Inspired by the upcoming American holiday weekend, WCPE, the famous North Carolina-based classical music radio station, will introduce its “New World Weekend,” featuring classical music with American themes.
From Nov. 26 through Sunday, Nov. 29, the listening repertoire will include Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and “An American in Paris,” “Fanfare for the Volunteer” by the composer and violinist Mark O'Connor, “New England Triptych” by William Schuman, and Dvorak’s “New World Symphony.”
“With this program we want to show that America is a country of great cultural diversity, and [we want] to encourage people to listen to American composers,” said Curtis Brothers, Outreach Director & Media Liaison of WCPE, in a special interview with The Epoch Times.
As a special treat, American composer Aaron Copland will be featured throughout the weekend.
“He is the best among American composers. His music contains many American themes,” Mr. Brothers said.
In addition, from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Friday, everyone will be able to participate in the “All Request Friday” program. This is your chance to send Thanksgiving greetings to anyone, anywhere and listen along with them via various channels: streaming on the Internet, the next generation IPv6, cable, and satellite.
The same goes for Saturday nights—every week from 6 p.m. to midnight you can order your favorite classical music and share it with the world.
“We have more music request programs than anybody else,” Mr. Brothers added.
The radio program not only aims to provide you with the best classical music but also aspires to educate you. The WCPE Web site is quite rich with versatile information ranging from composers’ biographies, to musical critiques, to the latest news in the world of classical music.
WCPE also publishes “Quarter Notes,” a quarterly program guide to enhance its listeners appreciation for and understanding of classical music.
The goal of WCPE is “…to provide Great Classical Music to our listeners 24 hours a day, every day of the year.” Listeners and supporters are urged to contribute to the cause.
“We pledge to continue bringing classical music to a worldwide audience using the latest in broadcast technology, while maintaining our commitment to our loyal local listeners who may remember our station’s humble beginnings,” the pledge to customers reads.
As the 31-year-old radio station is 100 percent sponsored by its listeners and is freely accessible around the world, it is difficult to estimate how many people it reaches.
“We have listeners literally on every continent, even in Antarctica. If you go and check the section ‘What You Are Saying’ on our Web site, you will see commentaries from Africa, India, Afghanistan, Palestine and Brazil…”
WCPE Radio also has supporters in China. A friend of the station made an independent Web site (http://www.goodien.org/) by which he promotes WCPE programs and classical music to the Mandarin-speaking world.
For more information, visit the Web site of WCPE: http://theclassicalstation.org/
