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Archive for September, 2010

WNCU Fall Fundraiser, Shave a Day

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

WNCU will hold its fall fundraiser, Shave a Day, from October 20th – 29th.

Ten days of pitching every few minutes to remind our listeners that we need financial support to keep going can be shorten by donating now.

For every $8,000 we raise between now and Oct. 20th, we will take one day off fundraising. If we raise $80,000 before Oct. 20th, we may not have to pitch at all.

Send in your donation and help us avoid interrupting your favorite programs.  You can renew your membership or become a new member online or by mailing your donation to PO Box 3659, Durham, NC 27702.

This is our 15th anniversary year, so why not donate at least $150 this time around and help us shorten our campaign?

NCCU Fall Theater Season Opens with Sarafina!

Monday, September 27th, 2010

The North Carolina Central University Department of Theatre opens its fall season with the Broadway musical Sarafina!. Performances are scheduled for Oct. 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 8 p.m., with matinee performances on Oct. 3 and 10 at 2 p.m., in the University Theater.

Written by South African playwright Mbongeni Ngema, Sarafina! takes place at Morris Isaacson High School in Soweto, where in 1976 about 200,000 black students assembled to protest against a government decree that imposed the “official” language of Afrikaans as the new medium of instruction in their classes, instead of their own language. Through story and song, Sarafina! follows the activities of a fictional class and, in particular, one girl named Sarafina, who inspires her classmates with her commitment to the struggle against apartheid.

“This play takes us into a world of social consciousness and captures a panoramic view of the complexities of human relationship from mankind’s attempt to reach the ultimate concept of world peace to the intrinsic premise of individual self-worth,” said director Stephanie “Asabi” Howard, assistant professor of theater. Howard is confident that audience members will leave thoroughly moved by the experience. “The extraordinary life of the South African is captured through an account of historical events that unify the experience of any group of people who have ever fought for equality,” she said. “The story is very humorous and at times extremely sad.”

NCCU students taking on the challenging roles of South Africans include: Jessica Jones as Sarafina, the student everyone loves for various reasons; Quan Acapella as Colgate, the narrator with a dazzling smile; Kayln Smith as Teaspoon, the school gossip; Kammeran Giggers as Mistress, the teacher who often uses the phrase ‘It’s a pity,’ and Justin Smith as Stimela, the school trendsetter. Darius Burruss provides musical direction and Tina Yarborough Liggins is the choreographer.

All shows are $15 general admission, and $10 for students, senior citizens and faculty. Tickets can be purchased through the NCCU ticket office at (919) 530-5170.

Official Launch Day for HD2, September 30

Friday, September 17th, 2010

September 30 is the official launch day for HD2, our second channel. In order to hear our HD2 stream, you will need an HD radio.  HD radio allows you to hear both our channels in crystal clear high definition audio.

Shows on HD2

BBC World Service: For over 70 years, BBC World Service has been the globe’s most comprehensive source for news. No other news source has a network of international correspondents, reporters, and producers to rival BBC. When news breaks anywhere, anytime BBC is there. Listeners count on BBC to provide superior news programming because they know they can trust BBC World Service, the world’s most respected news source.

The Bioneers: This award-winning series is composed of themed half-hour programs highlighting cutting-edge solutions to major environmental challenges and crises, along with broader social approaches for ecological and cultural restoration. Breakthrough ideas, technological innovations and bold activist social strategies make for compelling radio, powered by the charismatic voices of the Bioneers themselves. These radio series present both the heartbreaking and triumphant stories of Bioneers from around the world.

The Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature was nominated for the United Nations Public Information Program for Environmental Programming. Series III won a Bronze Medal award from the New York Festival of International Radio, and in 2004, the show “Restoring Life’s Fabric: The Biological Bottom Line” with David Suzuki was awarded the Crystal Award of Excellence. “Peace Means Coming Back to the Table: Transforming Urban War Zones” with Aqeela Sherrills was awarded the Crystal Award of Distinction.

