Virtuoso Voices(tm)

Series produced by Listener Directed Productions, Inc.

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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
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Is there anything more stressful than travel these days? When pianist Anne-Marie McDermott travels cross country to accompany violinists like Nadj...

  • Added: Jul 31, 2008
  • Length: :23
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Composer Alexander Zemlinsky was one of several German composers who ran afoul of the German government in the early 20th century. Conductor James...

  • Added: Jul 28, 2008
  • Length: :24
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Alexander Zemlinsky is one of several early 20th century German composers whose music was suppressed by the Nazis prior to World War Two. Conducto...

  • Added: Jul 28, 2008
  • Length: :23
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Pianist Andre Watts is well-known for playing the most popular and more challenging piano concertos. When he plays these virtuoso showpieces, he t...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :28
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Pianist Andre Watts is best known for his command of the most popular and more challenging piano repertoire - sometimes called "warhorses." But he...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :29
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One of the most frequently asked questions of musicians is, what does "interpretation" mean: how do you "interpret" music? For pianist Andre Watts,...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :29
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Gustav Mahler was, without question, a gifted melody writer with the ability to get every possible sound and color out of the orchestra. In additi...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :32
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Antonin Dvorak's 9th Symphony (the "New World") is at the top of nearly everyone's hit list - and his other big symphonies are not that far behind....

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :27
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America is the great melting pot -- it's true. But so is Hungary, which has the historical distinction of being occupied by many different countri...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :29
Caption: Ivan Fischer, Credit: Courtesy of the Budapest Festival Orchestra
Who knows where inspiration truly comes from? It's different for anyone, but inspiration can strike anytime. Conductor Ivan Fischer says Mahler o...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :32
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At one time, Hungary was one of the leading cultural centers in the world, much like Paris, Vienna and New York. Hungary was occupied by many diff...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :25
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Some orchestras stake their reputation and trademark on a certain sound. Others rely on their celebrity conductor. (The Chicago Symphony Orchestr...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :34
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You've heard the saying "you can't judge a book by its cover." When it comes to Bach, Emerson String Quartet violinist, Eugene Drucker likes to as...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :26
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To those who might think that string quartets lack the pizzazz of the orchestral repertoire and the larger orchestral setting, Emerson String Quart...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :26
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Violinist Eugene Drucker reads an excerpt from his debut novel, THE SAVIOR (reissued in Paperback on July 8, 2008).

Bought by WFIU


  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: 02:16
  • Purchases: 1
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A chaconne is series of melodic variations played over a repeated sequence of notes and harmonies. One of the most famous chaconnes is heard in th...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :24
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Guitarist David Russell has a thing for French music. He likes the freedom. Use this 20 second clip to introduce guitarist David Russell playing ...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :20
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If you've ever lived next door to a musician, or lived under the same roof, you're more than familiar with the musician's practicing routine. That...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :25
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When playing Bach, and especially when you play your own transcriptions of Bach, guitarist David Russell says it's important to color outside the l...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :23
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There's a reason you hear some pieces of music everywhere - in elevators, hotel lobbies, while you're on hold with customer service and as the brid...

  • Added: Jun 30, 2008
  • Length: :25