Virtuoso Voices(tm)

Series produced by Listener Directed Productions, Inc.

Series image

Virtuoso Voices is a collection of timely and topical sound bites from classical music's leading performers. Each sound bite (or clip) will bring your listeners an insider's perspective to the classical music they enjoy on your station. Virtuoso Voices offers classical music announcers an additional way to enhance their breaks by using the voice of the artist whose recording they're about to play on their shift.

Virtuoso Voices is an interview clip service for classical music stations, presenting today's most influential classical music performers, conductors and composers talking in 20 to 35 second clips.

These topical and evergreen sound bites will enable announcers to bring an additional insider's perspective to the music they play on their shifts.

For example, an announcer playing Joshua Bell's recent recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto could introduce it by using a clip of Mr. Bell talking about how he tries to bring a fresh sound to this very familiar work. After the clip, the announcer returns and segues into playing the recording.

The Virtuoso Voices service provides you a Suggested Host Intro to effectively set up each clip, and includes a brief Outro to help you segue to the music. Your announcers can use this copy verbatim, or as inspiration to write their own version.

Virtuoso Voices clips are versatile. In addition to music intros, you can also use them to enhance forward promotion, create compelling billboards and create content for your website.

Virtuoso Voices provides stations with a new strategy for presenting classical music on the radio by directly involving the performer in the introduction of the music. These topical and evergreen clips enable announcers to bring an additional insider's perspective to the music they introduce and play on their shifts.

Program content is taken from interviews with internationally recognized classical music performers, such as Gil Shaham, Yo-Yo Ma, Marin Alsop, Lorin Maazel, Joshua Bell, Hilary Hahn and Michael Tilson Thomas.

As of January 2010, we are offering our Virtuoso Voices Performer Clips to all stations for free. We offer three types of distribution.

-- Downloaded off our ftp site: no charge

-- Downloaded from PRX: (triple PRX points) – requires PRX station membership

-- 10 months a year, receive a CD: $100 flat fee to cover postage and handling for the year.

For more information and to see additional ways to use these clips, please visit our website, www.virtuosovoices.org.

Signing up is easy and free. To receive a short subscription form, please send an email to info (at) listenerdirect.org or call (703) 751-0342.

Virtuoso Voices™ Fundraising Service

Virtuoso Voices(tm) is also Public Radio's primary source for classical music fundraising messages.

Twice a year, we provide your station with three types of fundraising messages, with options enabling you to customize each spot to the specific sound and fundraising terminology of your station. These messages, from performers like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Sarah Chang and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, follow Public Radio's Best Practices for fundraising.

These produced fundraising messages are distributed in February and September in advance of when most stations fundraise, including the nationally coordinated drives. Stations may request custom fundraising scripts read by the performers we interview. We fill these requests whenever possible and in the order in which they are received.

Our Virtuoso Voices fundraising material is offered as a separate subscription, with fees based on market size (as determined by Arbitron) – and cover a portion of the production expenses for Virtuoso Voices.

This service includes a (minimum) of 40 fundraising messages – a combination of Custom Station Spots, Straight Read Spots, Produced Funders and Unhosted Produced Funders

-- $500 for stations with a market ranking of 1 to 50;
-- $325 for stations ranked between 51-150;
-- $150 for stations with an Arbitron market ranking of 151 and above.

Please visit the fundraising page of our website for further examples and further information. www.virtuosovoices.org/fundraising.

VIRTUOSO VOICES

"Classical Music's Virtuosos Want a Word with Your Listeners."

Virtuoso Voices is a trademark of Listener Directed Productions, Inc. Hide full description

Virtuoso Voices is an interview clip service for classical music stations, presenting today's most influential classical music performers, conductors and composers talking in 20 to 35 second clips. These topical and evergreen sound bites will enable announcers to bring an additional insider's perspective to the music they play on their shifts. For example, an announcer playing Joshua Bell's recent recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto could introduce it by using a clip of Mr. Bell talking about how he tries to bring a fresh sound to this very familiar work. After the clip, the announcer returns and segues into playing the recording. The Virtuoso Voices service provides you a Suggested Host Intro to effectively set up each clip, and includes a brief Outro to help you segue... Show full description


Additional Files

642 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: The Canadian Brass
When the Canadian Brass was looking to add a new trumpet player to the group in 2007, they knew exactly who they wanted for the job. Use this 22 s...

