Jersey girl. Juilliard grad. Fulbright scholar. Professional harpist. Magazine editor. Radio host and producer. Jill Pasternak's path is unique.

In the June issue of Philadelphia Music Makers magazine, our own drivetime diva discusses the circuitous route that led her to the WRTI studios, and the birth and evolution of her award-winning program Crossover.

Read the insightful and surprising article.

Jason Peifer explores the process of developing new plays at the fourth annual PlayPenn Conference in Philadelphia.

Susan Lewis looks at the All-Female Choreographers Project of Philadelphia's BalletX. The contemporary program at The Wilma Theater features three new works.

Philadelphia Inquirer music critic David Patrick Sterns reports on centennial celebrations of the Great Auditorium pipe organ at Ocean Grove on the Jersey Shore.

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Join us for a two-part biographical portrait of the legendary Maestro on Sunday, July 20 and 27, from 3 to 5 pm.

Broadcast in recognition of the centenary of Karajan's birth, the program features recorded memories from international singers, instrumentalists, and orchestra players who performed with Karajan, and others in the music industry who knew and worked with him.

We listen back to Jim Cotter's interview with writer Steve Lopez. His story of destitute musician Nathaniel Ayers is now being made into a major Hollywood movie.

Tom Keels explores how Laurel Hill Cemetery, a Victorian-era burial ground, is helping local area residents to grieve for those lost to war and urban violence.

Susan Lewis looks at modern art in the Japanese kimono, in an exhibition now at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Every Sunday from 6 to 7 pm WRTI brings you Riverwalk Jazz, featuring the Jim Cullum Jazz Band. The program celebrates the lives and music of America's top jazz musicians, past and present, with live performances and fascinating stories about the history of jazz.

Coming up this month:

July 13: Sweet Thunder: Piano Virtuoso Shelly Berg & The Jim Cullum Jazz Band

July 20: Riverboats, Roustabouts and Jazz: Life on The Mississippi

Jill interviews conductors Keith Lockhart and Erich Kunzel.

Jim Cotter takes a walk through the new exhibition The Fix on Colonial Philadelphia Furniture: A Secret Guide to Cabinetmakers' Prices at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

We listen back to a feature on Independence Hall by Susan Lewis.

Philadelphia Inquirer music critic David Patrick Stearns profiles composer Charles Strouse, creator of the musical Annie.

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WRTI jazz hosts Bob Perkins and Harrison Ridley, Jr., were honored by the Black Entertainment and Music Association (BEMA) for their contributions to the art of jazz on June 28 at the Philadelphia Clef Club. BEMA also designated WRTI a 2008 Media Honoree.

The ceremony included the awarding of citations, announcements of Perkins' and Ridley's honorary lifetime memberships to BEMA, and the screening of a video highlighting the accomplishments of each honoree. Both jazz hosts were also added to BEMA's Hall of Fame and archival library.

All-American Composers During Classical Music Hours
Friday, July 4 to Sunday, July 6
Patriotic music, works by composers including Hershy Kay, Morton Gould, and Peter Boyer
Leroy Anderson Tribute?
Sunday, July 6?
3 to 5 pm

Jim Cotter hosts a round-table discussion recorded at the Kimmel Center. The panelists are Kimmel Center President and CEO Ann Ewers, Philadelphia Theater Company Producing Artistic Director Sara Garonzik, Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe Producing Director Nick Stuccio, and Pennsylvania Ballet Executive Director Michael Scolamiero.

Susan Lewis reports on a new Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition of the work of Nandalal Bose, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi. The artist is widely considered as India's father of modern art.