Scott Pohl

The Wharton Center for performing arts at Michigan State University is rolling out its 2012-13 schedule.

The Broadway series will be announced on Sunday, but today, we have information on their classical music and jazz schedules.

WKAR’s Scott Pohl spoke with Wharton Center Executive Director Michael Brand for a sneak peek.

SCOTT POHL: What might be the highlights of your classical music programming this year?

Randy Lewis of Alma has played in amateur golf tournaments for decades, hoping to earn a berth in The Masters.

The Masters gives automatic invitations to the winners of several national tournaments every year.

In September, Lewis won the U.S. Mid-Amateur Tournament of golfers age 25 and older, and with it, a ticket to play this week at Augusta National.

At age 54, he became the oldest-ever winner of the U.S. Mid-Amateur.

This week from reWorking Michigan, we look at efforts to facilitate international trade at the Port Huron and Sault Ste. Marie border crossings.

A week ago, the Lansing Board of Education passed a sweeping proposal to close some schools and re-align others into new configurations.

The “Bold Changes – Smarter Schools” plan keeps high schools open by including seventh and eighth graders and closes several elementary schools.

Interim Superintendent Yvonne Caamal Canul got the school board to support her plan. Her focus is on pre-K through third grade centers.

With an 8-1 vote, the Lansing Board of Education has approved an ambitious re-organization plan that closes some schools and converts others to fulfill new missions.

A team of students at Williamston High School has been working on an invention that they hope will prevent drownings in the Great Lakes.

The rivalry between Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird began with Michigan State’s victory over Indiana State in the 1979 NCAA basketball title game.

It continued in the NBA, with Magic’s Lakers vying with Bird’s Celtics for championships.

Over time, their rivalry turned into a close friendship.

The story is told in is Magic/Bird, a new Broadway play. The first preview performance of Magic/Bird at the Longacre Theatre in New York is next Wednesday; the official opening is April 11th.

Marc Maron is a veteran comedian who has seen his popularity skyrocket on the internet.

Maron hosts WTF, a twice-weekly hour-long podcast he records in a studio built into his California garage. Each episode is over an hour long, and his guests have included some of the top names in comedy. In two-and-a-half years, episodes have been downloaded more than 40-million times.

To understand pharmacology, you first need to understand what it isn’t.

Being a pharmacologist doesn’t mean you work in a pharmacy.

Stephanie Watts is a professor in MSU’s Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. She says skilled pharmacists are important, but their work follows that done by pharmacologists.

Lansing Community College will launch a series of public meetings today as part of its strategic planning process. LCC is required by it accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission, to have a strategic plan in place...and to use it. The school last revised its strategic plan in 2006.
    

Provost Stephanie Shanblatt says it's important to hear from local businesses, potential students, and parents.

An ambitious comedy festival last year brought some of the nation’s top comedians to Grand Rapids for 10 days of merriment.

The second installment of Gilda’s Laugh Fest begins today. It runs through March 18th.

One of the biggest video games in recent years is “Angry Birds”. In the game, birds slingshot themselves at structures protecting pigs, and the object is to destroy the pigs.

For a few months now, there’s been a similar game on the market, aimed squarely at the Michigan State University market.

It’s called Grumpy Snowmen.

National Geographic photographer Steve Winter visited Michigan State University this week to talk about shooting pictures for the world's leading nature and photography magazine.

Among his stops was a photography class, where he showed some of his pictures and videos.

Large cats have become his passion. His most recent story was about tigers.

Steve Winter told WKAR's Scott Pohl that after 20 years, most of his National Geographic stories come from his own ideas. Lots of research and legwork has to be done before he can go into the field.

The challenges facing companies catching and selling whitefish from Michigan waters have been many and varied over the years. A new cooperative of Great Lakes fishermen aims to improve quality. They hope the result is higher prices and bigger profits.

Michigan State University professor of Cello Suren Bagratuni performs and teaches master classes all over the world.

He also records frequently with producer Sergei Kvitko at Lansing’s Blue Griffin recording studio.

Bagratuni’s latest CD with pianist Jen-Ru Sun, a doctoral graduate from MSU’s College of Music, features selections from Schubert and Schumann.

Bagratuni’s new CD can be found on popular online music sites and at bluegriffin-dot-com.

Producer Sergei Kvitko describes first hearing Suren Bagratuni play as “love at first note”.