  • Added: Nov 29, 2008
  • Length: :22
Caption: The Canadian Brass
When brass players audition for a rare opening in the Canadian Brass, playing the notes is only one part of the process. You've got to show them y...

  • Added: Nov 29, 2008
  • Length: :19
Caption: The Canadian Brass
The days of men ruling the brass instrument world are mostly over. More women are playing trumpets, trombones and French horns in high school band...

  • Added: Nov 29, 2008
  • Length: :26
Caption: The Canadian Brass
Jingle Bells – what could be more familiar at Christmas time? Arranger Howard Cable made a new version of Jingle Bells that Canadian Brass tuba pl...

  • Added: Nov 29, 2008
  • Length: :20
Caption: The Canadian Brass
Everybody deserves a break, and every tuba player should get to shine now and then. Normally, the tuba holds up the base line part of the musical ...

  • Added: Nov 29, 2008
  • Length: :25
Caption: Sir James Galway
The road to Carnegie Hall may be paved by practice, practice and more practice, but ask any musician - nothing is more boring, tedious and uninspir...

  • Added: Nov 29, 2008
  • Length: :22
Caption: Sir James Galway
He plays Vivaldi, Prokofiev and Mozart – and also traditional Irish and Scottish music and Japanese folk songs. Even with this varied exposure to ...

  • Added: Nov 28, 2008
  • Length: :21
Caption: Sir James Galway
It is, or was at one time, classical music’s forbidden word – or act: "Crossover"... playing music that's not 100% classical. Flutist, Sir James ...

  • Added: Nov 28, 2008
  • Length: :26
Caption: Anne-Sophie Mutter
With some music, especially new music, it takes a couple of hearings to really get to know the music and to find out what it's really all about. V...

  • Added: Nov 28, 2008
  • Length: :25
Caption: Anne-Sophie Mutter
There are many ways to get into the music we love. The pianist Lang Lang imagines characters and scenes from nature; for others, the music inspire...

  • Added: Nov 27, 2008
  • Length: :28
Caption: Anne-Sophie Mutter
We celebrated Mozart's 250th anniversary year in 2006 with concerts, special recordings and festive celebrations throughout the world. Violinist A...

Bought by WHRV


  • Added: Nov 27, 2008
  • Length: :25
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Anne-Sophie Mutter
Very few things could be duller than a discussion about violin bows, unless you're a violinist. But a good bow does make a difference. Violinist ...

  • Added: Nov 27, 2008
  • Length: :24
Caption: Anne-Sophie Mutter
The Bach - Jazz relationship is not a new idea: musicians, scholars and music lovers have been making that connection for years. Violinist Anne-S...

  • Added: Nov 26, 2008
  • Length: :26
Caption: Anne-Sophie Mutter
Bach's "Air on the G String" is one of classical music's best known, and most often played melodies. When violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter plays the "...

  • Added: Nov 26, 2008
  • Length: :23
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American Classical Music has found an enthusiastic home in most European concert halls. Conductor JoAnn Falletta appreciates the zeal and enthusia...

Bought by WETS


  • Added: Nov 14, 2008
  • Length: :21
  • Purchases: 1
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When violinist Joshua Bell plays or records with an orchestra, he has a couple of priorities and preferences for those who join him on stage or in ...

  • Added: Nov 14, 2008
  • Length: :24
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There are 161 recordings of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, 162 recordings of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Joshua Bell has recorded both of t...

  • Added: Nov 14, 2008
  • Length: :18
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Music can really paint a picture. One of the best examples is Vivaldi's set of four Violin Concertos known as the "Four Seasons." Joshua Bell rec...

  • Added: Nov 01, 2008
  • Length: :28
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There's much to like, if not love, about Chopin, whether you're a listener or a performer. For pianist Lang Lang, Chopin is the pianist's best fri...

  • Added: Nov 01, 2008
  • Length: :23
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Chopin is one of pianist Lang Lang's favorite composers - not just for how the music makes him feel, but for how Chopin makes him a better pianist....

  • Added: Nov 01, 2008
  • Length: :23