WRTI-FM (Philadelphia, PA)

For the last five years, Mike Bolton has been a steady Saturday-morning presence on the air at WRTI. He’s now stepping away from this weekend role, for personal reasons. His final shift as host of Saturday Morning Classical will be at the end of this month, on Aug. 29. Thankfully, he isn’t stepping away entirely from WRTI. He will continue as a part-time host — contributing to Fanfare, covering fill-in shifts across our schedule, and hosting Sunday Classical (including the broadcast on Aug. 30).

It’s difficult to predict where Isata Kanneh-Mason’s musical imagination will take her next. Across five solo albums in seven years, the 30-year-old British pianist has delved into the worlds of Clara Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn, explored repertoire by American composers, and revisited the sounds and stories of childhood.

When SML dropped its 2024 debut, the group’s admixture of loopy groove, staticky texture and shifting timbre came on like a transmission from the outer reaches. Behind the music was a method: rangy collective improv whittled down to size, based on a trove of live tape. SML has released two more albums since, the latest of which, Spontaneous Music Live, consists of two unedited long performances rooted in real-time interplay.

Tune into WRTI on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 1 p.m. to hear the Vienna State Opera’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Luisa Miller. WRTI will carry this 2026 recording as a part of the WFMT Opera Series. Verdi originally composed Luisa Miller in order to fulfill, and subsequently end, his three-year contract with Naples’ Teatro San Carlo. The opera follows Rodolfo, son of Count Walter, who plans to marry Luisa, a soldier’s daughter who is well below his station.

Join us on Sunday, Aug. 23 at 1 p.m. on WRTI 90.1 and Monday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. on WRTI HD-2 as The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert brings you an all-Mozart program from the 2025/2026 season, featuring the Symphony No. 40 and the unfinished Requiem, as completed by Mozart’s pupil Franz Xaver Süssmayr.

Mid-August? We’re not sure how that happened, either. But fear not, summer vibes are still in place, and so is the music. This week brings two regal singers, a couple of swinging saxophonists, and plenty of soul. Spotlight: Vanessa Rubin — Friday through Aug. 23, South Jazz Kitchen For more than 40 years, Vanessa Rubin has excelled within a jazz-vocal tradition that values poise as well as prowess.

Updated August 14, 2026 at 11:07 AM EDT Growing up in Louisiana, Jon Batiste barely spoke until he was about 10 years old. Instead, he absorbed and listened closely to everything around him. And there was a ton of material to work with as a member of the storied Batiste musical dynasty that has roots in New Orleans jazz, R&B, funk and brass band.

A superior court judge in Washington, D.C., has ordered the Kennedy Center to pay more than $250,000 to a jazz musician who last December canceled the annual Christmas Eve performance he had hosted there for nearly 20 years. Chuck Redd, a vibraphonist and drummer, decided to cancel the concert after President Trump's name was added to the facade of the arts center that month. After Redd canceled the performance, the Kennedy Center vowed to sue Redd for $1 million in damages. In June, Judge Tanya M.

It’s the dog days of summer, and International Dog Day is right around the corner. We need your help celebrating the canines who have kept you company while you listen to WRTI! Share your dog's name and listening habits in the form at the bottom of this page, and on International Dog Day, Wednesday August 26, we'll feature dog dedications live on-air from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. We'll also showcase any WRTI listeners’ shared dog photos across our social media, website and newsletter channels.

Not all string quartets are created equal. Some groups play it safe, performing standard repertoire straight off the page. Others, like the New York-based PUBLIQuartet, walk on the wilder side. The band's musical journey, which routinely includes improvisation, ranges widely on its new album Rhythm Nation.