Junctions & Sidetracks

This 12-part radio series is a companion to George’s first full-length musical, “Empire Builder,” featuring in-depth interviews on family, history, race and forgiveness. George created it with lyricist Anne Bertram to provide an over-the-shoulder look at the creation of “Empire Builder” and the personal stories that inspired their art.

Junctions and Sidetracks: is an original radio series conceptualized by George Maurer and Anne Bertram, and created by Pine Curtain Productions for KBEM-FM, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

It is the story behind the creation of Empire Builder; a musical about a time-travelling train, conversations about family, history, race and forgiveness.
Three travelers, each on the cusp of a painful decision, meet on the Empire Builder train westbound from Chicago. The train becomes a time machine, taking them to major junctions in the past and transforming what they believe, what they remember, and what they are willing to forgive.

Empire Builder is about the ways the past is still present – in a world where the next station stop is 1889. But it may not be the past we think it was.

Sound-designed and edited by George Maurer.
Music by George Maurer, libretto by Anne Bertram.
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This 12-part radio series is a companion to George’s first full-length musical, “Empire Builder,” featuring in-depth interviews on family, history, race and forgiveness. George created it with lyricist Anne Bertram to provide an over-the-shoulder look at the creation of “Empire Builder” and the personal stories that inspired their art.

Junctions and Sidetracks: is an original radio series conceptualized by George Maurer and Anne Bertram, and created by Pine Curtain Productions for KBEM-FM, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

It is the story behind the creation of Empire Builder; a musical about a time-travelling train, conversations about family, history, race and forgiveness.
Three travelers, each on the cusp of a painful decision, meet... Show full description