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Classical Minnesota Public Radio to Feature 7th Annual Christmas Carol Premiere by Minnesota Composer Abbie Betinis
December 12, 2006
Some may think of Christmas carols as ancient traditions, but Minnesota Public Radio and Minnesota composer Abbie Betinis have a different kind of tradition: creating new music.
Betinis and her singers will join Classical Minnesota Public Radio host John Birge for an in-studio recording of her 2006 carol, “Shem Speaks,” on Friday, December 15 and will receive its radio premiere during the morning of Monday, December 18. "Shem Speaks" will be rebroadcast during the 3 p.m. hour on Thursday, December 21, with host Steve Staruch.
Since 2000, Classical Minnesota Public Radio has joined Abbie Burt Betinis, a St. Paul-based composer, for the premiere of her annual Christmas carol. Betinis typically writes the carol in the course of an evening and then gathers together a small group of singers for an in-studio recording at MPR’s Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, which is then broadcast on Classical Minnesota Public Radio stations statewide, including on KSJN 99.5 FM in the Twin Cities.
Betinis' Christmas carol tradition dates back to her great-grandfather, Rev. Bates G. Burt, who composed Christmas carols as gifts to his family, friends and parishioners. He eventually teamed up with his son, jazz trumpeter Alfred Burt, to produce five carols together. Alfred Burt went on to write some of today's most popular holiday carols, including "Some Children See Him" and "Caroling, Caroling."
TUNE IN: "Shem Speaks" by Abbie Betinis premieres on Classical Minnesota Public Radio, including KSJN 99.5 FM in the Twin Cities, during the morning of Monday, December 18. It will rebroadcast on Thursday, December 21, during the 3 p.m. hour.
About Abbie Burt Betinis
At 26, Abbie Betinis holds degrees from St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota and has studied at La Schola Cantorum and l'Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. She has received grants and awards from the American Composers Forum, American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP), Minnesota Music Educators Association and, most recently, the University of Minnesota's Craig and Janet Swan Composer Prize.
Betinis has received over twenty commissions for new work by organizations such as the American Suzuki Foundation, Cantus, the Dale Warland Singers, The Rose Ensemble, The Schubert Club, The Singers–Minnesota Choral Artists, the University of Minnesota Men's Choir, and the Young New Yorkers Chorus. She is a composer in residence for The Schubert Club in Saint Paul and a founding member of the Sapphire Chamber Consort.
Minnesota Public Radio® operates a 37-station radio network serving virtually all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states and produces programming for radio, Internet and face-to-face audiences. Programs produced by Minnesota Public Radio, operating as American Public Media™, reach 14.5 million listeners nationwide each week. Of those, more than 790,000 listen regionally, in Minnesota and surrounding states. A complete list of stations, programs and additional services can be obtained at www.mpr.org and www.americanpublicmedia.org.
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Source: Data are copyright Arbitron, Inc. Arbitron data are estimates only.
Fall 2005/Spring 2006 average
Press Contacts:
Jennifer Haugh
Minnesota Public Radio
651-290-1369
jhaugh@mpr.org
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