WFIU will be bringing you a couple of special things to listen for on this Independence Day!
In the afternoon, on the nationally-broadcast program Performance Today, some all-American music recorded this spring in Bloomington! You’ll hear Leonard Bernstein’s “America” from West Side Story, plus Aaron Copland’s “An Outdoor Adventure,” both performed by the European Union Youth Orchestra in concert at IU Auditorium this past April. There will also be clips of host Fred Child’s interview with the EUYO’s conductor, Vladimir Ashkenazy. Performance Today airs this Wednesday, July 4, at 1:30 p.m. after Fresh Air on WFIU.
Then, at 7 p.m., a rare rebroadcast of a true American cultural event: “We Hold These Truths.” The program originally aired on December 15, 1941, the 150th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. All four national radio networks joined in an unprecedented simulcast that brought together talents including Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Lionel Barrymore, Walter Brennan, Rudy Vallee, and Marjorie Main. Bernard Herrmann provided the score; Leopold Stokowski led the New York Philharmonic through the national anthem. Jimmy Stewart narrated, and closing remarks were furnished by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The program was the brainchild of legendary radio, TV, and stage producer Norman Corwin, whose biographer was longtime IU Telecommunications professor LeRoy Bannerman.
Join us for the kind of Independence Day celebration that only public radio can bring you!
