Inside WSKG

Join WSKG this May!

This month proves as exciting as ever as WSKG heads into the community with several events and brings quality viewing into the living room with new local and national shows.

Highlights: Freedom Riders screenings, Off the Page live taping in Ithaca, The Cat in the Hat visits Binghamton's Jewish Community Center, The Moth Radio Hour returns, Pathways to Understanding: Our Energy Future and "Like" us on Facebook! 

Inside WSKG gives you a behind-the-scenes look at WSKG Public Broadcasting. From station events and new television programs to radio highlights and educational outreach activities, Inside WSKG keeps you informed about WSKG, the public media for your community.

Read with The Cat in the Hat! WSKG and The Cat in the Hat will visit the Early Childhood Learning Center at the JCC in Binghamton, NY for a family Preschool Literacy Day on May 5th starting at 1:15pm. Come dressed as your favorite book character for a costume parade at 1:15pm, plus interactive storytime and library card sign up. Free to all attendees! More Event Info

Listen for all new episodes of The Moth Radio Hour  this month. The show will return to it's usual slot at
8:00pm, immediately following This American Life at 7:00pm. Entering its 4th season, The Moth recently received a 70th Annual Peabody Award for excellence in electronic media for 2010.

WSKG TV presents all-new episodes of Pathways to Understanding: Our Energy Future on May 19th at 8:00pm and 8:30pm. Hear local experts answer questions submitted directly from our community on wind energy and biofuels in Part 3 and energy conservation in Part 4.  See Parts 1 and 2 online.

"Like" WSKG on Facebook for your chance at give-aways all spring and summer!  Plus, you'll receive daily station updates, events information and special web-only content. We've already had three lucky winners of gifts from our Radio and Education Departments, as well as the Expressions Summer Concert Series complete DVD set. Show your support for WSKG in the little ways, and Like us on Facebook

Join WSKG for three screenings of the upcoming documentary Freedom Riders from PBS and American Experience.  While the first screening on May 2nd at the Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca, NY has already sold out, we'll host an encore showing May 9th starting at 6:00pm at the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (contact Michelle Berry, michellecourtneyberry@gmail.com, for reservations). If you're in the Binghamton area, head over the the Cornerstone Community Church in Endicott, NY for a screening on May 7th starting at 5:00pm.  More details on the events

Join Community Conversation May 17th at 7:00pm for a discussion of the Freedom Rides. In 1961, seven blacks and six whites left Washington, D.C. on two buses headed for the Deep South, intending to challenge segregation in interstate bus stations. The ensuing chaos and violence sent shockwaves through American society and made an important and lasting contribution to the Civil Rights Movement.

Get the Math is coming to WSKG TV May 9th at 5:30pm! Get the Math is a multimedia project about algebra in the real world. See how professionals working in fashion, videogame design, and music production use algebraic thinking. Then take on interactive challenges related to those careers!

Off the Page is heading to Ithaca, NY! Participate in the live taping on May 6th at the Finger Lakes Wine Center at 5:00pm. Host Bill Jaker will discuss "Writing About Wine" with authors John Hartstock (Seasons of a Finger Lakes Winery) and Henry Stark (food and wine critic for the Ithaca Times and Ithaca Journal). Hear the broadcast May 10th at 1:00pm and 7:00pm on WSKG Radio.

Study in new ways with Regents Review 2.0. Regents Review 2.0 is a series of test-prep programs that use both TV and the Web to deliver a dynamic review session to high school students who plan on taking a NYS Regents exam this June. Check out a variety of interactive features, including a comprehensive website, on-demand videos, test prep on Facebook and watch May 16th-21st from 1:00am to 6:00am on WSKG TV.

Midsomer Murders returns to WSKG TV starting May 5th at 9:00pm with all new episodes! The cozy villages of Midsomer County reveal their most sinister secrets in these contemporary British television mysteries. Inspired by the novels of Caroline Graham, modern master of the English village mystery, the series stars John Nettles (Bergerac) as the unflappable Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.

 

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Glimmerglass Opera's 2010 Season Exclusive Interviews

I’ve communicated with Brittany Lesavoy, the Director of Public Relations at the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, NY, so often over the past few years that is was a pleasure to finally meet her when Greg Keeler and I drove up to record a series of interviews about the Glimmerglass season. 

I don’t know what most people think opera singers are like in real life, but I suspect there is a caricature of the Maria Callas type, who came off as aloof and imperious (mostly because of her shyness and bad eyesight). Or maybe people have heard the stories of bad behavior by the likes of Kathleen Battle. I have not had that experience. Maybe I speak “opera singer” particularly well, but I find them smart, down-to-earth and a lot of fun to talk to.  If you can listen to these interviews, I think you’ll agree with me. 

