November 2004 Articles

State of the Station Report

Dear Members,

Thank you for supporting WFIU and helping make the public radio experience possible for thousands of listeners in our broadcast area!
This has been an exciting WFIU year. Individual, business, and university support remained strong, providing a solid financial base for WFIU operations. Unlike many stations, we finished the year in the black and fulfilled major goals. This is a testament to the steadfast generosity of members like you.
Local public affairs programming led with the broadcast of live call-in programs focusing on health issues as well as the 2004 Indiana gubernatorial race. Noon Edition, our weekly public affairs call-in program, generated a record number of calls and e-mails from listeners. On the statewide level, WFIU joined forces with WBAA in West Lafayette to establish a weekly news report from the statehouse, and we are working with Indiana public radio and television stations to establish a full-time statehouse news bureau. On the national level, we aired the presidential debates, and now are looking forward to continuous NPR coverage on Election Day.
This has been an unprecedented year in awards. Our news department was honored by news organizations, and received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award. On several mornings listeners were delighted to wake up to a story on Morning Edition reported by a familiar WFIU voice and touting the WFIU tag line. WFIU news and public affairs programming has made great strides in the last year, and joins WFIU's long established classical music programming in serving the needs of our listeners.
This was also a record year for community outreach. WFIU partnered with over 50 organizations to sponsor events and disseminate information. Over 2,000 announcements were read, informing listeners of non-profit services, concerts, events, and lectures. Our Web site now allows for on-line submissions of public service announcements, which makes it easy for groups to share information with listeners. Take a moment to look at our site at wfiu.indiana.edu. It includes a schedule of public service announcements, an expanded arts and news page, an archive of programs, and a variety of interesting links. This is our commitment to the growing WFIU Internet audience.
Support for technology initiatives grew this year. Our operations and engineering departments competed successfully for matching funds for digital conversion initiatives that we will be undertaking in the next several years. The on-air studio board so generously funded last year by WFIU members is now fully operational, providing consistent signal delivery.
New, locally produced programs entered our schedule, including Focus on Flowers with Moya Andrews, A Moment of Indiana History, and Night Lights.

Now, we look toward the future. Our audience is changing, and we must find ways to reach it through technology that goes beyond radio transmission as we have known it. More and more, we find ourselves serving a younger demographic that "listens to radio" on the Internet. The analog-to-digital transfer is at our doorstep, and pending FCC approval, may rapidly change the way we use radio. Imagine being able to look at your radio and see the title of the piece you're hearing, the list of performers, and even the CD information! Or imagine having the option of tuning in to either "WFIU Music" or "WFIU Talk"! The possibility of a second channel may free WFIU from its biggest programming dilemma-adequately serving fans of music and of talk programming.
The Internet and satellite radio are already creating new and often uncharted listening trends. Addressing these multiple challenges will require an investment in equipment, technology, personnel and training. Though we are setting aside funds for these initiatives and pursuing all grant possibilities, we must also find alternative sources of funding. This year, for the first time, we have created the WFIU Future Fund, to be funded by contributions from donors. We are proud to welcome our Charter Members and invite you to consider joining this circle of friends. It offers a special opportunity to invest in WFIU's future.
While we tackle the challenge of new technologies, we must also address the changing listening needs of our audience. There is no doubt that our world has changed since 9/11, creating a greater thirst for news and information. NPR has responded to this need, and substantially increased its news departments. At the local level, we need to respond to the growing need of our community by expanding our news department's offerings through both radio and Internet. On the cultural programming front, our service remains one of the best in the public radio system. We don't intend to rest on our laurels, however, and are already exploring the possibilities offered by digital technology.
This is a record that we all can be proud of. It's a record created by all of us working together to build a public radio service that enriches the community. Our mission is to touch and teach-to shape meaning and create culture-to inspire lives. We exist for you, and couldn't carry out our mission were it not for your financial commitment. As the 2004 fund drive approaches, I thank you for your generous support that made us successful and ask you to invest in WFIU's future.

Thank you for seeking us out and listening to us every day.

Christina Kuzmych
Station Manager

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Creators at Carnegie: Dawn Upshaw and the Australian Chamber Orchestra
Sunday, November 14, 8 p.m.