Earth Beat is public radio’s new weekly talk program covering the environment and our impact on it. Host Marnie Chesterton takes listeners around the world to hear stories big and small that surprise and illuminate. Audiences will laugh and be engaged in a global discussion of where our planet is heading, and our role in shaping that.

Humankind Weekly is a series that profiles humanitarians, idealists and visionaries, hosted by award-winning documentary producer DAVID FREUDBERG. Hear stories of citizens who inspire us by their courage and motivate us to be good citizens.

Alternative Radio is a weekly one-hour public affairs series that features diverse perspectives on national and international issues. Alternative Radio challenges conventional views and is dedicated to the founding principles of public broadcasting: “to serve as a forum for controversy and debate” and “provide a voice for groups that may otherwise be unheard.” Programs feature Helen Caldicott, Noam Chomsky, Barbara Ehrenreich, Ralph Nader, Michael Parenti, Edward Said, Cornel West, and many others.

On Point unites distinct and provocative voices with passionate discussion as it confronts the stories that are at the center of what is important in the world today. Leaving no perspective unchallenged, On Point digs past the surface and into the core of a subject, exposing each of its real world implications.

Each hour of the broadcast opens with a news brief analyzing the day’s biggest stories, followed by an in-depth conversation decoding a single topic with newsmakers, thinkers, and callers, and closes with compelling personal reactions to news and important issues, including radio diaries, excerpts from speeches, or special series segments.

Host Tom Ashbrook combines his journalistic instincts with a listener’s openness and curiosity — focusing on the relevant topics and deconstructing issues along with the audience. News analyst Jack Beatty, Senior Editor at The Atlantic Monthly, also guides the program by providing his own unique perspective to the conversation.

Michael Eric Dyson Show: Dr. Dyson is one of the nation’s most influential and renowned public thinkers, named by Ebony magazine as one of the 150 most powerful African Americans, and according to The Philadelphia Weekly, “is reshaping what it means to be a public intellectual.” Recent interviews with Bennett College President Dr. Julianne Malveaux, first lady of Neo-Soul Erykah Badu, and unexpected voices from all sides of the Arizona immigration law debate are great examples of the depth, wit, and potency Dr. Dyson brings to mid-days. He instinctively knows when to listen, and when to push back on those not used to being pushed back on.

The Tavis Smiley Show offers a unique blend of news and newsmakers in expanded conversations on topics ranging from presidential power to reparations for slavery, from campaign finance reform to miscegenation in music videos — all with a special focus on black America.

Smiley’s guest roster includes former President Bill Clinton, Fidel Castro, and Pope John Paul II. He also shares the mic with regular guest commentators: Cornel West — professor of Religion at Princeton University and one of the nation’s most provocative public intellectuals. Connie Rice — co-director of the Los Angeles-based Advancement Project and celebrated for her success in tackling problems of inequity and exclusion. J.C. Watts — staunch Republican and former congressman from Oklahoma who continues to wield strong influence in national Republican politics. Michael Eric Dyson — professor of African American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, author, lecturer, community activist. The Tavis Smiley Show is provocative, thoughtful, and thoroughly engaging.

Free Speech– a daily 30 minute ,in depth alternative newscast and discussion from Pacifica network.

Only a Game is a weekly one-hour radio sports magazine featuring nationally known author and veteran NPR commentator Bill Littlefield. The program, crafted to lead into Weekend Edition Saturday, is characterized by Littlefield’s exceptional writing and affable personality.

Only a Game maintains a strong “on-the-scene” presence, to provide listeners with a sound-rich, weekly tour of the world of sports. Over the past four years, the program has covered diverse stories and issues, including Title IX and the explosion of interest in women’s sports, racism, competitive opportunities for the disabled, and the business of sports, in addition to who won and who lost the latest competitions.

Latino USA, the multi award-winning radio journal of news and culture, is the only nationally distributed English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective. It combines high-quality news, cultural and public affairs journalism with compelling sound to bring a rich understanding to a wide spectrum of listeners.

Latino influences and contributions continue to have an increasingly important impact on the evolving identity, life, and reality of the U.S. Latino USA acts as a forum for connections and reflects the experience of a changing population from a Latino viewpoint.

