Radio News

Dallas classical music station WRR 101.1 FM beefs up local programming

Dallas classical music radio station WRR 101.1 FM has launched a new programming lineup with longer music sets, fewer syndicated shows and the elimination of non-music features such as traffic reports. The new lineup began at 6 am on January 5.

The station now airs only two commercial breaks per hour, down from its previous four. This allows them to air longer, more significant works, up to 25 minutes, without breaking for a commercial.

The shift adds more than four hours of music programming each week and reflects a new direction away from nationally syndicated programs, says interim general manager George Landis.

"One way we can differentiate ourselves is to place a focus on local programming and arts groups," says interim general manager George Landis.

"We are a local radio station, and one way we can differentiate ourselves is to place a focus on local programming and arts groups," he says.

To that end, there will be more than 10 additional hours of locally hosted programming each week, primarily during the weekday evening hours from 7 to 11 pm.

Weekday on-air hosts include Barry Samsula from 6 to 10 am; Nancy Brunson from noon to 4 pm; Kevin Pytcher from 4 to 6 pm; and Ed Blaylock on the evening shift, from 6 to 7 pm and then 8 to 11 pm.

Mary Sefzik will host a Sunday program and serve as a backup host. Through the Night with Peter Van De Graaff, a syndicated show, will air overnight.

WRR will continue airing performances by the Dallas and Fort Worth symphony orchestras on Monday evenings from 8 to 10 pm, with a commitment to add programming featuring local arts groups later in 2015.

New syndicated shows
The station will also add two nationally syndicated programs to the lineup. Performance Today will air weekdays from 10 am to noon. It's the most popular classical music program in the country, featuring live recordings of public concerts and private recitals that have not been commercially released and are unavailable from any other source.

Hosted by Fred Child, it incorporates a radio music game called Piano Puzzler, as well as the music of young soloists from American conservatories in the PT Young Artist in Residence program.

Exploring Music will air weeknights from 7 to 8 pm. With programming that follows weekly themes, this national program takes listeners through an in-depth assessment of composers, symphonies, concertos and string quartets. Hosted by Bill McGlauchlin, the program devotes five shows to a single topic, exposing listeners to the breadth of music based on specific themes throughout the week.

Other syndicated shows that will stay in the program lineup but move to a new time slot include From the Top, on Saturdays from 10 to 11 am; Wind and Rhythm, on Saturdays from 8 to 9 pm; Fiesta, on Saturdays from 9 to 10 pm; Millennium of Music, on Sundays from 8 to 9 pm; and Pipedreams, on Sundays from 9 to 10 pm.

Girl Power, spotlighting women composers and performers and hosted by Nancy Brunson, will run Sundays from 7 to 8 pm. Command Performance, a weekly show hosted by Kevin Pytcher featuring listener requests, will be broadcast Saturdays from 4 to 5 pm.

WRR will continue to carry the popular Metropolitan Opera broadcasts on Saturday afternoons at noon during the Met broadcast season.

WRR Classical 101.1 FM is a division of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs. It's Texas' first commercial radio station and the second-oldest in the United States; it has maintained its classical format since 1948.

You can listen online at www.wrr101.com and via the WRR 101.1 Classical FM mobile app, available as a free download on the station website.

unspecified

Museum News

2 Dallas museums partner on landmark Roy Lichtenstein acquisition

Courtesy

Roy Lichtenstein

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) and the Nasher Sculpture Center will present works from the joint acquisition of more than 50 artworks generously gifted by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation in 2024, showing prints, drawings, and sculptures by the groundbreaking American artist at the two neighboring institutions in the Dallas Arts District.

According to a release, the installations will be on view from January 31 to August 16, 2026 at the Nasher and from January 1 to July 5, 2026 at the DMA.

The joint gift made by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation to the DMA and the Nasher in Celebration of the Centennial of Roy Lichtenstein is comprised of a selection of prints, drawings, maquettes, and sculptures by Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997), a leading figure in twentieth-century American art and a pioneer of the Pop Art movement.

The works were specifically selected by the curatorial staff of both institutions and relate to objects already in their respective collections including sculptures, works on paper, and maquettes, along with tools and study objects.

Organized by the Nasher Sculpture Center’s Senior Curator Dr. Catherine Craft, The Nancy and Tim Hanley Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the DMA Ade Omotosho, and The Allen and Kelli Questrom Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings at the DMA Dr. Emily Friedman, the presentation is divided according to each institution’s strengths and will be shown in combination with objects by Lichtenstein already in their respective permanent collections.

At the Nasher, works relating to three sculptures from the Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection—Head with Blue Shadow, Peace through Chemistry, and Double Glass—will be accompanied by a selection from the Foundation's gift of more than two dozen drawings and maquettes associated with Lichtenstein’s Brushstroke sculptures.

At the Dallas Museum of Art, the presentation features a set of Brushstroke sculptures carved from wood alongside various prints and studies that reveal the artist’s eclectic imagery.

Events
In addition to the exhibition, the DMA and the Nasher will co-host a Study Day focused on the artist on March 28, 2026, sponsored by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. This scholarly event will bring together a variety of curators, academics, and conservators to discuss Lichtenstein’s studio practice and the fabrication and conservation of his sculptures.

Concluding the Study Day will be a public conversation held at the DMA between Nasher Director Carlos Basualdo and artist Alex Da Corte, regarding Da Corte’s work on the forthcoming Lichtenstein retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

“In bestowing this generous gift, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation established Dallas as a center for the study and display of Lichtenstein’s work,” Basualdo says in a statement. “This collaborative presentation of the gift and the corresponding programming is an important step in the direction of pursuing that goal, deepening the understanding of an artist who remains immensely influential to contemporary art and its relationship with mass media and today’s culture.”

Roy Lichtenstein is made possible by support from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District (DTPID).

openings museums