Renowned soprano Dawn Upshaw collaborates with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in performing works by Bach, Vivaldi, Bartók and others. This concert from the Isaac Stern Auditorium also features a New York premiere of Szymanowski's String Quartet No. 2.
Dawn Upshaw has achieved international celebrity as a singer of opera and concert repertoire that ranges from the sacred works of Bach to the freshest sounds of today. Her ability to reach to the heart of music and text has earned her the devotion of a diverse worldwide audience.
Her acclaimed performances on the opera stage comprise the great Mozart roles as well as modern works by Stravinsky, Poulenc and Messiaen. From Salzburg and Paris to the Metropolitan Opera, where she began her career in 1984 and has since made nearly 300 appearances, Ms. Upshaw has also distinguished herself in contemporary music. In her work as a recitalist, and particularly in songs of today, she has become a generative force in concert music, having premiered more than forty works in the past decade.
Founded in 1975, the Australian Chamber Orchestra has built an international reputation for its artistic excellence and adventurous programming. Unmatched in its provocative expansion of the chamber orchestra repertoire, the ACO's stylistic versatility allows it to perform on modern or period instruments, as a small chamber group, as a small symphony orchestra and as an electro-acoustic ensemble. Each year Artistic Director Richard Tognetti brings the ACO together with the finest artists from around the world. Times of London declared: "This must be the best chamber orchestra on earth."

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Mythic Journeys: Celebrating Joseph Campbell's Centenary
Sunday, November 21, 8 p.m.

This program explores the mystery, beauty and meaning of myths-the symbolic language of the human experience that reveals eternal truths about human existence. According to mythologist Joseph Campbell, "Myths are those things that cannot be, yet ever are. The first function of mythology is to awaken a sense of awe and wonder in response to the unfathomable universe."
For two riveting hours, Mythic Journeys: Celebrating Joseph Campbell's Centenary brings you an extraordinary guest roster of world-renowned artists, musicians, mythologists, folklorists, anthropologists, psychologists, CEOs, religious leaders and storytellers-all using language and insight derived from mythic imagination to talk about problems that face our world.
The performances were recorded during a remarkable event honoring the 100th anniversary of Joseph Campbell's birth. You'll hear stirring poetry readings by Pulitzer Prize-winner Galway Kinnel, Robert Bly and Coleman Barks; stories by Michael Meade and Sobonfu Somé, and personal accounts by theologian Matthew Fox, folk singer Janis Ian, and psychologist James Hilman among many others.

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Riverwalk Jazz: Thanksgiving Homecoming
Sunday, November 28, 8 p.m.

Riverwalk Jazz celebrates the lives and music of America's top jazz musicians through live performances and fascinating stories that bring to life remarkable moments in the history of jazz. The music is recorded live at the historic Landing Jazz Club on San Antonio's historic Riverwalk-one of the most popular and longest-running jazz venues in the U.S.
Get together with some of your favorite Riverwalk Jazz musicians for this Thanksgiving family gathering. Joining us at the table to share the bounty is a host of special guests with performances perfect for a day spent with friends and family.

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Independent Minds: Peter Sellers
Sunday, November 28, 9 p.m.

Credit for Sellers photo: Courtesy of LegendsArchive.com

Peter Sellers' comic genius is undeniable. His radio, television and film work has influenced everyone from Monty Python's Flying Circus to Mike Myers. He gave movie audiences iconic characters like the sinister Dr. Strangelove and the bumbling Inspector Clouseau. In the 1960s, Sellers' rise to stardom made him one of England's most recognizable stars, on par with the Beatles. Now, forty years after the height of Peter Sellers' career, David D'Arcy hosts an engaging look at this comic genius.
We'll hear from Sellers' collaborators Blake Edwards, Paul Mazursky and Joe McGrath, as well as Mike Myers, Tracey Ullman, John Lithgow, Geoffrey Rush and Sellers biographers Ed Sikov and Roger Lewis. Topping off the program are rare archive interviews of Sellers himself.

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Compact Discoveries
with Fred Flaxman

From Borodin to Broadway
Sunday, November 21, 4 p.m.
The Broadway musical Kismet was based on themes of the Russian composer Alexander Borodin. In this hour Fred Flaxman presents songs from the musical paired with the Borodin originals.

Classical Kids
Sunday, November 28, 4 p.m.
Piano music inspired by children, including Debussy's Children's Corner Suite, Schumann's Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), Fauré's Dolly Suite, and Poldini's Poupée valsante (Waltzing Doll).