We began with Tosca, and I spoke with tenor Adam Diegel, director Ned Canty, and soprano Lise Lindstrom. After last season’s controversial production of Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera I was interested in finding out if Glimmerglass would stage its own “high concept” production. The director and the singers agreed that Puccini is so specific in the music that accompanies the stage directions that going too far afield hobbles the dramatic effect.  Singing those roles is hard enough, but they are also very demanding from an acting standpoint, not to mention the sheer physicality of the roles.  In the interview Adam speaks about how difficult it is to face a firing squad, even knowing that they aren’t real rifles, and then have to lay motionless on the stage while the rest of the drama takes place. 

For The Tender Land I spoke with soprano Lindsay Russell, conductor Stewart Robertson, and director Tazewell Thompson. This is about as different an opera from Tosca as you can imagine.  It was inspired by photographs of the Midwest during the Great Depression and is about small town life, small events in everyday life, and the equally deep emotions those small town people experience.  Originally written for television, Aaron Copland had to revise the production for it to work in a large theatre, as opposed to television close-ups.  Singers from Glimmerglass’ Young American Artists Program comprise the entire cast.

The interview for Tolomeo came as a big surprise for me.   This is the first professional staging of this Handel opera in the United States, and it is rarely performed elsewhere.  Research I did on it hinted at a very complicated and serious plot, and apparently, I was wrong. Director Chas Rader-Sheiber, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and soprano Joelle Harvey explained that Tolomeo gives plenty of laughs.  Listen for plenty of laughs in the interview, too (scheduled to air Friday, July 16th around 9:30 a.m.).

Because the cast of The Marriage of Figaro were in rehearsal, I didn’t get to speak with them, but it gave me a chance to have an interesting and wide-ranging discussion (scheduled to air Thursday, July 15th around 9:30 a.m.) with General and Artistic Director Michael MacLeod who leaves Glimmerglass at the end of this season after five years on the job.

Visit our website for these and other Local Arts Interviews.

What's Up at WSKG - July 2010

July promises to be another great summer month for WSKG!

Join us every Thursday in July as we welcome area musicians to our studios for the Expressions Summer Concert Series.  Each event includes a pre-broadcast reception with WSKG staff and friends.  We'll feature Donna the Buffalo on July 1st, Driftwood on July 8th, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams on July 15th, Revision on July 22nd and Lukus Wells on July 29th.  If you're a fan of local music, email us at RSVP@wskg.org to reserve your seat for a live taping (full details here).  Expressionsbroadcasts live Thursday at 8:00pm on WSKG HD-TV!

On July 2nd, WSKG culminates our celebration of the local arts community with the Art in Motion Finale and Silent Auction at the Orazio Salati Gallery on State Street during Binghamton, NY's First Friday.  34 pieces from the Art in Motion Competition and Showcase will be available in our Silent Auction from 6:00 to 8:30pm.  Familiar WSKG voices and faces will host a wine and cheese reception from 6:00 to 9:00pm while you explore the fine art, photography and sculpture submitted by talented artists from our community.

As of June 22nd, a new face has been roaming the halls of 601 Gates Road.  Emma Jacobs, previously a reporter for Morning Edition, The Environment Report and Word of Mouth and an intern for StoryCorps, RadioLab and WNYC's Soundcheck, has come to WSKG as our Local Journalism Center reporter.  WSKG, WXXI of Rochester, WNED of Buffalo, WRVO of Oswego and WMHT of Albany will combine efforts for this collaborative project.  Over the next 2 years, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) will fund in-depth reporting on the innovation economy in upstate New York.  Listen for Emma's reports in the coming weeks and months on WSKG Public Radio!

In light of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, WSKG's Community Conversation will delve into 2 shows on oil.  We'll look at alternative sources of energy and the role oil plays in our daily lives.  What would it mean to lessen our dependence on oil?  Listen for Community Conversation's "Beyond Oil" on Tuesday, July 13th and Tuesday July 27th, live at 7:00pm on WSKG Public Radio.

Our Education and Outreach department continues Science in the Park this month with stops at Port Dickinson Park in Binghamton, NY on July 9th and the Elmira Southside Community Center in Elmira, NY on July 22nd.  Nancy Coddington (Community Outreach Coordinator) and Christy Lantz (Broadcast Operations Assistant) will also attend a robotics summer camp at the Wings of Eagles Discovery Centerin Horseheads, NY for a special showing of Assembly Required, an original WSKG documentary that follows a local FIRST robotics team through a season.

