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 Saturday (4/20 at 7 pm) looks at plans to rename the main concert hall in the Kimmel Center for Marian Anderson, and the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2024-2025 season.
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A Tempo Saturday (4/13) talks with choreographer Sydney Skybetter about how dancers can help inform the development of devices and robotic technologies that interact with people.
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A Tempo this Saturday (4/6 at 7 pm) looks at the third annual Silent Film Festival sponsored by the New School for Music Study, where more than 100 students will perform music to serve as the soundtrack for classic silent films.
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A Tempo on Saturday (3/30 at 7 pm) previews the Princeton Festival and Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s 2024-2025 season.
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The Minnesota Orchestra is one of the latest ensembles to explore the connections between music and wellness with its audiences, and A Tempo this Saturday (3/23 at 7 pm) takes a look at its “Music and Healing” initiative.
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A Tempo this Saturday (3/16 at 7 pm) looks at the inaugural Philadelphia Organ Festival, which features performances at some of the many venues in the city that have pipe organs.
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A Tempo this Saturday (3/2 at 7 pm) delves into the Other Minds Archive, which can now be accessed online.
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A Tempo Saturday (2/17) checks in with Opera Delaware about its ‘Pop-Up’ productions performed on a mobile stage around its community.
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A Tempo this Saturday (2/3 at 7 pm) features a newly commissioned opera by Houston Grand Opera and Asia Society Texas to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
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A Tempo features a conversation with pianist Orli Shaham about what helps Mozart's music endure - and what made it cutting edge at the time he wrote it.