Maria Hinojosa is the popular host of Latino USA. She is also urban affairs correspondent for CNN and a former NPR News reporter. In addition to being a venerable broadcaster, Hinojosa is the author of Raising Raul (Viking Press, 1999), a frequent lecturer on college campuses, a devotee of the arts, and a first generation American Latina. A widely acclaimed journalist, she has received the Robert F. Kennedy Award, an Associated Press award and the National Council of La Raza’s 1999 Ruben Salazar Award, to name a few.

Snap Judgment’s raw, intimate, and musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see a sliver of the world through another’s eyes . . .

Snap Judgment host Glynn Washington takes listeners on a narrative journey – leaping from one person’s frying pan into another person’s fire.

Deejay-driven musical delivery, paired with lush sound design, drops listeners into the very heart of what matters. Snap Judgment’s fast-paced (sometimes dark, sometimes playful) narrative highlights stories burning hot on the lips of people from across the globe.

Get your radio transmitter seismically retrofitted because this will generate some waves. It’s a sweet rhythmic blend of drama, humor, music and personality all hosted by the man who won the Public Radio Talent Quest. Snap Judgment. Storytelling . . . with a beat.

Le Show w/ Harry Shearer: A weekly, hour-long romp through the worlds of media, politics, sports and show business, leavened with an eclectic mix of mysterious music, hosted by Harry Shearer.

PRI’s Peabody Award-winning “Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen” from WNYC is public radio’s smart and surprising guide to what’s happening in pop culture and the arts. Each week, Kurt Andersen introduces you to the people who are creating and shaping our culture. Life is busy – so let “Studio 360” steer you to the must-see movie this weekend, the next book for your nightstand, or the song that will change your life.

Kurt Andersen – novelist, journalist, and co-founder of legendary “Spy” magazine – gets inside the creative mind through conversations with guests such as Yo-Yo Ma, Zadie Smith, Sean Lennon, Sean Penn, Walter Mosely, Dolly Parton, Ang Lee, Dave Eggers, Frank Gehry, and Tori Amos. “Studio 360” is also the place where a Freudian shrink can analyze a videogame about bunnies and astronauts play piano on the International Space Station.

Spend an hour at Coney Island with “They Might Be Giants,” walk through steel monoliths with sculptor Richard Serra, and hang out with indie rock stars in an Omaha basement. Let “Studio 360” be your cultural guide.

Are We Alone: one hour weekly program. Searching for life as we don’t know it begins with understanding life as we do. From amoebas to zebras, from androids to antimatter, Are We Alone? explores the science that makes life possible. Find out how to extract DNA from a banana, what size wrench you need to build a time machine, and whether dark energy can be bottled (yes). Also, separate the science from pseudoscience during our monthly feature on critical thinking. Are We Alone? : Science radio for thinking species on any world.

Jazz Profiles: Nancy Wilson is host to this NPR radio series, a weekly one-hour documentary series profiling the people, places and things in jazz.

European Jazz Stage: From the great stages of Europe, Radio Netherlands Worldwide brings you this year’s European Jazz Stage with host Daniel Frankl. Go on a jazz vacation: 13 hours of performances beckon from venues across the continent including the acclaimed North Sea Jazz Festival. And we’ll bring jazz names you may not have heard: Han Bennink, Fay Claassen, Till Brönner and more. Don’t let the consonants and accents faze you — these musicians swing.

This year, Afropop Worldwide celebrates 20 years of excellence in connecting Americans to Africa and the World!

In 1988, Afropop was launched by NPR as a weekly series. It was the first of its kind and, 20 years later, the program has expanded its vision to include the music and cultures that encompass the entire African Diaspora. The program is still the standard for both the curious and the connoisseur, and takes listeners to dynamic music capitals such as Dakar, Senegal; Johannesburg, South Africa; Cairo, Egypt; Havana, Cuba; Salvador de Bahia, Brazil; New York and Paris. Listeners meet the leading stars as well as emerging artists. Live concert recordings of world-class artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Cesaria Evora, Gilberto Gil, Baaba Maal, Kanda Bongo Man and others are featured on the program.