Congratulations to WSKG's children's television show, Move It!, which won a New York State Broadcasters Association Award for Best Locally Produced Children's Program.  Move It!starts up its second season with shoots at the BMets Players Camp with Hannah of the Blueberryanators and a visit with the Maine-Endwell Central Schools Habitat for Humanity team.

WSKG has enjoyed the beginning of summer, and we hope you join us for more great programs and events throughout the rest of the season!

Jumping Into June!

WSKG kicks off June with a call to Be More®.  Learn more with your favorite current events programming, laugh more with our great entertainment shows, and contribute more to your community.  Be more WSKG!

WSKG hopes to bring more enjoyment to your television viewing with a special round of WSKG HD-TV favorites.  Catch The Roller Derby Chronicles: Rolling Thunder (with a special behind-the-scenes look at the Ithaca League of Women Rollers from Ithaca, NY) on June 1st at 9:30pm and on June 5th at 9:30pm.  On June 3rd, catch two WSKG documentaries, The Flood of '35 at 8:00pm and Watkins Glen at 9:15pm.  Carole King and James Taylor reunite live at the Troubadour for a special concert airing June 5th at 8:00pm, and you can rock out all week long with Canadian Tenors - Live in Toronto on June 7th at 8:00pm, Ed Sullivan's Rock and Roll Classics - The 60s on June 8th at 9:30pm, Celtic Thunder - It's Entertainment on June 10th at 9:30pm and Big Band Years on June 12th at 9:00pm.

Off the Page hits the road again, this time journeying to Elmira, NY on June 3rd.  The show will record live at Quarry Farm in a centennial remembrance of Mark Twain's life and death.  Host Bill Jaker will sit down with Barb Snedecor (director of the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College), Professor Michael Kiskis (Elmira College) and Professor Ann Ryan (Le Moyne College).  The program will broadcast June 8th at 1:00pm and 7:00pm on WSKG Public Radio and will include a pre-recorded interview with actor Hal Holbrook of Mark Twain Tonight.  Bring your own lawn chair and join us at Quarry Farm!

In other exciting radio news, WSKG began a collaboration with Ithaca Community Radio (ICR) on May 14th.  ICR now broadcasts WSQX programming on 88.1FM in Ithaca.  ICR will eventually construct a full-power station, bringing its own programming to the community, and in the meantime, WSKG has happily begun providing our service!

Our dynamic underwriting duo, Linda Cohen (Non-Commercial Underwriting Coordinator) and Susan Lake (Underwriting Account Executive), will visit the Ithaca Farmers' Market in Ithaca, NY on June 9th for Showcase Tompkins.  Stop by their booth, and say hello!

Get ready WSKG Kids - our Education and Outreach Department excitedly kicks off the 3rd annual Science in the Park this June!  The hands-on series brings STEM activities to children and parents throughout the Southern Tier and beyond.  This summer's theme, Cyberchase, combines the popular PBS Kids show with math and the great outdoors and is funded by a Cyberchase Summer Challenge grant.  In June, you can find us at Otsiningo Park Farmers' Market in Binghamton, NY on the 5th, at the OWL Ice Cream Social at Wilbur Park in Oneonta, NY on the 6th, at the Elmira Southside Community Center in Elmira, NY on the 15th and at the Johnson City School District in Johnson City, NY on the 22nd.  Science in the Park runs from June through September, so keep your eye out for us all summer!

     

But that's not it for our Education and Outreach extraordinaires.  Look for WSKG on June 1st as we head to the Delaware County Head Start in Sidney, NY.  WoW partner and special guest Johnny Only will perform for the students and bring free copies of his new CD, Move It! with Johnny Only, for the classrooms.  WSKG and Johnny keep on the move themselves, visiting over 250 kids at the Family Enrichment Network in Johnson City, NY on June 8th!  Catch the final episode of our associated original children's television program, Move It!, on June 4th at 5:30pm.

The Education & Outreach department like to hang out online too, and they've added a great new component to their portion of the WSKG website!  WSKG's literacy initiative strengthens early literacy skills through television programming, web resources, workshops and literacy-themed outreach events.  And don't forget to visit local libraries for your summer reading!  You can find PBS Kids Reading Corners at the Broome County Public Library in Binghamton, NY, the Moore Memorial Library in Greene, NY and the Steele Memorial Library in Elmira, NY.  Anytime is learning time!

As you start out the summer season, we hope you join us in striving to Be More®!

