Classical 95.9-FM WCRI

This week on Jazz After Dinner, Joe features Pianist Barry Harris from his 1992 Fantasy Records recording, titled “At The Jazz Workshop.”

This week, Newport Classical is the subject of the program with Trevor Neal, Artistic Director, and Oliver Inteeworn, the new Executive Director. We talk about their upcoming spring season and listen to music that relates to those performances. For more information, you can go to www.newportclassical.org

Join us as Ocean House owner and award-winning author Deborah Goodrich Royce moderates a conversation with New York Times Bestselling Author Sarah McCoy. About the Author: SARAH McCOY is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of the novels Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely?, Mustique Island, Marilla of Green Gables, The Mapmaker’s Children, The Baker’s Daughter, a 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction nominee, the novella “The Branch of Hazel” in Grand Central, The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico, and Le souffle des feuilles et des promesses (Pride and Providence). Her work has been featured in Newsweek, Real Simple, The Millions, Literary Hub, Writer’s Digest, Huffington Post, Read It Forward, Writer Unboxed, and other publications. She hosted the NPR WSNC Radio monthly program “Bookmarked with Sarah McCoy” and served as a Board Member for the literary nonprofit Bookmarks. Sarah taught English writing at Old Dominion University and at the University of Texas at El Paso. She lives with her husband, Dr. Brian Waterman, their dog Gilbert, and cat Tularosa in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. About The Book: In 1969, twenty-three-year-old starlet Lori Lovely, the apple of Hollywood’s eye, shocks the world by ditching a promising film career to take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as a Benedictine nun. Gossip columnists and scandal sheets can’t get enough of the story. Why would such a beautiful girl take the veil? Was she hiding from someone? Did it have anything to do with her costar, heartthrob singer Lucas Wesley? In 1990, Lu Tibbott is under the gun to complete her senior thesis in modern American history. Instead of spending weeks in dusty archives, Lu decides to dig into a true twentieth-century mystery and write about her aunt Lori, now the Mother Abbess at a cloistered convent in rural New England. Biographers, journalists, and media types have long speculated about her aunt Lori’s sudden departure from Hollywood. Mother Lori, however, has refused all requests for interviews—until Lu arrives at the abbey with a tape recorder in hand. To her delight, Mother Lori announces she’s finally ready to talk…but only if Lu is truly ready to listen. Lu is shocked to discover that the story of Lori Lovely’s rise in Hollywood was far more tumultuous than she’d ever expected, a fairy tale twisting with ambition, unforeseen alliances, forbidden love, and secrets. What began as a history thesis now threatens to upend all their lives with its unexpected truths, especially as the media gets wind of Lu’s project and begins to ask… Whatever happened to Lori Lovely? Please find out more about Sarah McCoy and her book at sarahmccoy.com. For details on Deborah Goodrich Royce and the Ocean House Author Series, visit deborahgoodrichroyce.com  

This week on Jazz After Dinner, Joe features Trumpeter/Composer Tom Harrell from his 1989 Contemporary Records recording, titled “Sail Away.”  

In this week's WCRI's Kids Hour, hosts Jamie and Spencer listen and discuss music from the Pops Orchestra. You'll hear music that takes us to the Grand Canyon, a magician's workshop, space, the big city, and more!

This week, Joe is featuring Pianist/Vocalist Shirley Horn from her 1996 PolyGram/Verve Records recording, titled “The Main Ingredient.” 

The Mystic River Chorale is the subject of this week's program with Frank Zilinyi, Artistic Director, and Alice Despar, a member of the Chorale. We talk about what the Chorale has done in the last season and their upcoming concert on Sunday, January 18th at 4 PM at Harkness Chapel at Connecticut College. For more information, you can go to www.mysticriverchorale.org

In celebration of the coming New Year, this week, we feature two singers from the Narragansett Bay Chorus as they bring us some of their favorite A Cappella music. The first part of the show features Josh Daly, a brand-new member, and then we welcome Kurt Anderson, VP of Music. We’ll be listening to some songs by eight different groups. For more information, you can go to www.SingNBC.com

This week, Joe is featuring Pianist/Composer Mike Renzi, Bassist/Vocalist Dick Lupino from their 2011 Self-Published recording titled “December Songs.”

