So far, we’ve heard musical resolutions from Dennis Moore and Maggie Clennon Reberg. Let’s hear what Robbie Ellis and Michael San Gabino have in store for 2019. Robbie Ellis, host It’s a common new year’s resolution to go see more live performances. I’m going to get more specific than that: I’m going to go see more performances of new music/contemporary classical/living …

Yesterday, host Dennis Moore shared four New Year’s resolutions to kick off 2019. Today, host Maggie Clennon Reberg shares an intention for the New Year! Happy New Year to my Friends in Music! Every year, I thank my lucky stars for living in a city so rich in cultural diversity and artistic excellence. My resolution is to expand my boundaries beyond the musical …

Over the next several days, we’ll share some New Years’ resolutions and goals from hosts and friends of WFMT. To start, let’s hear what Morning Show host Dennis Moore is planning to prioritize in 2019.  The turn of the year presents the perfect opportunity for reflection on one’s life. When it comes to music, and its place in your life, …

Chicagoans and visitors alike can now enjoy the sounds of the season with festive classical music selected by WFMT to accompany the holiday program for one of the city’s largest pieces of public art — Art on theMART.

WFMT is proud to celebrate the Art Institute of Chicago’s 125th anniversary – here’s to 125 more years of great art!

Now in its 10th season, WFMT’s Introductions, the Saturday morning program that highlights the finest pre-college musicians in the Chicago area, has given young artists a platform to have their talents and voices heard. Many students who appear on the program decide to study music at an early age, but Introductions alum Ryan Meehan discovered the violin by accident. “I …

Though Larry primarily features CDs on his program, over several decades his collection has evolved into over 5,000 recordings, including LPs and original 78RPM discs dating back to 1901.

On Saturday, September 22, 2018, WFMT’s Introductions, the weekly program that features the Chicago area’s finest pre-college musicians, celebrated its 10th anniversary with a live radio broadcast from Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park to kick off Chicago’s first Youth Arts Showcase (YAS! Fest). The fest was a highlight event of the 2018 Year of Creative Youth, a citywide celebration of Chicago’s young artists and the mentors who inspire them…

There is a certain excitement that comes from a live broadcast because almost anything can happen.

To celebrate Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday, WFMT and the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus presented a pop-up performance of “Somewhere” from the composer’s beloved musical West Side Story. The event was broadcast live from the Legacy Walk in Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood.

Food, fun, neighborhood charm: these are things that you’d expect at any Chicago street fair. But only one also features free, live classical music. The third annual Thirsty Ears Festival, Chicago’s only classical music street fair, takes place August 11-12 in Ravenswood on Wilson Street between Hermitage and Ravenswood. The festival is organized by Access Contemporary Music (ACM), and spearheaded …

When you wake up on Monday, August 6 and turn on WFMT, you’ll hear a new, yet familiar, voice as the host of the Morning Program. Longtime weekend morning host Dennis Moore will take over from Carl Grapentine, who hosted the program for 22 years. Maggie Clennon Reberg, who joined WFMT in 2015 as a part-time program host, will host …

Looking back on his many years experiencing great music in Chicago, Carl shares some of his very favorite performances.

On Saturday, July 14, 2018, hundreds of Carl Grapentine’s friends, family members, and colleagues gathered at the Ravinia Festival to celebrate his incredible career as the longtime host of WFMT’s Morning Program.

Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky will be honored with a memorial exhibit as part of the Legacy Walk, Chicago’s outdoor LGBTQ history museum. Located along 3245–3705 Halsted Street in the heart of Boystown, the museum features rainbow pylons with biographical plaques that honor the diverse contributions of LGBTQ people. From any smartphone, visitors can access videos, study guides, and other resources …

We had a ball at our first WFMT beach party at Theater on the Lake. Check out video and photo highlights from our day of sun, fun, and great music.

On May 16, Richard Gray, a longtime supporter and member of the Board of Trustees of WTTW and WFMT, died peacefully in his sleep at home in Chicago, where he was surrounded by family. WFMT’s music library is named for Mr. Gray and his wife of 65 years, Mary, who survives him along with their three children and five grandchildren. …

Between 1952 and 1997, Studs Terkel invited some of the world’s best musicians to join him for his hour-long radio program on WFMT.

On May 16, 2018, what would have been Studs’s 106th birthday, listeners will have more access to this incredible gold mine of materials than ever before.

Help us send Carl off in style with a special champagne reception!

Window to the World Communications, Inc., the parent company of WTTW and WFMT, announced Thursday it has hired a new president and CEO.

Over the last sixty years, the Old Town School of Folk Music has grown from humble beginnings to become the largest nonprofit community arts school in the United States.

WFMT’s longtime Morning Program host Carl Grapentine landed what he describes as his “dream job” by chance. He first heard about WFMT in the early 1970s from his colleagues at WQRS, a classical radio station in Detroit that modeled itself after WFMT. Years later, while attending the Concert Music Broadcasters Association in Chicago, “I got up the courage to speak …

WFMT’s long-time resident “free spirit” Studs Terkel died near a decade ago, on Halloween in 2008, but he just made his Carnegie Hall debut. What brought about this feat of artistic time travel?

Einaudi explained how being a performer influences his compositional process and the most important advice Berio taught him about music… (which doesn’t exactly involve music).