The Best of the Best - Grand Finale

All our expert staffers agree on one thing: The Roller Derby Chronicles: Rolling Thunder is awesome!  So not only will the show get its very own spot in the informal WSKG Public Broadcasting Hall of Fame, it will also air twice.  Catch this noteworthy documentary* June 1st at 9:30pm and June 5th at 9:30pm, and if you love it as much as we do, you'll probably want to see it both times.

 

 * Special appearance by the Ithaca League of Women Rollers and our very own WSKG derby team!_____________________________________________________________________________________

Learn more.  Laugh more.  Contribute more.

Be more® WSKG.

 

 

To see full WSKG HD-TV listings, visit http://wskg.org/television.aspx.

Springing Into Action this May!

WSKG looks forward to a lively 31 days of May, especially as Radio and TV prepare for a month full of new programs and events!

Fresh off the success of April's WSKG Member Roll Call, the Membership and TV Departments have excitedly jumped into planning the June TV Drive.  We've rounded up a few good staffers, and on May 11th, they'll head to Cortland, NY for an evening with the Ithaca League of Women Rollers! Content & Production Coordinator Tina Reinhard, Broadcast Operations Assistant Christy Lantz and Emerging Media & PR Specialist Teresa Peltier will get a crash course in Roller Derby 101, complete with their very own, very intimidating derby names.  Our footage from the roller derby adventure will broadcast during the airing of a new documentary from American Public Television, The Roller Derby Chronicles: Rolling Thunder.  Look for this exciting fundraising event and more as June rolls around!

While other staff gear up and skate around, members of the WSKG Radio staff will also head into the community!  On May 7th, join Off the Page on location at the Tompkins County Public Library.  The live taping kicks off the first annual Finger Lakes Literacy Festival,  and the show will feature writings about Ithaca, NY.  Novelist J. Robert Lennon, mystery writer Beth Saulnier and historian Michael Turback sit down with WSKG's Bill Jaker to discuss their hometown and its role as inspiration, setting and even a character in itself.  We invite all our listeners to the live taping, beginning promptly at 4pm!  Listen for the radio broadcast the following Tuesday, May 11th at 1:00 and 7:00pm.

Also on WSKG Radio, Community Conversation will delve into two engaging topics this May.  On May 4th, the show will examine the sometimes controversial topic of autism.  On May 18th, Community Conversation will explore the decline of manufacturing in Upstate New York and the loss of young, skilled workers from our region.  Both shows air live at 7:00pm, and as always, WSKG invites you to call or email during the program with your questions and comments! 

     

Two more popular programs, The Moth and RadioLab, will continue in May on WSKG Radio.  The Moth features stories for adults, told before a live audience, without a script.  Listen in for Season 2 Monday nights at 8:00pm.  RadioLab is back on WSKG Radio, and Season 7 concludes on May 6th, but never fear!  The very next week, we'll return to Season 1 and rebroadcast all of the previous shows throughout the coming months! 

Also back by popular demand, Curious George and WSKG team up again for an event at Kopernik Observatory on May 1st.  On May 13th, join WSKG staff at the Moore Memorial Library in Greene, NY for a special literacy event.  And finally, look out for the newest episode of Move It! on May 7th at 5:30pm!  For the final challenge of the season, the Blueberryanators and the Ripe Bananas are neck and neck as they visit the Salsa Music Appreciation Club for a salsa dance-off!  Watch Fuel It! at the Vestal Farmers' Market and Cool It! with an exploration of the power of music with harpist Melissa Collins.

We hope you join us for these events, programs and more all throughout May!

This March at WSKG...

WSKG is heading into an exciting month and can't wait for a little spring sunshine after all this winter snow! 

On March 4th at 8:00pm, look for the debut of our Art in Motion Preview Show on WSKG HD-TV.  We'll feature award winning pieces from regional artists and provide information on when the art will visit your community.  Art in Motion hits the road for stops in Cooperstown, Hornell, Ithaca, Corning, Mansfield and Binghamton throughout April, May and June.  New this year, art will sell at the venues only.  Visit Art in Motion online for details.

Our Spring TV Membership Celebration kicks off March 4th and continues through March 22nd.  Keep an eye out for Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra(with a bonus preview of WSKG's polka show), two Expressions episodes featuring local band Kilrush and area singer/songwriter Zarni De Wet and a new documentary from WVIA Public Broadcasting,The Irish: Two Nations One Heart.  The much anticipated Celtic Thunder special, It's Entertainment!, debuts along with new programs New Affluence: Money Help is on the Way with Jonathon Pond, Chris Botti in Boston, Part II and National Geographic Magazine's Top 10 Photos of the Year.

