Symphony and History
We meet Luke Frazier, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra's New Principal Pops Conductor, who premiers 2 new programs July 25th and 26th at the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival in Orkney Springs. One explores...
View ArticleMemory Chose a Woman's Body Author (Fri 6:20pm)
On WMRA's The Spark:A chat with self-described "Author, Poet, Spoken Word Artist, Motivational Speaker, & Artist" Angela Carter.
View ArticleBob Driver! (Fri 6:20pm)
Next On The Spark:Homegrown bluesman, regional acoustic guru, musician-booster and long-ago owner of the legendary Little Grill: Bob Driver. Bob chats with WMRA's Martha Woodroof about some 'a this...
View ArticleTomato Guru
How does one pick a bushel of tomatoes without kneeling? It depends on how they're strung up. Though he'd humbly disagree, many Harrisonburg folks think that Singers Glen farmer, Marlin Burkholder,...
View ArticleLike A Rolling Ssam (Fri 6:20pm)
Harrisonburg's foodie scene got more variety with the arrival of Mashita, a food truck serving Korean cuisine. WMRA's Martha Woodroof chats with enterprising epicurean, Mikey Reisenberg.
View ArticleThe Dreaded BluesLady (Fri 6:20pm)
Next time on The Spark:WMRA's Martha Woodroof meets Waynesboro blues singer Lorie Strother, who grew up living on the streets of Boston. Now, even though she’s got five children, a master’s degree and...
View ArticleMilitary Buzzcut: Not! (Fri 6:20pm)
Navy vet Karl Beckett amazed WMRA's Martha Woodroof by sporting the biggest hair she'd seen "since the 1970’s." Martha just had to introduce herself and ask his story.
View ArticlePast Christian-Punk
Now he's an agnostic professor of music industry. On WMRA's The Spark, we meet Joey Taylor AKA Ojo Taylor of the 80's-90's Christian punk band, Undercover.
View ArticleEditing The Breeze
Sean Cassidy is starting his second year as editor of The Breeze, JMU's seriously award-winning campus newspaper. Preparing himself to boldly go into the changing world of journalism, ready to change...
View ArticleOver Time: Riches to Rags
Barclay Rives describes his family as being on a riches to rags trajectory —he’s directly descended from politicians and landowners who were part and parcel of the Commonwealth’s Colonial History.
View ArticleJazz Singer
After years of absorbing musical influences from Brooklyn and Boston, jazz singer Nadine Chase in 2007 settled in the Shenandoah Valley.
View ArticleSquaaaaawwwk! (Fri 6:20pm)
Next Time On The Spark: Dr. Dave McRuer works at the Wildlife Center of Virginia. As a wildlife veterinarian, his mission is to treat wild animals and educate humans how to interact with them.
View ArticleJoy and Sunshine (Fri 6:20pm)
Next Time on The Spark:Joy Loving talks with WMRA's Martha Woodroof about why Virginia should go solar. College towns like Harrisonburg should solarize, she says. (Oh, and this also involves a...
View ArticleHeart-Felt
Martha Woodroof speaks with Staunton’s Lisa Jacenich, a fiber artist who creates felt garments, scarves, and art out of a fabric she describes as, "not your grandmother’s felt."At Lisa's website,...
View ArticleIntegrating Mount Jackson's Past (Fri 6:20pm)
Next Time on The Spark: Martha Woodroof speaks with DeLois Warr, who still carries anger from her days growing up in segregated Mount Jackson.She has made a mission out of challenging her community to...
View ArticleSave The Bay
Martha speaks with writer Jack Greer, who is as drawn to water as a sugar ant is to chocolate cake. Part one of Martha’s two-part conversation with Jack centers on his involvement with the efforts to...
View ArticleNashville Dreams
Harrisonburg’s John Samson loves, plays, and writes music that leans toward country.John, who installs dropped ceilings for a living, recently went to Nashville with his family.He got there as a...
View ArticleHolding Court with Kenny Brooks
In honor of the recent defeat of nationally ranked UCLA, we present Martha Woodroof's conversation with longtime JMU Women's Basketball coach Kenny Brooks. Note - This interview originally aired May...
View ArticleAlaskan Zen (Fri 6:20pm)
Next Time on The Spark: JMU professor and gallery director Gary Freeburg served two tours in Vietnam. He escaped the noise and confusion of war by visiting Japanese Zen gardens. He now takes...
View ArticleIn Solitude... With Bears
Part two of Martha Woodroof's conversation with photographer Gary Freeburg.Gary's work focuses on photographs of the barren, windswept and unpopulated areas around Alaska's volcanoes.
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