Classical WETA 90.9 FM to Broadcast Majestic Music from the 2011 Castleton Festival

Washington, D.C. — WETA will record and broadcast magnificent orchestral concerts and opera performances from Virginia’s 2011 Castleton Festival this summer. Through a media partnership, Classical WETA 90.9 FM will prominently feature music from the festival throughout the station’s upcoming summer schedule.

 "The Castleton Festival and Classical WETA is a natural partnership," said Dan DeVany, vice president and general manager of WETA. "Castleton has become the center of one of Virginia's premiere cultural events, and Classical WETA is delighted to join in sharing its excitement and artistic excellence with listeners across our region."

The festival brings together young talent with experienced professionals for 20 opera and concert presentations and takes place primarily at eminent maestro Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Farms. The 550-acre property located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Rappahannock County hosts the festival beginning Saturday, June 25 and running through Sunday, July 24. Performances recorded by Classical WETA at the festival will chiefly be broadcast in June and July. The Classical WETA schedule is subject to change but currently includes the following programming:

Front Row Washington — Classical WETA’s local concert broadcast will feature Castleton concerts Mondays at 9 p.m. from June 27 through August 1. On the Monday, June 27 broadcast, Classical WETA previews this year’s festival with an all-Beethoven program performed by the Castleton Festival Orchestra, recorded by Classical WETA last July at the 2010 Castleton Festival. The five Front Row Washington broadcasts that follow in July and on August 1 will feature 2011 concerts staged at the Festival Tent at Castleton and at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas, Virginia.

Classical WETA Opera House — Each Saturday from July 2 to July 23 at 1 p.m., Classical WETA will feature operas staged at the Castleton Festival, starting with a reprise of last year’s critically acclaimed production of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Classical WETA will also feature La Bohème and the double bill of Weill's Seven Deadly Sins and Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges from the festival tent as well as a concert performance of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess from the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas, Virginia.

VivaLaVoce — Classical WETA’s all-vocal classical music channel, available by live stream at www.vivalavoce.org and via the HD2 signal of Classical WETA 90.9 FM, will feature “Castleton Tuesdays” presenting Castleton performances from June 14 through July 26. As the weekly “Opera at 8” offering, these broadcasts will feature seven operas recorded from the 2010 and 2011 Castleton Festivals as well as two vocal recitals presented at The Theatre at Washington, Virginia.

The Castleton Festival grew out of the Castleton Residency program for young artists run by The Châteauville Foundation, founded by Lorin Maazel and his wife Dietlinde Turban Maazel in 1997. The Castleton Festival brings together 200 young artists — including singers, conductors, instrumentalists, directors, costume designers, and lighting designers — to live on the Castleton Farms property for six weeks to work with professional mentors and prepare the opera and concert performances. The Foundation’s mission is to nurture young artists, foster collaborative artistic enterprise, and create opportunities within the community for shared cultural experience. To learn more visit www.castletonfestival.org.

Classical WETA 90.9 FM is 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. VivaLaVoce — The Station That Sings — is Classical WETA’s all-vocal classical music channel available by live stream at www.vivalavoce.org and via the HD2 signal of Classical WETA 90.9 FM. Classical WETA and WETA Television and 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 upcoming film Prohibition. Embracing the educational mission of public broadcasting, WETA creates leading public service websites such as www.ReadingRockets.org, www.LDOnline.org, www.AdLit.org, and www.Brainline.org. WETA’s headquarters is located in Arlington, Virginia. Sharon Percy Rockefeller is president and CEO. For more information on WETA and its services, visit www.weta.org.

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