Hosted by one of Africa ‘s best-loved broadcast personalities, Georges Collinet, and produced by Sean Barlow

Brazilian Hour is an eclectic show devoted to Brazilian music, and featuring styles such as samba, bossa nova, instrumental, pop, afro-bloco, and more. The show also features interviews.

Hear the World: Radio Netherlands Worldwide takes you on a global adventure: visiting all the continents, finding the roots, and exploring crossovers of a vast mixture of musical ideas…. Get inspired by the colors, tastes, and sounds on Hear the World.
American Routes is a two-hour weekly excursion into American music, spanning eras and genres — roots rock and soul, blues and country, jazz, gospel and beyond.

From moody streets and muddy waters to purple mountains and the open range, America has produced an incredibly wide body of music, and host Nick Spitzer samples it all. He takes listeners on exciting musical journeys from the known to the unknown and back again, visiting sites with familiar sounds but also making side trips to the places where Cajun, klezmer, and Téjano flourish.

American Routes features interviews with renowned artists such as Marcia Ball, Doc Cheatham, James Cotton, Steve Earle, Jerry Garcia, Dr. John, Ellis Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, Pharaoh Sanders, Mavis Staples, Allen Toussaint, Doc Watson.

Berimbau: Sounds of Brazil Hosted by Tony Regusters and Zezeh Maria
Since Antonio Carlos Jobim brought the bossa nova to the U.S in the 1960s, Jazz artists have always had a special relationship with Brazilian music. Veteran radio, tv and film broadcaster Tony Regusters and Afro-Brazilian dancer Zezeh Maria take us on a cultural excursion with beautiful ballads sung by Brazilian and American artists, the thumping rhythmic sambas, joyful carnival tunes and the ethereal sound of the new Brazilian artists.


Please note! This list is subject to change and some shows may be added or dropped on HD2, WNCU.

Rose Parade Tour Package Early Bird Booking Ends Soon

Monday, September 13th, 2010

The NCCU Marching Sound Machine will participate in the world famous 2011 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California!

Through Travel Gallery of Pasadena, NCCU is offering faculty, staff, alumni, parents and friends tour packages to accompany the band on this historic trip.

Highlights of Official Tour Package Options:

  • Premium Rose Parade Seating on Colorado Blvd., plus close-by parking for coaches, an official Rose Parade Program and escort guide to and from the Parade
  • A Tournament of Roses Band Fest event float construction viewing to see how the flowers are applied to the floats
  • A Hollywood tour with ITMI-certified guides
  • Airport transfers and meet-and-greet service at the LAX
  • Superior first class hotel accommodation at the Sheraton Park
  • Social events package for easy fellowship
  • Entire program escorted by Los Angeles-based staff; Easy walking distance to Disneyland and Calif. Adventure Park
  • Easy pick and choose menu to include the tour components you want

Official Package Tours

Gold Level – Five Nights (Dec. 28 – Jan. 2)
The package price includes:

* Group air round trip from Charlotte/Los Angeles – see below
* Airport transfers from Los Angeles airport (LAX) to Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort on Dec. 28 and Jan. 2
* Five nights’ hotel accommodation including taxes – Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort
* Official Band Fest Tour on Dec. 30
* Rose Parade Tour on Jan. 1, including premium reserved grandstand seating and official Tournament of Roses Program
* NCCU Social Events Package featuring a Welcome Reception on Dec. 29 and Alumni Cocktail Celebration on Dec. 30

Room costs per person based on the number of people sharing a room:
$1,381 Quadruple
$1,439 Triple
$1,554 Twin/Double
$1,899 Single

Airfare Group Flights Included in Gold Level – A limited number of group air seats are available. The cost for the schedule below has been included in the Gold Package.

28 DEC 10 – TUESDAY
US AIRWAYS 1433 COACH CLASS
LV: CHARLOTTE 1000A NONSTOP
AR: LOS ANGELES 1212P
02 JAN 11 – SUNDAY
US AIRWAYS 786 COACH CLASS
LV: LOS ANGELES 735A NONSTOP
AR: CHARLOTTE 312P
*If you have your own airfare you can deduct $550 per person.

