WETA Announces New Radio Station Devoted to Classical Vocal Music

Washington, D.C. — WETA today announced the launch of VivaLaVoce, a new radio station featuring classical vocal music available by live stream at www.vivalavoce.org and via the HD2 signal of Classical WETA 90.9 FM.  This new channel, a presentation of Classical WETA, provides an additional opportunity for classical music enthusiasts to enjoy choral music, opera and art song.

“VivaLaVoce takes advantage of powerful new media to bring beautiful vocal music to our audience around the clock,” commented Sharon Percy Rockefeller, president and CEO of WETA. “We are proud to provide this unique service to an underserved yet very passionate audience.”

The new station complements the current offerings on Classical WETA. Choral selections on VivaLaVoce include large works such as Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis as well as a variety of shorter compositions, ranging chronologically from the Middle Ages to today. Also presented are operas performed by world-renowned companies such as the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Bavarian State Opera. An advance schedule of featured operas is available at www.vivalavoce.org. Additionally, VivaLaVoce includes art song — vocal music usually written for one voice with piano or orchestral accompaniment  — featuring such renowned recitalists as Elly Ameling, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Susan Graham and Matthias Goerne.

Programming on VivaLaVoce also includes special features such as “Opera at 8,” a full-length opera featured daily at 8 p.m. Opera presentations range from well-known works to infrequently performed opera pieces from Classical WETA’s extensive library. What’s more, the new station’s offerings complement special theme month programming on Classical WETA. For example, during special Bach programming during the month of March, VivaLaVoce features a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach each day as well as various interpretations of his major choral works. Also, mirroring a Classical WETA feature, VivaLaVoce presents a “Vocal CD Pick of the Week” drawn from recent classical vocal releases.

VivaLaVoce is hosted by Classical WETA announcers David Ginder, Marilyn Cooley, John Chester, Nicole Lacroix and Deb Lamberton.

There are two ways to receive VivaLaVoce. One method is to visit www.vivalavoce.org and click on the “Listen Live” link. Another option is to tune into the Classical WETA HD2 channel on an HD radio. This technique uses a new form of radio technology that delivers the channel in conjunction with the existing Classical WETA frequency at 90.9 FM.

VivaLaVoce is a presentation of Classical WETA 90.9 FM, the exclusive classical music radio station in the nation’s capital. Classical WETA is consistently one of the most-listened-to stations in the market. Classical WETA and WETA Television are public broadcasting stations serving the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia with high-quality programming. As the leading PBS station in the nation’s capital, WETA Television broadcasts on four channels: WETA TV 26, WETA HD, WETA Kids and WETA Create. WETA Television productions and co-productions include PBS NewsHour, Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal, and Ken Burns’s The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. WETA also creates national multimedia projects focused on literacy issues, including www.ReadingRockets.org, www.LDOnLine.org and www.AdLit.org. WETA’s headquarters is located in Arlington, Virginia. For more information on WETA and its services, visit www.weta.org.

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