PERFORMANCE TODAY INTRODUCES LIFE-CHANGING MUSIC IN NEW SERIES "MUSIC THAT MATTERS"
Contact: Jacqueline Cartier
(651) 290-1113
jcartier@americanpublicmedia.org
www.americanpublicmedia.org
PERFORMANCE TODAY INTRODUCES LIFE-CHANGING MUSIC IN NEW SERIES "MUSIC THAT MATTERS"
Monthly Stories of Impact & Transforming Lives Through Music
February 8, 2010; St. Paul, Minn. - American Public Media's Performance Today will highlight how music impacts people and their communities in a new series entitled "Music that Matters." Starting this month, Performance Today and host Fred Child aim to introduce new dialogue surrounding music's ability to give life direction, more meaning, and empathy. For local broadcast times visit performancetoday.org/stations.
The first story in the series highlights the Reverie Harp, a unique instrument developed by Peter Roberts and manufactured in Stillwater, Minnesota. Roberts, a music-thanatologist, specializes in music therapy for those in the last days of life. In the broadcast, Performance Today visits Colleen, a hospice patient, as she and her music therapist sing and play songs on the harp that have been important in her life. The gentle vibrations and angelic sound of the harp calm patients like Colleen and help them reflect on their life. Full audio from the program, photos and video of the Reverie Harp can be found at performancetoday.org.
Later this February, "Music that Matters" introduces listeners to Ramzi Aburedwan, a Palestinian who spent much of his childhood in refugee camps, but as a teenager went to Paris to study music. Today, Aburedwan helps shield Palestinian refugee children from a life of violence by teaching them music, through a program called Al Kamandjati. This broadcast will include a recording of some of the children and their teachers performing a special concert in Ramallah.
In March, Performance Today will feature Native American composers who train students in reservation high schools in the southwest United States. The students compose in a unique style; combining Native melodies, modern rock and classical influences. The program in April focuses on Fargo, N.D., where once-child-prodigy violinist Midori teaches rural students the art of performing and encourages the Fargo community to support the arts.
Check back to performancetoday.org or tune into your local public radio station, as "Music That Matters" showcases these life changing stories about music each month on Performance Today from now until June.
Performance Today, hosted by acclaimed classical music host and commentator Fred Child, is a unique celebration of today's art of classical music. The two-hour weekday program features classical music in concert from studios, festivals and concert halls across the nation and around the world, as well as classical music news, interviews and features from American Public Media studios. On any given day, listeners to Performance Today may hear performances from the great concert halls of New York, Prague, London, Berlin and Paris. For local broadcast times, visit performancetoday.org/stations.