Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages…

As Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus prepares to take its final bow, we salute the circus this Thursday morning on WPRB.

Join me to hear works such as Douglas Moore’s “The Pageant of P.T. Barnum,” Nino Rota’s “La Strada Ballet” and Rodion Shchedrin’s “Old Russian Circus Music.” I’ll also have snappy circus favorites like Julius Fucik’s “Entry of the Gladiators,” Juventino Rosas’ “Over the Waves” (a.k.a. the trapeze music), and Aram Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance.” Perhaps there will even be a circus-oriented film score or two.

The traveling circus’ roots reach back deep into the 19th century. Ringling Brothers will stream its final performance, from Uniondale, NY, on its Facebook page, Sunday evening at 7:00 EDT.

For now, it will be a morning of pure nostalgia, a musical nod to a fading piece of Americana, from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. We’ll have more circus music than clowns in a clown car, on Classic Ross Amico.