Silver Level – Four Nights (Dec. 29 – Jan 2) (Airfare sold separately)
The package price includes:

* Airport transfers from Los Angeles airport (LAX) to Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort on Dec. 29 and Jan. 2
* Four nights’ hotel accommodation including taxes – Sheraton Park Hotel
* Official Band Fest Tour on Dec. 30
* Rose Parade Tour on Jan. 1, including premium reserved grandstand seating and official Tournament of Roses Program

Room costs per person based on the number of people sharing a room:
$599 Quadruple
$649 Triple
$739 Twin/Double
$1,016 Single

Airfare is purchased separately through Travel Gallery, the airline or by using frequent flyer mileage.

Add the Social Events Package
A special feature of the Official NCCU Alumni, Parents and Friends Tour Program is a social events package of two events.

Dec. 29 – Welcome Reception
NCCU staff will welcome you to an evening cocktail party at the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort ($45 per person).

Dec. 30 – University Club of Pasadena Celebratory Reception
Chancellor Charlie Nelms will be on hand to unite the local chapter of the NCCU Alumni Association with visiting friends, faculty and alumni. This will be a great opportunity to celebrate the Marching Sound Machine’s great performance ($65 per person).

Deposit and Payments
Refund and Cancellations are covered in the terms and conditions on the website.

A deposit of $100 per person will reserve your space on the Official NCCU Tour – the deposit will only be processed once an operating minimum of 40 people is reached.

For those purchasing Gold Package including group airfare, a second payment of $400 is due October 1.

The final tour balance is due November 1.

Reservations and Booking for Tour and Air Travel
Travel Gallery is ready to begin making reservations for the tour and airfare. Visit the NCCU Tournament of Roses website and follow the Rose Parade Tour Packages link to make your reservation today. After booking via the website, Travel Gallery will provide a prepared invoice for your review before you pay the deposit. You can also make a reservation by calling 1-800-858-6999.

September 2010 WNCU eNewsletter

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

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Irene Reid

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

From All Music. com

Biography by Richard Skelly

Like many great blues and classic jazz vocalists, the Savannah, GA raised Irene Reid began singing in the church. She was born on September 23, 1930 in Savannah, and attended the Alfred E. Beach/Cuyler High School. There, she learned vocal music from teacher Peter Smalls. In her early days singing around Savannah, it was either in the church or in the high school, and the thought of becoming a blues or jazz singer didn’t dawn on her until sometime later.

After her mother passed away in 1947, she moved to New York City to live with an aunt. Later that same year, she won the Apollo Theater Amateur contest for five consecutive weeks, and later she was the featured vocalist with Dick Vance at the Savoy Ballroom from 1948-1950. She joined legendary bandleader/pianist Count Basie’s band as the featured vocalist in 1961-1962, where she made several European tours with the band. In 1961 she returned to her hometown to perform with Basie at the municipal auditorium. Since her years with Basie’s band, Reid has shared stages with Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, and others. She performed at the Savannah Jazz Festival in 1991, 1994, and 1996.

During the ’60s, she recorded two big-band albums for Verve Records, Room for One More in 1965, and It’s Too Late in 1966. Her most visible job in the post-Basie years was on Broadway, where she joined the cast of The Wiz. By the late ’80s, she was coming out of a period of limelight and performed at a remote broadcast from Citicorp Center in Manhattan for Newark jazz station, WBGO-FM. This was the beginning of her career renaissance, which she enjoyed through the late ’90s with the Manhattan-based Savant Records label.

Reid passed away on January 4, 2008, but any of her six albums for Savant Records demonstrate just how artfully she blended blues and jazz at her live shows and on record. They include Million Dollar Secret (1997), I Ain’t Doin’ Too Bad (1999), Movin’ Out (1999), Uptown Lowdown (2000), One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show (2002), and Thanks to You (2004). At Savant, she recorded with two very skilled Hammond B-3 organist/producers, Bobby Forrester who often performed with singer Ruth Brown, and Charles “The Mighty Burner” Earland.