The newest episode of Move It! appears March 5th on WSKG HD-TV!  For all of the avid Move It!fans keeping score, the Blueberryanators have taken the lead over the Ripe Bananas after winning three of four challenges.  This month, the teams face off in a competition that will put their teamwork to the test!  Plus, special guest Mason Mastroianni, writer and illustrator of the comic strip "B.C.", will lead the group in an art project.  Look for new ways to Fuel It! when the kids head to Wegmans and an exploration into gratitude when they Cool It! with yoga teacher Don Glauber.

We're also looking forward to several special events within our coverage area. On March 3rd, The Clemens Center in Elmira, NY will host the WSKG Family Day at Sesame Street Live. The Clifford Literacy Day at Johnson City Elementary School will occur on March 5th.  WSKG's Scott Hollis will record the Binghamton Philharmonic, featuring pianist John Nakamatsu, on March 20th.  Mr. Nakamatsu will perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, and the orchestra will perform the Symphony No. 2 of Jean Sibelius.  Listen for the broadcast on March 29th at 9:00pm with WSKG's Bill Snyder.  If you're in Ithaca, visit us on March 23rd at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for the Home Tweet HomeAwards Ceremony, or on March 27th at Regal Cinema for the Metropolitan Opera Live in HDcinema event at 1:00pm.  Radio staffers will host a meet-and-greet before the Met's live presentation of Hamletby Ambroise Thomas.  Finally, WSKG heads to Whitney Point, NY for the Whitney Point Literacy Fair on March 27th.

In celebration of Women's History month, WSKG Public Radio will feature several topical programs, including a Community Conversation on girls and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers.  Listen live on Tuesday, March 9th.  See GAMUT for other radio programming highlights! 

WSKG update for February 2010

WSKG enters the shortest month of the year with lots of snow and lots to do!

Stride for Pride, part of WSKG's WOW program, kicked of its second season during the first week of February.  22 teachers from Broome and Tioga Counties will lead 450 students in taking the first steps towards healthy lifestyles.  Data collected by student pedometers and journals will eventually head to the Decker School of Nursing at Binghamton University for analyzing.

Area kids can also participate in two great contests that challenge their creativity and stimulate their ingenuity.  The PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest, running from January 27th to April 2nd, invites children grades K-3 to submit original written and illustrated pieces.  WSKG's Johnny Only Songwriting Contest kicked off February 1st (submissions accepted until April 16).  The winning students will have an opportunity to perform their healthy song at WSKG's studio and it will appear on Move It!, our local children's show!  View full-length music videos of our 2009 Johnny Only Songwriting Contest winners here!

Move It!'s 5th episode, featuring members of the Binghamton Senators, aired February 5th and will run throughout the month on WSKG HD TV.  Special extended features from the episode, available online only, include uncut versions of Fuel It! cooking and nutrition segments and lengthened Cool It! relaxation sessions.  Cast members are looking forward to a special art project with award-winning illustrator Mason Mastroianni, new relaxation techniques with harpist Melissa Collins and a session on gratitude with yoga instructor and psychologist Don Glauber.  Next episode airs March 5th on WSKG HD TV!

In other local productions, WSKG Radio's new episode of Off the Pageairing February 16th will feature Mary Pat Hyland and her new novel "A Sudden Gift of Fate", and on February 23rd, Community Conversation will look at the upcoming census.  WSKG Radio also completed a podcastof the Tiffany Treasures exhibit at the Corning Museum of Glass this month, now available for instant listening online!

At our studios, Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams will perform for a live audience.  Look for the them on an upcoming episode of Expressions on WSKG HD TV!

Even though February is a short month, WSKG has a lot packed into 28 days!  Join us on-air, online and in person for these great programs and events!

Meet me in Norwich...

by Crystal Sarakas

Don't forget that this weekend is the Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival in Norwich! It may be a little rainy on Saturday but a big golf umbrella will take care of that. Sunday's weather looks nice - partly sunny with highs in the mid 70s!

I'm looking forward to many of the artists on the lineup - Ron Palmer & Mark Sherwood, The Kennedys, and Leni Stern & the African Project are among the artists playing on Saturday. On Sunday, there's the always harmonic Gospel Show, then performances from Brooks Williams, Vance Gilbert (one of the funniest men performing today) and The Angel Band. Best of all, one of my favorite bands in the entire world - Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams - is playing BOTH afternoons!

It's a free festival on a beautiful village green - plus there's all the amazing art and craft vendors in case you need a little retail therapy!

Here are a few YouTube videos from Leni, Vance and the Slambovian folk to whet your appetites!