Tag: Harvard

Last week was a really a crazy one for me. I had to so much to do in an abbreviated amount of time (since everyone had off on Friday, in anticipation of the holiday) and the madness only intensified yesterday, since not only was it the Fourth of July, but it was my birthday. And on my birthday, it’s never just about me. Because there are family obligations and entertaining to be done. And c’mon, it was America 250! However, my entire life it’s been like that, more or less. Never be born on a holiday! But at least I’ve always got off work. All the same, I’m always glad whenever the festivities are over and we can all just get back to our own routines.

I wasn’t even able to finish everything I *needed* to get done, so of course I neglected to promote a special marathon of American music that was broadcast yesterday of WHRB, the radio station of Harvard University. Every year, my friend Mather Pfeiffenberger makes the trek back to his alma mater to share a special Fourth of July program, and this year was set to be a doozy. Unfortunately, Mather wound up being stuck in D.C., but he was able to enlist a trusted colleague, Jonathan Lehrich, to share his thoughtfully curated playlist and some of his insights into the music.

I only got to catch a little of it yesterday, but I must say, the selections I heard were exceptional, and many of them are things you will never hear on the radio – live concert recordings, historic documents of such vintage they would never be considered for air play anywhere else, and more – alongside interesting performances of certified American classics, some of them offered in alternative editions. Seriously, if you care about American classical music and you think you just can’t listen to another performance of “Victory at Sea” or the “Grand Canyon Suite,” do check this out. I know an awful lot, and there were things on this show I have never heard.

But how can I listen, you say, if the show was yesterday? Surely, we ALL can’t fit into Classic Ross Amico’s time-traveling DeLorean…

Well, you’re in luck, because the show is archived at the WHRB website for the next two weeks. Visit whrb.org, run your cursor over PROGRAMMING, and from the dropdown box select BROADCAST ARCHIVE.

Ignore any pop-ups and DO NOT click the box (if you get it) that reads ACTIVATE YOUR ACCOUNT TO START. I’m not sure if it’s actually affiliated with the station, or if it’s just a phishing scam. Either way, you don’t need to register. Simply click the box under BROADCAST ARCHIVE that says YESTERDAY (if you’re seeing this after Sunday, the box will read JULY 4). Then click 1:00 to start. The program ran from 1:00 to 10:00 p.m.

I am eager to hear it myself. Enjoy!
To learn more, here’s a link to Mather’s Facebook post about the broadcast:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0zt9jCsuZdjT7ZNAd4m1a8JyMQQ7zqMPwHSVjay8hKGWp4R4SaLFwbJcSNmpuMg4El&id=100093688583899