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November Community Events

Mahler & McKinley
Saturday, November 20, 7:30 p.m.
First Christian Church
Columbus

If you've never heard the music of Joseph Jongen, do yourself a favor and savor Dan McKinley's performance of Jongen's Concerto for Organ and Orchestra. Gustav Mahler's magnificent Symphony #2 ("Resurrection") features Columbus's Alison Bates. WFIU is the media sponsor for this concert by the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic

Bach, Britten & Hayden
Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, November 6, 7:30 p.m.
Tilson Auditorium
Terre Haute

Britten's appealing and powerful Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings will feature Brian Kilp on horn and tenor David Mannell. Two popular standards round out the program: Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major and Haydn's famous Surprise Symphony. For more information, visit www.thso.org, phone 812-242-THSO (8476) or e-mail info@thso.org

A Potpourri of Arts in the African American Tradition
Saturday, November 6, 8 p.m.
IU Auditorium
Bloomington

The African American Arts Institute presents performances by the African American Choral Ensemble, African American Dance Company and IU Soul Revue. WFIU is a media sponsor of this event and of programs throughout the year. The 2004-05 academic year marks the AAAI's 30th anniversary season. Tickets for the event are available at Ticketmaster or the IU Auditorium box office. For more information visit www.indiana.edu/~aaai/Potpourri04.html.

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Musical Highlights for November
by Robert Lumpkin, Music Director

Artist of the Month
WFIU's Artist of the month for November is pianist Frederic Chiu. A graduate of Indiana University, Frederic Chiu enjoys an active career performing throughout America, Europe and Asia.
Chiu's intriguing piano-playing and teaching springs from a diverse set of experiences and interests-his Asian/American/European background, his musical training, and an early and ongoing exploration of artificial intelligence and human psychology, especially the body-mind-heart connection.
With over twenty CDs on the market, Chiu's repertoire includes the complete work of Prokofiev as well as popular classics of Chopin and Liszt, with a special place for the piano transcription. Many have been singled out, such as "Record of the Year" by Stereo Review, "Top 10 recordings" by the New Yorker, with raves from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Chiu is also active in expanding the place of classical music. He has created unusual collaborations with non-musicians, such as the Shakespearean actor Brian Bedford and psychologist and clown Howard Buten. He does extensive work with children through concert and lectures for schools, and has brought classical music to places where it is rarely heard.
Frederic Chiu's most recent harmonia mundi release, Chopin: Twelve Etudes, Op. 25, is featured during our 2004 fund drive this month. In addition to that new release, join us on Wednesday, November 11, at 10:12 p.m. for the complete "Italian" Années de Pelerinage by Franz Liszt. The following Wednesday, November 24th, at 7:07 p.m., you can hear Chopin's Twelve Etudes, Op. 10, and on Monday the 29th at 7:07 p.m., we bring you Five Mazurkas, Op. 7 also by Frederic Chopin.

New Releases
We have two new recordings from Telarc for our listeners this month. Paavo Järvi leads the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in a performance of the Symphony No, 5, Op. 50 by Carl Nielsen on Wednesday, November 17 at 10:12 p.m. Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus can be heard Wednesday the 24th at the same time in a performance of the Requiem by Hector Berlioz. The featured soloist on that new Telarc recording is tenor Frank Lopardo. Archiv also has a recent release for us this month. They present Werner Ehrhardt leading the ensemble Concerto Köln in the Symphony No. 6 in d, Op. 58 by Johann Wilhelm Wilms.

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Behind the Scenes at NPR's Election Coverage

NPR's 2004 election coverage-from the bid for President to the hundreds of federal, state, and local races-present a complex story that reaches literally from coast to coast and hits every point in between.
"It's an enormous challenge," comments NPR's political editor Ken Rudin on covering U.S. politics during an election year. "And one of our challenges is to make sure people are paying attention, especially since the Democratic presidential nominee may be decided by February."
NPR's Washington desk has fifteen staffers, who will be assisted in their coverage of politics by an equal number of reporters from other departments and around the country. "We don't have a 'political desk' as such," says Ron Elving, NPR's Washington editor. "Everybody always has other things to do. What we try to do is ensure that the entire network is involved in political coverage, and that we integrate its energy and excitement into all our programs."
Elving, a former political editor for USA Today, believes that Americans are more interested in the presidential campaign than they were four years ago, partly because the 2000 election turned out to be so close and partly because the California gubernatorial recall has fuelled political passions. "NPR has many more listeners than any one newspaper has readers, or any one cable news channel has viewers," he adds. "We can help that passion come alive through voices and sound."
Rudin came to NPR from ABC News. In contrast to other broadcast networks, he maintains that NPR brings depth, time, and commitment. "Back at ABC, if we were lucky, we'd get a minute and a half on a political story," he says. "Here, we have the opportunity to communicate with longer stories featuring many voices: the candidates, the experts, and, most important, the voters."
One of NPR's best-known voices, Senior National Correspondent Linda Werthheimer, will provide her insights and experience during the campaign. From 1974 to 1989, she covered four presidential and eight congressional elections for NPR, traveling the country with major presidential candidates, covering state presidential primaries and the general elections, and regularly reporting from Congress on the major events of the day.
Also contributing regularly to election coverage will be National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson, whose reports can be heard regularly on All Things Considered and Morning Edition; and Juan Williams, senior correspondent for Morning Edition.
Elving says one the most legitimate criticisms of the media is their obsession with "who's leading today," and he promises that NPR will look beyond numbers. "We're trying to be not as poll-driven as the rest of the media," he says. "We are, however, planning a series of conversations with GOP and Democratic pollsters about questions they are asking exclusively for NPR about how voters respond to events and issues."
"It's not our job to anoint front-runners," adds Rudin. "We'll let the voters decide that. We're very conscious of not trying to be kingmakers."

