Studio Virginia

Studio Virginia airs Thursdays at 7:30 pm

DECEMBER

12.28.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, a program called "Song Sharing" brings local musicians to a wide variety of venues around Central Virginia; the local folk duo Tom and Emily releases their CD "Pancake Mamma;" banners at Roanoke's airport tells visitors what the city offers in the way of culture; and a Charlottesville trumpet player writes a special composition for New Year's Eve.

12.21.06 - Essayist and author Dan Smith is "Burning The Furniture" in an autobiography of the same name; Roanoke's Mini-Graceland gets spruced up for Christmas and images of the Vietnam War preserved with chlorophyll on giant tropical leaves at the Art Museum of Western Virginia.

12.14.06 - Part two of an interview with Shenandoah Valley artist P. Buckley Moss by Cara Modisett (part of the "artists on the air" collaborative series with Blue Ridge Country magazine); the joys of grandfatherhood at Christmas time and an update on museum projects in the region.

12.7.06 - Studio Virginia co-producer Cara Modisett interviews internationally-known Shenandoah Valley painter P. Buckley Moss (part of the "artists on the air" collaborative series with Blue Ridge Country magazine); the Virginia roots of a folk-rock group known as Eddie from Ohio; and the best books of 2006 from Dan Smith in time for the gift giving season.

NOVEMBER

11.30.06 - A Roanoke College professor re-releases his acclaimed novel in paperback; the "Christmas Carol" story with a new twist at Mill Mountain Theatre; plus renowned bassist Victor Wooten at Jefferson Center.

11.23.06 - A special all-music show featuring complete songs from artists that have appeared on the show in recent months.

11.16.06 - A new novel for teens from a veteran reporter; "Simple Sermons" from a Bedford County poet; and a Liberty University history professor talks about World War II and the Cold War at the Bedford Book Festival.

11.9.06 - The Roanoke bluegrass weekend means workshops, jam sessions and a special "faculty concert;" folk and country collide at The Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg with David Wilcox and Darrell Scott; plus a special jazz show in Charlottesville puts the focus on the oppressed people of Darfur.

11.2.06 - A Salem school psychologist writes a very personal book about a disease he battles every day; a unique Charlottesville band called "American Dumpster;" more from a vampire novel author in Wytheville; and modern bluegrass from the hills of far southwest.

OCTOBER

10.26.06 - Ghostly stories in time for Halloween from a local author who first heard them at a hospital. The Latin Ballet of Virginia comes to the Jefferson Center for a benefit show and a first time novelist in Marion writes about vampires.

10.19.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, a daughter remembers her father through a recently published collection of his newspaper columns; plus Floyd Fandango, the Virginia Film Festival, mandolin wizard Chris Thile and a French farce at Mill Mountain Theatre.

10.12.06 - On the next Studio Virginia a special Fall Fund Drive "Best of" program featuring excerpts of interviews from shows over the past year. The controversial art museum project in Roanoke... Senatorial politics in Virginia... the launch of a women's magazine... Mill Mountain Theatre's new artistic director and a book from a Lynchburg author about her father, who ran with Barry Goldwater in 1964.

10.5.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, the new director of the Virginia Gentlemen Harmony Chorus is no gentleman - she is a 23-year-old Virginia Tech graduate. Plus, a Roanoke County man realizes his lifelong dream to cut a music CD; the City Art Show showcases a wealth of local talent and the Jefferson Choral Society holds a benefit concert before a trip to England.

SEPTEMBER

9.28.06 - Two bands, one based in North Carolina, one from Sweden, they draw inspiration from places as different as Africa and Appalachia, but both appeared at Floyd Fest this past summer.

9.21.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, a Central Virginia author has a new biography about the elusive author of "To Kill A Mockingbird;" a multi-media play about the Holocaust comes to Mill Mountain Theatre and local schools; and a preview of upcoming music events at the Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg.

9.14.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, part two of our Jefferson Center season preview; a film series at Sweet Briar College debuts with an unsettling documentary; and a literary festival at Emory and Henry College.

9.7.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, a 9/11 tribute fashioned from steel salvaged after the World Trade Center collapse; a Roanoke filmmaker who traveled with Coalition Forces in Afghanistan gets ready for his documentary's premiere; a Swedish band brings old world melodies to Floyd; plus an exhibit for art in Radford hails the suburban nation that is America; jazz vocalist Rene Marie and upcoming events at Jefferson Center.

