Music - The Common Language

Membership drives aren't suppose to be this exciting but Thursday evening was an exception. From behind an audio booth at WMHT-17, I mixed sound in between breaks of the New York Philharmonic's historic concert in North Korean. The concert was recorded live 2 days earlier by WNET and ABC and then distributed to all the PBS affiliates.

Bob Woodruff (yes, the same guy to survive a IED attack in Iraq) provided rare reporting and commentary from the militant country. Somehow, Woodruff got unprecedented access to interview regular North Koreans; children, parents, teachers and even an exclusive tour of the Yongbyon Nuclear Facility, the same place that produces deadly plutonium for nuclear bombs. In a country where everyone is raised to think the United States is an enemy and tensions between governments is still at a all-time high, this was a challenging feat.

The concert was conducted by Loren Maazel and included Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”), Gershwin’s “American in Paris” and the Prelude to Act III of Wagner’s “Lohengrin.” Maazel said "We will play now the 'American in Paris," to a nation of 22 million. "Maybe someday someone will compose 'Americans in Pyongyang.'" Everyone laughed.

The music was enjoyed by myself and the many local viewers who called in to pledge money to keep memorable programming like this on air at PBS.