This week, Joe is featuring Vocalist Ray Charles from his 1985 Columbia Records recording, titled “The Spirit of Christmas.”

On what has become an annual Christmas show, this week we feature Shannon Corey, singer, composer, pianist, and teacher. We'll listen to her holiday song “Winter” and other songs from her Holiday CD, “I Wish I Had A River”. We’ll also discuss her career and how she has had the opportunity to travel the world singing. For more information, you can go to www.shannoncoreymusic.com  

This week, Jane looks at how things can turn out well in spite of nature.

Theatre By The Sea's announcement of the 2026 season is the subject of this week's program with Bill Hanney, owner of the theatre, and Karen Kessler, GM and Director of Marketing. We talk about next summer's musicals and listen to some of the very popular songs from Little Shop of Horrors, Grease, On Your Feet, and Titanic. For more information, you can call (401) 782-8587 or go to www.theatrebythesea.com

This week, Jane explores how nature corresponds to how we are feeling.

This week on Jazz After Dinner, Joe Features Vocalist Tony Bennett from his 2008 Sony Records recording, titled “A Swingin’ Christmas.”

In this WCRI's Kids Hour, we invite you to our annual special radio play of A Christmas Carol! This play, adapted for radio from Charles Dickens' novella by Anthony E. Palermo, was first performed in 1947. We hope you enjoy it! From all of your friends at WCRI & Newport Classical!

This week's guests on The 95.9 Company Break are Mary Noons, Washington Trust President and COO, and Lauren Drury, VP and Chief Fiduciary Officer, Washington Trust Wealth Management. Age with Wisdom™ is Washington Trust’s new initiative designed to support customers as they navigate the financial transitions that come with aging. It brings together our banking, lending, and wealth management teams to offer coordinated, personalized support. We created it to meet a growing need in our communities for trusted guidance—whether it’s organizing finances, planning for care, or protecting loved ones from fraud.   It offers practical, expert-based services like helping customers create an inventory of financial accounts, adding a power of attorney as a view-only user, ensuring beneficiaries are designated to avoid probate, and exploring home equity or reverse mortgage options to support aging in place. We also work with attorneys, accountants, healthcare providers, and residential care partners to create plans.  And although it’s really about planning, we can provide guidance when unexpected situations happen -and they do. For more information on Washington Trust, visit www.washtrust.com

This week, Joe is featuring Vocalist Nancy Wilson from her 2001 Telarc Records recording titled “A Nancy Wilson Christmas.”

The LaGrua Center in Stonington, CT, is the subject of this week's program, with Dan Brandl, Executive Director. We talk about what has been happening at the Center, the upcoming Whiffenpoof Concert on December 13th, and the Music Matters series, which continues to run. For more information, you can go to www.lagruacenter.org

In this episode of This Old Tree, with Doug Still...High up in California's Sierra Nevada mountains stands the largest tree on earth by volume - the General Sherman Tree. The famous giant sequoia has captivated millions of visitors, but few know the rich tapestry of stories woven around its massive trunk. Join us as we explore the “Giant Forest” of Sequoia National Park with former park ranger and author William C. Tweed. From the indigenous Monache and Yokuts who first walked among these giants, to ambitious Euro-American explorers like John Muir, to a Black Army Captain who became the park's first actual manager, discover how "first encounters" with giant sequoias become life-altering events. What evolutionary secrets enable sequoias to grow so large? Why do frequent fires help them to survive? And what is "sequoia time?" The General Sherman tree and its mates have changed how we view the natural world and our place within it.