Rachel Katz
WWFM Production Manager and Host of A TempoRachel Katz is the host of A Tempo which airs Saturdays at 7 pm.
From an early age, Rachel Katz earned a reputation in her family for both sharing stories (a “town-crier” of sorts) and also sitting back while older family members shared theirs, taking it all in as a quiet observer. Rachel pursued degrees in history at The University of Connecticut and Russian/Soviet studies and journalism at the University of Michigan, which soon set her on the path as a foreign correspondent in the early and mid-1990s. She worked in St. Petersburg, Russia, for three years, writing for UPI, The St. Petersburg Press, AP and The Moscow Times, as well as a variety of other US national and regional publications. Back in the US, she worked at The Connecticut Post and as business editor of The (Norwalk) Hour before moving to Bloomberg News, where she covered retail and other business news.
Interested in exploring radio, she took broadcast classes and landed a job at The Classical Network as a production assistant and the opportunity to produce her own public affairs program, Views and Voices. As host and producer now of A Tempo, she brings her storytelling and reporter experience – and her love of music - to the world of arts and culture, exploring the challenges and opportunities facing the music world today.
In addition to playing violin with the Westminster Community Orchestra, Rachel enjoys fencing, birdwatching and salsa/swing/ballroom dancing.
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A Tempo this week features a conversation with Tallchief’s daughter about the ballerina’s legacy, and the significance of the coins’ release to the Osage Nation, of which Tallchief was a member.
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A Tempo this week (11/4) checks out a new podcast from Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute showcasing music educators and how they encourage and inspire students.
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A Tempo Saturday (10/28 at 7 pm) features a conversation with A. Brad Schwartz, whose discussion at the West Windsor Arts Council’s War of the Worlds Anniversary ‘Broadcast Bash,’ will discuss how the Orson Welles’s 1938 Broadcast foreshadowed some of the same concerns about the power of media to spread misinformation being considered today.
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A Tempo this Saturday (10/21) looks at The Knights’ Rhapsody Project, a commissioning series paying tribute to the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue.’
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A Tempo this Saturday (10/14) features an interview with the new Executive Director of Westrick Music Academy, whose programs include the Princeton Girlchoir and Princeton Boychoir.
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A Tempo Saturday (9/29) looks at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s residency at Drew University, and some of Princeton University Concerts’s upcoming programs that have opportunities for the audience to interact or participate with the artists.
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A Tempo Saturday (9/23) featured a conversation with New York Theatre Ballet Artistic Director Steven Melendez and composer David K. Israel about Melendez's "Letters to My Father" series, and about a new documentary following Melendez's path from homeless shelter to professional ballet.
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A Tempo looks at an upcoming collaboration between Musica Viva NY and Mexamorphosis featuring musicians from various global musical traditions including Latin America, India, Mexico, West Africa and Europe.
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A Tempo this Saturday (9/2) at 7 pm highlights two performances - one a fundraiser, and another paying tribute to those lost to Covid - that have roots in the early days of the pandemic
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A Tempo this past week (8/26) featured an interview about an award that underscores the role of librettists in the creation of an opera.