AUGUST

8.31.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, we'll preview next week's Taste of the Blue Ridge Blues and Jazz Festival in Roanoke; plus a new CD from a Lynchburg area troubadour and percussionist Bill Jonas in Floyd.

8.24.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, we'll head back to the little town of Floyd for a tour of the Jacksonville Arts Center; plus an audio postcard from the recent Floyd Fest. >>LISTEN>>

8.17.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, hard rock - and straight shooting - from the Roanoke band "Signal 7" with their first CD release; an art exhibit called "Two Worlds" in Radford; plus a Charlottesville author writes a children's book about the World War II internment camps for Japanese-Americans; and the Dumas Hotel gets read to re-open as a cultural center. >>LISTEN>>

8.10.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, essayist Michael Chitwood can be heard here on Morning Edition. Now he talks about his new book of fiction and collected essays. Women railroaders are featured at the O. Winston Link Museum and an exclusive interview with bluegrass superstar Rhonda Vincent at the recent Fiddlefest.

8.3.06 - On the next Studio Virginia: the new artistic director at Mill Mountain Theatre talks about the future; a local college professor writes a book about an unusual 19th century heroine; and a long-time dance teachers takes a final bow.

JULY

7.27.06 - This week's show previews FloydFest, an interview with the Roanoke-based band Blue Mule, and Roanoke's FiddleFest, plus words from Irish accordion "wizard" Dave Munnelly. Blue Mule is a continuation of "The Voices of Mountain Music," in collaboration with Blue Ridge Country magazine. Cara Modisett hosts.

7.20.06 - FloydFest returns for a fifth year with "Los Lobos" as the headliner; plus southwestern Virginia folk artist Lee Pinkerson; the Friday night jamboree at the Floyd Country Store; and a bizarre carnival in Charlottesville called Wunderkammer.

7.13.06 - The Blue Ridge Blues Society organizes in Roanoke and plans its first outdoor music festival; plus a Smith Mountain Lake author investigates the family tree to come up with a book about her great grandfather, based on letters he wrote as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War.

7.6.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, a new book offers a glimpse at the people behind those familiar public radio voices; commentator Dan Smith looks back at his participation in Mill Mountain Theatre's "Overnight Sensations" experiment; Jefferson Center has big plans for the future; and a century-old UVA literary magazine is honored.

JUNE

6.29.06 - A Cold War museum now touring in far southwest Virginia is spearheaded by the son of a U-2 pilot shot down by the Soviets in 1960; a Virginia Tech professor writes about growing up gay in Appalachia; and a ground-breaking poet's home in Lynchburg is at the heart of a renovated historic district.

6.22.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, the second annual Wind Down the Music Trail event in Floyd features blues guitarist Scott Perry; efforts to attract more young professionals to the Roanoke Valley and how cultural amenities play a big part; plus essayist Dan Smith remembers the real "Jersey Boys" in a not-so-positive light.

6.15.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, essayist Fred First leaves his beloved Floyd County long enough to talk about a new book of collected works; the Hewitt Collection of African American art is on exhibit at Roanoke's Center in the Square; and a songwriting workshop in Bedford County.

6.8.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, it's "a tale as old as time" - "Be our Guest" as we talk to the people behind a new stage version of Beauty and the Beast at Mill Mountain Theatre; a local videographer talks about filming along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina; and why journalists go to war-torn regions; plus Dan Smith's list of suggested summer books.

6.1.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, we travel up and down The Crooked Road to learn about music from the region now being recorded and released on CD; the Hackensaw Boys bring their high-energy bluegrass to Floyd County from Charlottesville; and a new book attempts to dispel stereotypes about the Appalachian region.

MAY

5.25.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, the publisher of a new women's magazine in southwest Virginia trades notes with the owner of a local sports monthly; singer-songwriter Paddy Dougherty gets ready for a concert date with the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra; and a preview of May's Book Club selection here at Broadcast Center.

5.18.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, Festival in the Park gets ready for its big weekend in Roanoke; a new season of jazz and classical and the Garth Newel Music Center in Bath County; a Salem composer and choral director debuts a piece called "Mary, Mother of Jesus;" and author Amy Goodman at the recent Festival of the Book in Charlottesville.

5.11.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, an exclusive interview with Fresh Air host Terry Gross. She'll be at Jefferson Center next week. Also a television show aimed at the growing Hispanic population in southwestern Virginia makes its debut; and jazz keyboardist Chick Corea talks about his new Latin music project on a recent trip to Roanoke.

