership position at the station. The grant amount each year will be one half of the revenue of the preceding year. 

To make a tax deductible donation
either send a check to:

WWUH Scholarship Fund
c/o John Ramsey
Univ. of Hartford
200 Bloomfield Ave.
W. Hartford, CT 06117 

Or call John at 860.768.4703 to arrange for a one-time
or on-going donation via charge card.

If you would like more information please contact us at wwuh@hartford.edu

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.

CT Blues Society


Founded in 1993, the Connecticut Blues Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Blues music in our state. CTBS is an affiliated member of The Blues Foundation, a worldwide network of 185 affiliates with an international membership in 12 countries.


The CT Blues Society May Update




The CTBS Blues Band Challenge winds up in May. On Sunday May 4, Black-Eyed Sally's in downtown Hartford will be the site of the second Challenge preliminary. Five bands will be competing - East Town Prophets, Kurt Guzik Blues Band, Whiskey Rebels, Jason Jones & Red Ball Express and The Chicago Dawgs. Two of these bands will move forward to the Challenge Finals to be held on Sunday May 18, again at Black-Eyed Sally's. They will be competing against the winners of the first preliminary, The Eran Troy Danner Band and The Kingpins. The winner of the Challenge Finals will represent CT at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN in January 2026.


The CTBS sponsors a Summer series of Blues Jams on first Thursdays at The Chicken Shack at The Farm At Carter Hill in Marlborough CT. Due to some readiness issues at the farm, the May jam was canceled and the kickoff will instead be on Thursday June 5 with the CTBS All-Stars and featured guest Tommy Whalen.


For more information or to join the CTBS, visit the website at ctblues.org










Here is a link to CT Blues Society with events and venues.

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.

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
Connecticut Symphony Orchestra



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.





https://connecticutsymphony.org


The Musical Club of Hartford


The Musical Club of Hartford is a non-profit organization founded in 1891. Membership is open to performers or to those who simply enjoy classical music, providing a network for musicians from the Greater Hartford area. Club events take place normally on selected Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m, Fall through Spring. The usual location is the sanctuary at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2080 Boulevard, West Hartford, CT (between Ridgewood and Mountain Avenues). Information on time and location is given at the bottom of each event description.





For more information about the Musical Club, including a full schedule of concerts and special events, please visit https://musicalclubhartford.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.


Coming Up



June 14, 20, 21, 2025

Anthony Davis’s opera Amistad

June 14 – Garde Performing Arts Center, New London

June 20 – Greater Hartford Performing Arts Academy, Hartford

June 21 – Shubert Performing Arts Center, New Haven.

Concluding the season is a full production of Pulitzer-winning composer Anthony Davis’s opera Amistad. In collaboration with Harlem Opera Theater and Discovering Amistad, CLO brings this extraordinary work to stages across Connecticut and New York. The opera, which recounts the 1839 slave revolt aboard the Spanish ship La Amistad and its aftermath, speaks to enduring themes of racial justice, human dignity, and the fight for freedom. This powerful production, enhanced by multimedia elements and full orchestration, promises to be a tour de force, reminding audiences of the significance of lifting our voices in pursuit of justice.









https://ctlyricopera.org/


Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra


The Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra is the state’s premier professional chamber orchestra dedicated to presenting both traditional and contemporary classical chamber works to the public. The Orchestra, led by Founder and Artistic Director Adrian Sylveen, continues to grow in size and repertoire, presenting approximately 35 times a year in many major performing arts centers throughout Connecticut and New York.


Coming Up


Thursday, June 5 @ 7:30 pm

Cyril and Methodius Church 63 Popieluszko Court, Hartford, CTSunday, June 8 @ 3:00 pm

New Britain Museum of American Art 56 Lexington St., New Britain, CT

"WE THE PEOPLE" Immigrant stories in music - part 11

Frédéric Chopin: Piano Concerto no. 2 in F-minor

Soloist: Corbin Beisner

Stanisław Moniuszko: Latin Mass in E-flat major

with The Academic Choir of Lublin University of Technology

http://thevirtuosi.org/







http://thevirtuosi.org/

Connecticut Symphony Orchestra presents American Vistas



Coming Up


The Connecticut Symphony Orchestra presents American Vistas on Sunday, June 8, 2025 at 3 p.m. The performance will take place at Congregation Beth Israel, 701 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford, CT. 


Composer, Neva Derewetzky, will attend this premiere of her work for orchestra, Waterbird, commissioned by the CSO. Also, on the program are Overture to Candide by Leonard Bernstein and Grand Canyon Suite by Ferde Grofe. All of these composers use the colors of the orchestra to paint vivid portraits of experiences and the landscapes of America and around the world. Please join the musicians, conductor, and composer for a reception following the performance.



For tickets, details, and directions visit the CSO website: connecticutsymphony.org


The Hartford Choral


The Hartford Choralehttp://www.hartfordchorale.org/The Hartford Chorale is a volunteer not-for-profit organization that presents, on a symphonic scale, masterpieces of great choral art throughout southern New England and beyond, serving as the primary symphonic chorus for the Greater Hartford community. Through its concerts and collaborations with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and other organizations, the Hartford Chorale engages the widest possible audiences with exceptional performances of a broad range of choral literature, providing talented singers with the opportunity to study and perform at a professional level.










hartfordchorale.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.





http://www.msoc.org

Beth El Temple Music & Art

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WHERE ELSE COULD MUSIC BE THIS HEAVENLY? Music at Beth El Temple in West Hartford is under the direction of The Beth El Music & Arts Committee (BEMA). With the leadership of Cantor Joseph Ness, it educates and entertains the community through music. The BEMA committee helps conceive and produce musical performances of all genres, while supporting the commemoration of Jewish celebrations and prayer services.


https://www.bethelwesthartford.org/community/get-involved/bema

Voce


Founded in 2006 by Mark Singleton, Artistic Director, and Tom Cooke, President, Voce has grown to become New England’s premier chamber choral ensemble. With a mission to Serve Harmony, Voce is best known for its unique sound; for bringing new works to a wide range of audiences; and for collaborating with middle school, high school and collegiate ensembles to instill the values of living and singing in harmony, further developing the next generation of choral artist.










https://www.voceinc.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 Lawn Pops: Movies & Musicals

Saturday, June 7, 2025

5:00 pm: Picnicking 

6:00 pm: Concert

Lawn of First Church of Christ, Congregational, 1652

75 Main Street, Farmington, CT 06032


KEY: Star Spangled Banner

R&H: The Sound of Music

ARLEN: Over the Rainbow

LOWE: My Fair Lady

PORTER: Cole Porter Salute

BERNSTEIN: West Side Story Selections

SHORE: Lord of the Rings Suite

SOUSA: Stars & Stripes

WARD: America The Beautiful

https://fvso.org/








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






www.fvso.org


West Hartford Symphony Orchestra





WHSO.org

South Windsor Cultural Arts



For information, call (860)-416-6920


https://www.facebook.com/SouthWindsorCulturalArts

The New Britain Symphony Orchestra

 

The New Britain Symphony Orchestra is a professional orchestra which presents several concerts each season in the Greater New Britain area, performing works from all periods in a wide range of musical styles. In addition to its full orchestra concerts under the direction of Music Director and Conductor, Toshiyuki Shimada, including a free concert for children, members of the orchestra perform in various free chamber music concerts during the concert season.



 

https://newbritainsymphony.org/

Celebrating 56 Years of Public Alternative Radio

Our programming can also be heard on:

WDJW - Somers, 89.7 MHz


wwuh@hartford.edu

WWUH.org

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Anniversary 2024