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Profiles

November 7 - Fund Drive edition: Glenn Gass
IU music professor Glenn Gass was among the first to offer classes on the history of rock 'n roll in a music school or conservatory. He also teaches a survey course on the history of Western classical music and takes groups of students to London for a course on The Beatles. His musical works have been performed internationally, and he is the author of the Random House textbook "A History of Rock Music," a book he once described as "a text that takes the music seriously, not a glossy type of thing about rock stars." He spoke with WFIU's David Brent Johnson.

November 14 - David Mamet
Playwright, screenwriter and director David Mamet received the Pulitzer Prize for his play "Glengarry Glen Ross" and was given an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay "The Verdict." His work typically features strong male characters who engage in tough posturing, rhythmically profane dialogue, and charged verbal confrontations. In this conversation with KQED's Michael Krasny, Mamet discusses his thoughts on the writing process, his much-maligned portrayal as a misogynist, the use of four letter words in dialogue, Judaism, and growing up in Chicago. He also discusses his latest play, a reworking of the classic story of Doctor Faustus.

November 21 - Federico Agostini
Associate professor of violin at the IU School of Music, Federico Agostini is internationally active as a soloist, chamber musician, teacher and adjudicator. He holds numerous master classes around the world. In particular demand as a chamber musician, Agostini was a regular member of the chamber orchestra I Virtuosi di Roma, he led I Musici for six years, and he is a regular guest at Sarasota's La Musica International Chamber Music Festival and many others. He records for the Philips and Claves labels. Hosted by WFIU's Robert Lumpkin.

November 28 - Tracy Kidder
Author Tracy Kidder has been described by the Baltimore Sun as the "master of the non-fiction narrative." He's best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Soul of a New Machine," an account of the development of the first minicomputers. Kidder learns "big lessons from small places": For "Among Schoolchildren," he spent a year in a fifth grade classroom in an inner city school; for "House," he took readers to the heart of the American Dream, depicting the building of a family's first house with all its day-to-day frustrations; and for "Old Friends" he spent a year observing the residents of a nursing home. Hosted by Glenn Mitchell for The Writer's Studio.

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The Radio Reader with Dick Estell

"Shadow Divers"
by Robert Kurson
Begins Monday, November 15

This is the true story of two Americans who risked everything to solve one of the last mysteries of World War II. In 1991, John Chatterton and Rich Kohler, two deep-sea wreck divers, dove to a mysterious wreck lying at the perilous depth of 230 feet off the coast of New Jersey. Both had a philosophy of excelling and pushing themselves to the limit; both needed all their philosophy and fitness to proceed once they had identified the wreck as a U-boat. As narrated by Kurson, a writer for Esquire, the two divers next undertook a seven year search for the U-boat's identity inside the wreck, in a multitude of archives and in a host of human memories.
Along the way, Chatterton's diving cost him a marriage, and Kohler's love for his German heritage helped turn him into a serious U-boat scholar. The pair lost three of their diving companions on the wreck and their mentor, Bill Nagle, to alcoholism. Lovers of any sort of adventure tale will absorb the author's sharp characterizations and fascinating technical detail in this insightful action narrative.

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Broadcasts from the IU School of Music

MATTEIS-Ayres in G (Book 2); Stanley Ritchie, vln.; Nigel North, theorbo
Airs: 11/1 at 7 p.m., 11/2 at 10 a.m., 11/5 at 3 p.m.

VILLA-LOBOS-Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1; Emilio Colón/Indiana Cello Ens.
Airs: 11/15 at 7 p.m., 11/16 at 10 a.m.

MARINI-Sonata Quarta, Op. 8; Stanley Ritchie, vln.; Nigel North, theorbo
Airs: 11/22 at 7 p.m., 11/23 at 10 a.m., 11/26 at 3 p.m.

MARINI-Romanesca per Violino solo e Basso se piace, Op. 3; Ritchie, Stanley, vln.; Nigel North, theorbo
Airs: 11/29 at 7 p.m., 11/30 at 10 a.m.

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WFIU
Created and maintained by Michael Toler
Last updated: Monday, August 30, 2004
Copyright 2004, The Trustees of
Indiana University