5.4.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, a writer-in-residence at Hollins University is a best-selling author with a new book on the wonders of gardening; a retired postmaster-turned-painter remembers 9/11 with a major motion picture on the subject now in theaters; and a Roanoke songwriter teams up with the Local Colors celebration.

APRIL

4.27.06 - You may have seen him on cable TV or read about him in papers like the New York Times. He helped Mark Warner get elected as governor in 2001. And now he's written "Foxes in the Hen House," a well-received book about political strategy for Democrats in a Republican world. On this week's show, a special conversation with Roanoke County native Dave "Mudcat" Saunders.

4.20.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, legendary song writer John Prine in Roanoke; cello superstar Zuill Bailey in Lynchburg; and a storytelling festival returns to Botetourt County.

4.13.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, cowboy poets, a celebration of the arts in Blacksburg and the fourth annual Vision Film Festival in Roanoke.

4.6.06 - The state of affairs at Center in the Square; a Blacksburg author's new light-hearted book attempts to explain the season of Lent in the Catholic church; plus a 12-year-old fiddler records her first CD along the Crooked Road.

MARCH

3.30.06 - The Roanoke College Choir makes its debut at Jefferson Center with a former American Idol semi-finalist as one guest singer; a new series of Celtic music is presented at Explore Park; and a lurid tale of obsession and murder is the subject of a new book being discussed at Virginia Tech this weekend.

3.23.06 - On this week's program, a very personal play about Alzheimer's from a high school teacher in Roanoke County; plus more from the Virginia Festival of the Book and a unique group supplies the soundtrack for a silent film in Charlottesville.

3.16.06 - The annual Festival of the Book returns to Charlottesville; St. Patrick's Day means Celtic music at the Jefferson Center; and a new "Meet the Author" series will feature well-known southern writers in Floyd County.

3.9.06 - Studio Virginia will not be heard this week due to a special Evening Edition program with Gov. Tim Kaine. However, just in time for Saint Patrick's Day, Studio Virginia will return next Thursday, March 16 with a program that includes an interview about a book on the "Court of Castle Chamber," an Irish form of justice in the 1500s.

3.2.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, a longtime Albemarle County school teachers takes the plunge and releases her first CD of folk music; a Grammy-winning composer who has also written well-known commercial jingles brings his unique talent to Southwest Virginia; plus an interview with jazz piano great Chick Corea before an upcoming appearance at Jefferson Center in Roanoke.

FEBRUARY

2.23.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, a New York theatre critic-turned playwright tackles "Great Expectations" at Mill Mountain in a musical version of the Dickens classic; plus a Charlottesville casting call for the Bruce Almighty sequel and a Mardi Gras jazz concert to benefit Hurricane Katrina victims.06

2.16.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, high school students write and direct a play about domestic abuse; Grammy Award winners from last week that you've heard here on the show; and Dan Smith weighs in on those Danish cartoons that have rocked the world.

2.9.06 - On the next Studio Virginia, a first-time novelist from Franklin County draws on her former home in San Francisco for a tale of Silicon Valley intrigue - not to mention great food; plus Mill Mountain's No Shame Theatre releases a CD of mostly comical music and the financially-strapped Lime Kiln Theatre in Lexington tries to hold on.

2.2.06 - No silly love songs but romantic poetry just in time for Valentine's Day; from halfway around the world, Indian "Tabla drumming" is taught right here in Virginia; and the Attucks Theatre in Norfolk, once called the Apollo Theatre of the South, is now making a comeback.

JANUARY

1.26.06 - On this week's Studio Virginia, "Elvis People" opens in Mill Mountain Theatre's Festival of New Works, plus an interview with Larry Groce, the voice of West Virginia's "Mountain Stage." Cara Modisett hosts.

1.19.06 - An update on big plans for the Art Museum of Western Virginia; a talented Christian rapper finds a new home in southwestern Virginia; and the Norfolk Southern Festival of New Works is back at Mill Mountain Theatre.

1.12.06 - Two cultural organizations in Roanoke have recently hired executive directors - meet the new people in charge at Jefferson Center and Mill Mountain Theatre.

1.5.06 - With the General Assembly about to reconvene, former legislator Barnie Day talks about his collection of his essays on the lawmaking process in the Commonwealth; the "Power of Nature" on display at the Virginia Museum of Natural History, plus a book on the polio outbreak of 1950 in Wytheville, and blues legend John Hammond in Blacksburg.