The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure in 2010. The CSO is one of five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five".
WTTW, virtual channel 11, is the primary Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by not-for-profit broadcasting entity Window to the World Communications, Inc., it is a sister station to MHz Worldview affiliate WYCC and commercial classical music radio station WFMT. The three stations share studios in the Renée Crown Public Media Center, located at 5400 North Saint Louis Avenue in the city's North Park neighborhood; WTTW and WYCC share transmitter facilities atop the Willis Tower on South Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop. WTTW also owns and operates The Chicago Production Center, a video production and editing facility that is operated alongside the three stations.
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma. The company was re-organized by Fox in 1956 under its present name and, after her 1981 departure, it has continued to be of one of the major opera companies in the United States. The Lyric is housed in a theater and related spaces in the Civic Opera Building. These spaces are now owned by the Lyric.
Renée Lynn Fleming is an American soprano, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice. She has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano operatic roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She has also sung and recorded lieder, chansons, jazz, musical theatre, and indie rock. She speaks fluent German and French, along with limited Italian. Her signature roles include Countess Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Desdemona in Verdi's Otello, Violetta in Verdi's La traviata, the title role in Dvořák's Rusalka, the title role in Massenet's Manon, the title role in Massenet's Thaïs, the title role in Richard Strauss's Arabella, the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, and the Countess in Capriccio.
WDRV is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois. The station is owned by Hubbard Radio and broadcasts a classic rock format. Its studios were originally located in the John Hancock Center. On May 11, 2018, WDRV moved into all new, state-of-the-art, digital studios in Chicago's Prudential Plaza. WDRV's antenna is located atop the Aon Center. The station's programming is simulcast on sister station 96.9 WWDV in Zion, Illinois.
Robert Louis Krulwich is an American radio and television journalist who currently serves as a science correspondent for NPR and is a co-host of the program Radiolab. He has worked as a full-time employee of ABC, CBS, National Public Radio, and Pacifica. He has done assignment pieces for ABC's Nightline and World News Tonight, as well as PBS's Frontline, NOVA, and NOW with Bill Moyers. TV Guide called him "the most inventive network reporter in television", and New York Magazine wrote that he's "the man who simplifies without being simple".
WYCC, virtual channel 20, is an MHz Worldview-affiliated television station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by not-for-profit broadcasting entity Window to the World Communications, Inc., it is a sister station to PBS member WTTW and commercial classical music radio station WFMT. The three stations share studios in the Renée Crown Public Media Center, located at 5400 North Saint Louis Avenue in the city's North Park neighborhood; WYCC and WTTW share transmitter facilities atop the Willis Tower on South Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop. WYCC previously maintained studios at Kennedy–King College on South Union Avenue and Halsted Parkway in the Englewood neighborhood.
Frederick R. Newman is an American actor, voice actor, composer, comedian, musician, singer, foley artist, and former talk-show host.
Great Performances is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member stations WNET in New York City.
Wild Chicago was a television series that aired on Chicago's WTTW from 1989 to 2003. The show took viewers on a trip through Chicago's "urban jungle", highlighting hundreds of offbeat and unusual people, places, and events in the metropolitan area. Subjects included the Chicago Herpetological Society; singing taxicab drivers; flotation tanks; an Ancient Astronaut society; the Inkin' Lincoln Tattoo and Piercing Jamboree; an interstate pierogi festival; a squirrel lovers' club; the Playboy Advisor; a cookie jar museum; and the Polka Music Hall of Fame.
Ernie Manouse is an American television host, radio personality, writer and producer. He currently hosts the interview show InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse, produced by HoustonPBS. His work with HoustonPBS has met critical acclaim in the southern United States, earning him numerous KATIE awards and regional Emmy Awards
Eugene "Gene" Honda is a popular public address announcer for the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks, DePaul Blue Demons basketball, Big Ten Tournament, Illinois Fighting Illini football, and the NCAA Final Four. He is also a constant voice on Chicago's PBS station WTTW Channel 11, the Big Ten Network, and the Chicago Marathon. He formerly worked for radio station WLAK in Chicago. Honda was the PA announcer for the 2009 NHL Winter Classic on January 1 at Wrigley Field. Also, Honda was the PA announcer for the 2012 Frozen Four at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
Exploring Music is an internationally syndicated radio program featuring classical music, with commentary and analysis by host Bill McGlaughlin. It is a daily, one-hour show with a single in-depth theme each week. The show, which debuted in 2003, is produced by WFMT Radio Network. Exploring Music is in many ways the heir to the late Karl Haas' popular long-running show, Adventures in Good Music, expanded and updated for a 21st-century audience.
Nature is a wildlife television program produced by Thirteen/WNET New York. It has been distributed to United States public television stations by the PBS television service since its debut on October 10, 1982. Some episodes may appear in syndication on many PBS member stations around the United States and Canada, and on the Discovery Channel. This series currently airs on Wednesday on PBS.
Norman Pellegrini was an American radio executive, producer, and personality. He was the program director for WFMT radio in Chicago from 1953 to 1996. On air he led WFMT's internationally syndicated broadcasts of live performances from the Lyric Opera of Chicago from 1971 until his retirement. He was also the co-host of The Midnight Special, a folk and humor program which ran for years and was syndicated widely. He also hosted the station's broadcasts of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's performances beginning in 1976. In 2006 his book 150 Years of Opera in Chicago was published in Chicago by the Northern Illinois University Press.
WFMT is an FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a format of fine arts, classical music programming, and shows exploring such genres as folk and jazz. The station is managed by Window To The World Communications, Inc., owner of WTTW, one of Chicago's two Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television stations. WFMT is also the primary station of the WFMT Radio Network, and the Beethoven and Jazz Networks. WFMT transmits from the Willis (Sears) Tower.
Peter Van de Graaff is an American singer and radio personality. He is best known as the host of the Beethoven Satellite Network (BSN) overnight classical music service, which is carried over approximately 150 radio stations across the USA.
Brad Cresswell is an American radio broadcaster and former opera singer who is currently based at WGTE-FM in Toledo, Ohio. He is also the creator and host of Living American Composers: New Music from Bowling Green, a radio series sponsored by Bowling Green State University and syndicated internationally by The WFMT Radio Network. Since 2012 he has hosted the popular Opera Quiz intermission feature heard during the international Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts.
Steve Robinson is an American radio manager, producer and executive producer. He has held senior management positions with numerous American radio stations, including WFMT and the WFMT Radio Network/Chicago, WBUR/Boston, WGBH/Boston, WCRB/Boston, KPFA/Berkeley, WBGO/Newark, Vermont Public Radio and Nebraska Public Radio Network.ork. Robinson served as general manager of the statewide Nebraska Public Radio Network (1990-2000) and WFMT and the WFMT Radio Network from 2000 until October 2016.
Mark Ruffin is an American broadcaster, producer, and writer. He has won the regional Chicago / Midwest Emmy Awards two times, and has been nominated for a Grammy Award. Ruffin has been the Program Director/On-Air host for Sirius XM's Real Jazz channel since 2007.
