Do you have a question for Benjamin Luxon?

Ben Luxon, famed British Baritone, will be my guest on Wednesday at 4pm on 98.7. He's coming to Chicago to see Chicago Opera Theater's production of "Owen Wingrave," as Benjamin Britten wrote that part for him, and he was the first to perform it. If you have any questions for Ben Luxon, just let me know here, or drop me an email at gpreston@wfmt.com. Ben would be happy to hear from you.

I've attached a link to a video of Ben as Dr. Falke in performance at Covent Garden.

Cheers,
George

"LA TRIVIATA" TRIUMPHS

I surely hope that you were listening to 98.7 WFMT yesterday afternoon between 5 and 6! WFMt's new Game Show, "La Triviata," made it inaugural appearance, broadcast live from Marbles The Brain Store, 55 West Grand Avenue, downtown in Chicago. We had three stellar teams of panelists - musical experts all - from Chicago Opera Theatre (General Director Brian Dickie, director Andrew Eggert, and trustee David O'Connor), Elgin Symphony Orchestra (assistant conductor Stephen Squires, principal trumpet Ross Beacraft, and Esecutive Director Jullie Griffin) and our Stars of Chicago Universities team (Dr. Philip Gossett, U of C, Dr. Stephen Alltop, Northwestern, and Dr. Lee Kesselman, College of DuPage). Thanks to each and everyone of them for their talent, hard work and enthusiasm in helping us create this new show.

The questions - some musical identification of singers, players and composers, some multiple choice, and some "lightning rounds" of quick answers - were challenging and also really fun. Noel Morris created our two musical montages with a great variety of musical styles and types. I had fun choosing the music for the singer, instrumentalist and composer rounds (which also involved editing them into VERY short clips from many styles and types of music, and many different instruments and voices). And I enjoyed working with our Music Director andi Lamoreaux and our Program Director Peter Whorf in creating our multiple choice questions and lightning rounds.

My co-producer, and brilliant computer guru, Matt de Stefano did HOURS (!) of work in adapting Game Show software to our needs, and coming up with all the various sounds and musical cues. And he handled all the on-the-spot sound cues throughout the entire hour. Our newest announcer George Preston was a masterful host, bringing style and skill and just the right sense of fun to the program. Eric Arunas was, as always, an amazing audio engineer, and our Operations Manager Don Mueller, who put in more hours on this project that ought to be allowed, was the glue that held it all together.

Thanks so much to the owners and staff at Marbles The Brain Store for their sponsorship of the program, and for their kindness and patience in working so closely with us for two days right in their store. And it was a pleasure to work with WFMT's account executive Jennifer Frankel to make it all go smoothly. Steve Robinson, WFMT's general manager, was the executive producer and idea man behind the whole project. I was honored to help produce this show with all my wonderful colleagues. And I hope you had as much fun with "La Triviata" as I did.

Carolyn Paulin, WFMT Producer and Program Host

What goes better together than great music and food?

Now that generous WFMT listeners have been kind enough to clue me in to the best music in Chicago, I turn once more to this most valuable resource for dining advice.

Several of my friends back in New York City assure me that Chicago has everything culinary that the Big Apple can boast, and perhaps even more bang for your buck. Where do you go for epicurean delights to complement your musical diet? What food tunes your mood for a Mahler symphony or a Puccini opera? Where does one go in Chicago to combine the dining and musical experiences?

I'm completely omnivorous, so don't hold back. Tell me about the best traditional steak house in addition to the newest ethnic restaurant sensation.

Thanks,
George

La Triviata: The WFMT Game Show!

You may have heard that WFMT is debuting it's very own classical music game show (to take place via an April 16th live broadcast at 5:00pm (CST) from Marbles The Brain Store's downtown Chicago location.

It's been a lifelong dream of mine to have my hand in the creation of a game show. I am thrilled and honored to be involved with "La Triviata: The WFMT Game Show!" from the development stage. Really, I'm a game show junkie--my all-time favorites are (click for videos) The 25,000 Pyramid, The Price Is Right, Jeopardy! and an obscure one--Press Your Luck.

Here's where we stand (without spoiling any of the surprises):The assembly of our buzzer system is almost complete and should arrive sometime this week! I'm predicting many challenges in rigging this up and assigning our own buzzer sounds to them. I love me a frustrating, technical challenge!

Carolyn Paulin and I are working out the kinks in the show's formatting. She (and a few other contributors) are working hard to challenge our contestants in writing/creating trivia and music identification questions, among other surprises.

Noel Morris has been an absolute force in creating audio clues--I can't say more about that now, but I am REALLY looking forward to that round of the show.

Peter Whorf has been coming up with some great questions that may be used in some sort of a lightning round...

WFMT's "New Kid in Town," announcer George Preston is excited to host (and we're excited to hear him)!

I'm currently working on preparing theme music, sound effects, and general technical aspects of the show. The debut is only 3 weeks away and there is so much to do to polish this up. It's so exciting to be asked to create something from scratch with virtually no creative boundaries, and I can't wait 'till we go live on the 16th. We hope you'll love what you hear!
Feel free to send suggestions our way. You may just hear yours in the show's debut!

The new kid in town

Hello WFMT listeners. Beginning on Monday, March 30th, I'll be your new host on 98.7 from 3pm to 7pm, playing your classical favorites and mixing things up a little bit.

By way of introduction, I'm a former classical singer, trained at Oberlin, New England Conservatory, and Boston University. I've been in radio for longer than I'll admit to in public, and I happen to think that classical music may just be the greatest invention of the human mind. I also love fishing, swimming, and BBQ, but we'll talk more about all that in the weeks to come.

I can't wait to get started on the air, but first I need a little help from you.

You see, I just moved from New York, and I don't know so much about the musical landscape of Chicago. I've been to the Lyric Opera of Chicago a couple of times, and of course I'm familiar with the great Chicago Symphony Orchestra (oh, that amazing recording of the Schumann Concert Piece for Four Horns and Orchestra, among many others!), but I'm counting on you to tell me where to go for the best music of all kinds in Chi-Town. What are your favorite chamber groups, choruses, and venues? Where do I go for authentic Chicago Jazz and Blues? What about clubs that present music that defies categorization, or bars where you might hear an aria or two? Who are the top local musicians?

Don't be shy now. I want to hear from you, either by commenting on this blog or via email at gpreston@wfmt.com. Please be my musical guide to Chicago as I'm settling in. Bring it on!

Cheers,
George