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Nov. 2, 2007
WILL-FM Hosts Michael Rothe Memorial Concert
WILL-FM will host a special concert at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov.
11, in tribute to classical music host Michael Rothe, who
died last March. Some of Rothe’s favorite performers will
come together to present a concert of appreciation for the
gifted announcer and friend.
The program for the Michael Rothe Memorial Concert will
include classical music and jazz, reflecting Rothe’s
interest in a wide variety of music, all of which he
programmed and announced with style and grace. WILL-FM’s
Roger Cooper will host the program, and performers and
others will give tributes to Rothe.
The free concert at WILL’s Campbell Hall, 300 N. Goodwin
Ave., Urbana, is open to the public. Doors open at 1:30
p.m.; parking is available in Lot B-17 east of Campbell
Hall. Seating is limited. The Nov. 11 concert will be
recorded for broadcast, and is scheduled to air on WILL-FM
90.9 during Prairie Performances at 7:06 p.m. on Sunday,
Nov. 25.
Musicians from the University of Illinois School of Music,
the Champaign-Urbana Symphony, The Prairie Ensemble, and the
Champaign-Urbana community will perform. The program will
include:
• Movements from two Bach cantatas and a Handel aria by
soprano Sherezade Panthaki with flutist Amanda Pond, cellist
Barbara Hedlund, and pianist Eric Dalheim;
• Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, two waltzes for
double bass by Domenico Dragonetti, and Randall Thompson’s
Suite for Oboe, Clarinet and Viola performed by members of
The Prairie Ensemble (Eunsun Choo, oboe; S. Blake Duncan,
oboe and English horn; Carlyle Johnson, clarinet; Robin
Kearton, viola; Terry Maher, bassoon; J. Alex McHattie,
double bass; and Amanda Pond, flute, under the direction of
Kevin Kelly);
• Four songs by Franz Schubert, sung by soprano Ollie Watts
Davis with accompanist Casey Robards; and
• A selection of jazz favorites performed by string players
Dorothy Martirano, Robin Kearton and Kristen Johns; Maria
Merkelo, accordion; Carl Johnson, clarinet and sax; Josh
Walden, bass; Ricardo Flores, drums; and Bill French, piano.
“We hope friends of Michael will come to help us pay tribute
to him,” said Cooper. “We also hope those who didn’t know
him will come to the concert to enjoy the great music.”
Violinist Kearton said she thinks Rothe would take joy in
seeing a collection of his friends performing. “He would
probably be embarrassed that we were doing it in his honor,
but he would like that we were doing it,” she said.
Rothe came to WILL -FM in 1984 as host of a daily classical
music program and a weekly jazz program. He was known for
his soothing, authoritative presentation and his thorough
command of languages and of the classical and jazz
repertoire. After leaving WILL, Rothe became nationally
known through his work for WFMT’s Beethoven Satellite
Network out of Chicago. Rothe also traveled to Germany
several times over the years to work for the international
broadcast service Deutsche Welle. In recent years, he
continued to work as an occasional host on WILL-FM.
The Michael Rothe Memorial Concert is sponsored, in part, by
the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and Horine’s
Pianos Plus.
Contact:
Mary Barrineau
Public Information Coordinator
WILL AM-FM-TV
217-333-1070
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