WETA Focus

Our classical music service, WETA Classical, offers indispensable programming to the community of Greater Washington and to the nation, presenting vibrant radio broadcasts and digital streams that are a cherished destination for all who love the art form. This profoundly expressive music, in all its considerable power and beauty, is a vital part of the cultural life of our community and our world.

I invite you to bring classical music into your day. Take advantage of all that WETA Classical and our all-vocal classical music service WETA VivaLaVoce have to offer. Enjoy and celebrate the music with us, from selections presented around the clock with expert curation by our superb announcers, programmers and producers — to special programming devoted to choral, operatic and symphonic works; local performance; and emerging talents. We strive to serve a wide range of classical music interest, from that of the devotee to the listener newly experiencing the music’s manifold joys, solaces and inspirations.

We enthusiastically embrace our mission to extend and expand appreciation of classical music, to offer entrée to the art form, and to broaden accessibility to it. Our rich classical music online offerings and educational resources — including the podcast Classical Breakdown, informative music news and events blog Classical Score, and introductory Take Note! site — illuminate the music, the composers, and performing artists and their artistry. Explore and learn more at wetaclassical.org; and tune in or stream our outstanding music offerings.

Just as we present classical music in our WETA Classical radio service, so too do we spotlight the art form in our WETA PBS and WETA Metro television programming. This month, watch for classical music concerts on the series Great Performances — highlighted in the pages that follow — including an exciting annual summer night concert filmed in Vienna, Austria.

WETA proudly serves Greater Washington with informative, entertaining programming that we create specifically for area viewers. As part of our mission of service to our community, we have been investing in our local television productions and web video content to spotlight the people, places and arts that make the national capital area such a wonderful place to live. We are delighted that audiences have responded with warm praise, and it is my pleasure to share news of accolades for our local content.

In late June, our house-hunting and neighborhood series If You Lived Here, restaurant series Signature Dish, arts showcase WETA Arts, and web-based video series Boundary Stones History Shorts won a total of five Capital Emmy Awards. I congratulate the WETA staff members who received the honors — and all at WETA who work to bring to the public this engaging content.

I thank you, our members, for your generous support, which makes possible all that we do on behalf of our community. We are very proud to be your hometown public media station.

Sharon Percy Rockefeller President and Chief Executive Officer, WETA

WETA — ON THE AIR & ONLINE