Every week this summer, WPRB will highlight one its DJs in “Get To Know WPRB’s DJS.”

Name: Marvin Rosen

Show: “Classical Discoveries” (Wednesdays from 5:00AM to 11:00AM), “Classical Discoveries Goes Avant-Garde” (Wednesdays from 11:00AM to 1:PM).

Links: http://www.classicaldiscoveries.org/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Classical-Discoveries/132814286796248

Type of Music Played On Show: CD repertoires rarely heard–from all periods, with an emphasis on old and new songs from all over the world. For Avant-Garde it is more experimental, more progressive, more electronica music, music inspired by pop music sometimes.

Reason for Becoming a DJ: “There is a tremendous amount of repertoire omitted by other stations. WPRB allowed me to play out passions, I can focus on music from all around the world from South Africa to the Middle East. I also have the opportunity to give support to younger composers.”

Day Job: Full time faculty member at Westminster Conservatory. I teach piano, music history for the “Young Artists” program, and musical styles for the “Pedagogy Certification Program.”

Home town: Born in Englewood, New Jersey, now lives in Princeton!

Music You Can’t Stop Listening to Now: “Two Cellos” [played by Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser]– a CD of two cellists playing Rock music (will be played on next week’s show), everything from Coldplay to Michael Jackson to Guns N’ Roses.

Favorite Summer Food: ”Salsa and Chips, the hotter the better!”

Currently Reading: Couldn’t do the shows without the internet, always reading about new composers!

Favorite City Visited: In and around Warsaw, Poland.

Anything Else?: “When I get involved I have a big excitement and passion for what I do, I am thankful that a station like WPRB exists.”

Photo: Princeton Packet/ Centraljersey.com

Join Marvin Rosen, host of “Classical Discoveries” and “Classical Discoveries Goes Avant-Garde” for a 24-hour marathon totally devoted to music from the 21st century! “VIVA 21ST CENTURY: AMERICAN EDITION” begins Tuesday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET and concludes on Wednesday September 9 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

The “Viva 21st Century” marathon devotes itself to music by American composers of all styles and genres. Approximately 100 American composers will be featured. Sounds like a lot but this marathon will
barely scratch the surface in illustrating the talent of our living American composers.

”I’ve already started pulling music from my collection and I’m thinking, ‘Oh no, I’m going to have to cut some stuff out,” Mr. Rosen says. “I’m so looking forward to making listeners aware of the amazing American music of the 21st century. There’s really a lot out there.” You can read more about Marvin’s marathon in the Princeton Packet this week!

We hope you can tune in during this awesome marathon! RSVP on Facebook to let us know you’re tuning in and stay up to date with the latest information!

Halim El-Dabh is University Professor Emeritus of African Ethnomusicology at Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. He continues to teach African Cultural Expressions. He has conducted ethnomusicological research in the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, and Zaire. Within the African Diaspora, his research includes Brazil, Jamaica, and the United States.

Born in Cairo, Egypt on March 4, 1921, El-Dabh came to the United States in 1950, acquiring U.S. citizenship in 1961. After studies of Native American music in the American Southwest, he began studies with Aaron Copland and Irving Fine at the Berkshire Music Center in Massachusetts. Later, in New York’s vibrant musical scene, he developed close associations with such composers as Otto Luening, Vladimir Ussachevsky, Henry Cowell, John Cage, Alan Hovhaness, and Leonard Bernstein.

Among his compositions are eleven operas, four symphonies, numerous ballets and orchestral pieces, chamber and electronic works, and works for various combinations of African, Asian, and Western instruments. His ethnomusicological researches, conducted on several continents, have led to unique creative syntheses in his works, which, while utilizing contemporary compositional techniques and new systems of notation, are frequently imbued with Near Eastern, African, or even Ancient Egyptian aesthetics.

“The Juniper Tree” is an opera in two acts for chamber orchestra, small chorus and soloists. It was commissioned the American Repertory Theater (Cambridge, MA) and debuted in 1985.

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Glass and fellow composer Robert Moran collaborated in virtually equal measure on the composition of The Juniper Tree. A Glass scene is followed by a Moran scene, with transitions composed by each. The result is a fascinating hybrid, each composer holding on to his own identity while melding with the other.

