From Barcelona to the Berkshires, CRB’s summer has been equal parts sprawling and successful, confirming the station’s place as classical music’s home in Boston and beyond. In recent months, GBH Music has welcomed luminaries like Jon Batiste to the GBH Fraser Performance Studio, Alec Baldwin to its airwaves, and composers as varied as Mahler, Caroline Shaw, John Williams, and Frank Zappa to its broadcasts and content. CRB has carved out a unique space as a bastion for contemplation and celebration of authentic music.
The station has doubled down on longtime audience favorites such as Boston Symphony Orchestra broadcasts — joining with partner station Classical NEPM to expand the Springfield outlet’s weekly offerings of Tanglewood broadcasts to thrice weekly — while branching out its content with the Summer of American Music and other ambitious projects. Ask Sam Brewer, General Manager of GBH Music, and he’ll tell you that classical music has a bright future. He thinks of CRB as a funnel, introducing the widest swath of listeners to classical music — from dyed-in-the-wool devotees to curious ears unfamiliar with the genre and its enduring relevance.
The results have been nothing less than unbridled success. With over 300,000 weekly listeners, CRB has achieved record-breaking audiences and regularly landed among Boston’s Top-10 stations. Plus, the length of time people spend listening to CRB 99.5's music and concert broadcasts has “skyrocketed,” says Brewer, reflecting the audience’s desire to tune in to the station for longer periods than many commercial stations that play more “popular” genres like pop and country. The reasons are myriad, says Brewer, but boil down to a simple truth: “People are drawn to the very tangible and human act of great music-making.”
The music we play has stood the test of time for hundreds of years. It is performed on real instruments by real people who have spent decades honing their craft. Authenticity is at a premium right now. We’ve always had that through our music and approach, and that’s resonating with people.Sam Brewer, General Manager of GBH Music
CRB’s Summer of American Music
CRB kicked off the season with Summer of American Music, part of GBH’s wider America 250 initiative. A daily series from Memorial Day to Labor Day aimed at spotlighting the artists and pieces that have woven the musical fabric of the country, CRB’s Summer of American Music has introduced listeners to music as wide-ranging, influential, and fascinating as the nation itself. “We had 93 days to play with, so we set out to show listeners one piece of iconic American classical music every day to celebrate this country’s anniversary,” says Brewer.
CRB’s summer programming widened the lens of what American music is, starting with celebrated pieces such as Concerto in F by George Gershwin (“fun fact: he wrote Rhapsody in Blue on a train to Boston,” says Brewer.) It expanded to include cherished film composers – John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, Randy Newman, etc. – as well as contemporary composers like Valerie Coleman, Margaret Bonds, Bright Sheng, and Caroline Shaw, who recorded her piece, “Plan and Elevation,” in the GBH Fraser Performance Studio.
Julia Marcus, CRB’s Radio Associate Producer, produced two short-form videos about Frank Zappa and the influence of classical music on his work. “People don’t necessarily think of him as a classical composer,” Brewer notes, “but he had a unique way of combining jazz, classical, pop and rock into his own musical voice, inspiring the next generation of American composers and musicians.”
Our national birthday was also front and center in GBH Music’s Director of Production Brian McCreath’s interview with Academy Award nominee Alec Baldwin on Classical.org in anticipation of his performance as the narrator of the BSO’s first performance of the 2026 Tanglewood season, Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. The conversation ranges from the lasting power of Lincoln’s words, Baldwin’s preparation to orate them, as well as his profound love for orchestral music — especially Mahler. A fascinating glimpse into the mind of a contemporary artist who is remarkably well-versed in the world of classical music, the segment remains a worthwhile listen almost two months later.
Other pillars of CRB’s America 250 content include an expansive story documenting 50 pieces of classical music closely tied to each of America’s 50 states, produced by William Peacock, CRB Lead Music Programmer. The article, featuring recordings of each piece accompanied by short blurbs about the artists behind them, aptly captures the breadth and depth of America’s contributions to classical music going back hundreds of years.
Additionally, CRB Host and Producer Greg Ferrisi put together a series of blog posts titled “Grofé’s Guide to Grandeur.” An American composer best known for arranging Rhapsody in Blue, Grofé was inspired by the natural landscape of America — including the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, and the Hudson and Mississippi Rivers.
CRB’s Trip to Catalonia
CRB supplemented its summer offerings by sending Brian McCreath to cover a singular event in Barcelona, Boston’s sister city, with surprising ties to GBH. For Barcelona’s Year of Gaudí celebrations, Berklee professor (and native Catalan) Olivia Pérez-Collellmir was commissioned to pay tribute to the beloved architect with the world premiere of her piece, “Seven Dreams of Gaudí.” Who better to record the concert in the Palau de la Música Catalana than GBH’s very own Grammy-winning recording engineer, Antonio Oliart (also a native Catalan speaker).
Given this happy confluence — as well as the completion of one of the tallest spires of Gaudi’s Basilica of the Sagrada Familia (under construction for more than 140 years) and a visit from Pope Leo XIV — the opportunity to capture the story from the other side of the pond was too good to pass up, says Brewer. McCreath took in the sights and scenes from Barcelona and joined GBH’s Morning Edition with Host and Reporter Tori Bedford to discuss the experience.
CRB connects listeners to more than music alone. That was the case in June when I joined Antonio Oliart in Barcelona for a concert celebrating Gaudí. He recorded the concert for future broadcast, and I did several interviews to tell the stories behind the performances. The characters and voices of those involved, along with the sounds of Barcelona, offered a deep connection to one of history’s most fascinating culture figures.Brian McCreath, GBH Music Director of Production
Jon Batiste Visits GBH
This summer also saw CRB welcome Jon Batiste, multi-Grammy®-, Emmy(®)-, and Oscar-winner, in the lead-up to his latest album, Black Mozart. Talking to and playing piano alongside Marcus, he discussed how the album was recorded, his love for Mozart, and the way his music and the Black musical tradition are in dialogue with the famed composer.
As for what sets CRB apart, Brewer says, “There are plenty of classical music radio stations in the U.S. and around the world, but our reputation for live concert production is unique. In a typical year, our small team produces over 50 BSO broadcasts and 25 In Concert episodes. There is no one else reflecting their local classical community through about 75 captivating concert broadcasts featuring top-tier performances and great storytelling. There’s just no one else doing this at the same scale.
From the Classical.org’s wealth of content to live concerts and their Tanglewood broadcasts (wrapping up in late August but available to stream on demand), there’s never been a better time to tune in and find classical music, even — maybe especially — if it’s entirely new to you.
Listen to CRB on Classical 99.5 (Lowell-Boston-NH), 89.7 WGBH HD-2 Boston, 88.7 WJMF Smithfield-Providence, 90.1 WCAI HD-2 Cape and Islands, online at Classical.org, or on the CRB Classical app. Western, Mass. listeners can hear BSO broadcasts on Classical NEPM. And don’t forget to check out the many compelling stories on the CRB Blog and CRB Classical’s Instagram.