The famous Grimm fairy tale tells of a Wicked Stepmother who murders her stepson and serves him up in a stew to his unsuspecting father. The boy’s sister buries her brother’s bones under a Juniper Tree, and the child’s spirit returns as a singing bird who wreaks vengeance on the evil Stepmother before being restored to life in the bosom of his family. One of the most tuneful operas in the Glass repertory.

Marvin Rosen is the host of WPRB’s “Classical Discoveries” series. Marvin’s outstanding contributions won him an ASCAP Deems Taylor Radio Broadcast Award in 2005. Marvin’s unique contributions to the broadcasting landscape have been written about by the San Francisco Classical Voice and Charleston City Paper recently.

For more information about this special program, please visit www.classicaldiscoveries.org.

Each regularly scheduled weekly program will be exclusively to music written by women composers from all over the world as well as from all musical periods. On March 18th, both programs will be devoted exclusively to the works of American women composers.

Classical Discoveries’ 6th Annual “In Praise of Women” begins Wednesday 3/4 at 5:30 AM ET.

This year for the first time, Marvin’s new 2-hour weekly program, Classical Discoveries Goes Avant-Garde will also devote itself to women composers. This program airs every Wednesday at 11 AM ET.

Marvin Rosen is the host of WPRB’s “Classical Discoveries” series. Marvin’s outstanding contributions won him an ASCAP Deems Taylor Radio Broadcast Award in 2005. Marvin’s unique contributions to the broadcasting landscape have been written about by the San Francisco Classical Voice and Charleston City Paper recently.

For more information about these special programs, please visit www.classicaldiscoveries.org.

Join WPRB 103.3 FM as we close out the year with a series of music marathons!

Jon Solomon’s 21st Annual 24-Hour Christmas Show kicks off our marathon season on December 24th, followed by Marvin Rosen’s “Viva 21st Century” marathon on December 26th; Maria T closes out 2008 with a 12-hour New Year’s Eve countdown of the top 103 releases heard on WPRB. Keep reading for full program details and additional information.

Last but certainly not least,don’t forget to stay tuned to WPRB throughout December as our on-air staff host their own “Best of 2008” programs and more! Have a wonderful holiday season! We look forward to sharing 2009 with you!

Wednesday, December 24th at 6:00 p.m.

Jon Solomon’s one man radio show runs from 6:00 p.m. ET Christmas Eve until 6:00 p.m. ET Christmas Day and has done so every year since 1988, back when he was fifteen years old. 2008 marks the 21st edition of Jon’s show – 24 hours full of rare, strange and confounding records that are all holiday-related. Over the past two decades this show has become a Delaware Valley tradition with a devoted following world-wide.

» RSVP for this event on Facebook!

Friday, December 26th at 6:00 a.m.

Join Marvin Rosen, the award-winning host of WPRB”s “Classical Discoveries,” for a second 24-hour marathon starting 6:00 a.m. ET on Friday, December 26th. The “Viva 21st Century” marathon will be devoted to new works composed during the last nine years and will represent composers from all over the world. To learn more about Marvin’s fantastic program, visit the Classical Discoveries website.

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Wednesday, December 31st at 12:00 p.m.

Closing out 2008 is Maria T, host of WPRB’s “Her Jazz” and Top Ten programs, with a 12-hour marathon counting down the top 103 new releases of the year. The “103 of 2008” marathon begins at 12:00 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve and runs until the stroke of midnight.

» RSVP for this event on Facebook!

“Viva 21st Century” will be devoted to new works composed during the last 9 years and will represent composers from all over the world.

Marvin Rosen is the host of WPRB’s “Classical Discoveries” program. Marvin’s outstanding program won an ASCAP Deems Taylor Radio Broadcast Award in 2005.

» RSVP for this event on Facebook!

This week, Marvin will be joined for the entire program by the director of Bridge Records, Becky Starobin, and guitarist and vice-president of the company, David Starobin. Bridge Records is an independent label from New Rochelle, NY specializing in 20th century classical music.