Classical 95.9-FM WCRI

10-11-25 New York times Bestselling Author Beatriz Williams - Under The Stars - Ocean House Author Series

Join us as Ocean House owner and award-winning author Deborah Goodrich Royce moderates a conversation with our featured author, Beatriz Williams, a N.Y. Times bestselling author.
About the Author: Beatriz Williams is the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of Husbands and Lovers,  The Summer Wives, The Secret Life of Violet Grant, A Hundred Summers, the Wicked City series, and several other works of historical fiction, including five novels in collaboration with fellow bestselling authors Karen White and Lauren Willig. A graduate of Stanford University with an MBA in Finance from Columbia University, Beatriz worked as a communications and corporate strategy consultant in New York and London before her first novel was published in 2012. Beatriz’s books have won numerous awards, have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and appear regularly in bestseller lists around the world.
Born in Seattle, Washington, Beatriz now lives in southeastern Connecticut with her husband and four mostly-grown children.
About The Book: A devastating secret haunts the women of an old New England family in this rich new novel set on Winthrop Island. Audrey Fisher has struggled all her life to emerge from the shadow of her famous mother by forging a career as a world-class chef. Meredith Fisher’s glamorous screen persona disguises the trauma of the tragic accident that haunts her dreams. Neither woman wants to return to the New England island they left behind and its complicated emotional ties, but Meredith has one last chance to sober up and salvage her big comeback, and where else but discreet, moneyed Winthrop Island can a famous actress spend the summer without the intrusion of other people? Until Audrey discovers an old wooden chest among the belongings of her estranged father—Mike Kennedy, proprietor of the island’s only watering hole—and the astonishing contents draw the women deep into Winthrop’s past and its many secrets . . . attracting the interest of their handsome neighbor, Sedge Peabody. How did a trove of paintings from one of America’s greatest artists wind up in the cellar of the Mohegan Inn? And who is the mysterious woman portrayed on every canvas?
On a stormy November night in 1846, Providence Dare flees Boston and boards the luxury steamship Atlantic one step ahead of the law….or so she believes. But when a catastrophic accident leaves the ship at the mercy of a mighty gale, Providence finds herself trapped in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the one man who knows her real identity—the detective investigating the suspicious death of her employer, the painter Henry Irving. As the Atlantic fights for her life and the rocky shore of Winthrop Island edges closer, a desperate Providence searches for her chance to escape…before the sea swallows her without a trace.
In Under the Stars, the destinies of three women converge across centuries, as a harrowing true disaster at the dawn of the steamship era evokes a complex legacy of family secrets in modern day New England.
 
Find out more about Beatriz Williams and her books at beatrizwilliams.com. For details on Deborah Goodrich Royce and the Ocean House Author Series, visit deborahgoodrichroyce.com
 

10-09-25 Human Behavior - A Walk In The Park

This week, Jane explores how acknowledging our feelings can shed light on a sensitive subject.

10-10-25 Guitarist Barney Kessel-“Autumn Leaves” - Jazz After Dinner

This week on Jazz After Dinner, Joe features Guitarist Barney Kessel from a 1989 Heritage Records recording compilation titled “Autumn Leaves.”

10-12-25 - The Artic Playhouse - Conducting Conversations

This week, The Arctic Playhouse in West Warwick is the subject of the program, featuring Jim Belanger, President, and Lloyd Felix, Vice President. We talk about the Cabaret Club season and the upcoming show “Keep On Laughing” running from October 30th to November 16th. For more information, you can call 401.573.3443 or go to www.thearcticplayhouse.com

10-04-25 Aaron Larget-Caplan's-New Lullaby Project - WCRI‘s Kids Hour

This month, WCRI's Kids Hour host Jamie plays interviews with and music from Classical Guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan and his New Lullaby Project. For more information about the New Lullaby Project, go to alcguitar.com/newlullaby, and to register for the upcoming Newport Classical performance on Oct. 12th, visit newportclassical.org

10-04-25 The Seasons and St. Elizabeth Community in East Greenwich - The 95.9 Company Break

This month, The 95.9 Company Break welcomes Lisa Toth, Marketing Director of The Seasons, and Briana Cahill Aucoin, Marketing & Outreach Specialist for St. Elizabeth Community.
The Seasons in East Greenwich - A special not-for-profit assisted living residence offering traditional assisted living and memory care neighborhoods. Founded in 2002, The Seasons has continued the legacy of excellence established by its founders, Steere House Nursing & Rehabilitation Center and Scandinavian Home. As a not-for-profit organization, they are focused on the quality of care and services they provide to their residents, rather than the daily pressures to increase “the bottom line” imposed by owners or investors. All resources are invested into their community and used to increase staffing, improve facilities, and enhance services or activities. For more information, visit theseasons.org. 
St. Elizabeth Community - For 143 years, Rhode Island families have trusted the care of their loved ones to Saint Elizabeth Community, a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to providing excellent care and services to those it serves. They provide exceptional, compassionate care in an array of settings. They embrace the needs of each individual in an environment where those they care for and work with are treated just like family. For more information, visit stelizabethcommunity.org

10-02-25 Debate - A Walk In The Park

This week, Jane shares a story from her past to illustrate how we are not the same as we used to be.

10-03-25 Pianist/Composer/Arranger Clare Fischer-Out Of The Blue - Jazz After Dinner

This week, Joe is featuring Pianist/Composer/Arranger Clare Fischer from his 2015 Clavo Records recording titled “Out Of The Blue.” 

10-05-25 - Connecticut Gilbert & Sullivan Society-Iolanthe - Conducting Conversations

The Connecticut Gilbert and Sullivan Society is the subject of this week's program with Dr. John Dreslin, Music Director. We discuss the upcoming event to be held at Valley Regional High School in Deep River, Connecticut, and listen to some of the music from “Iolanthe”, which will be performed on October 25th and 26th. For more information, you can call 860 554-1256 or go to www.CTGandS.org

09-25-25 Water/Surface - A Walk In The Park

This week, Jane explores the world just below the surface of the water and the world just above it.

09-26-25 Pianist/Composer Michael Johnson-Driven - Jazz After Dinner

This week, Joe is featuring Pianist/Composer Michael Johnson from his 2007 Self-Published recording titled “Driven.”

09-28-25 URI Guitar Festival 2025 - Conducting Conversations

The URI Guitar Festival is the subject of this week's program with Adam Levin, Artistic Director. We discuss the concerts that will be presented from October 19th to 26th at various locations. The event will feature over a dozen performers. For more information, you can go to https://web.uriguitarfestival.org
 

09-18-25 Purpose - A Walk In The Park

This week, Jane discusses how nature can help us understand purpose.

09-19-25 The Mambo Kings-The Original Mambo Kings - Jazz After Dinner

This week on Jazz After Dinner, Joe features The Mambo Kings, from a 1993 Verve Records recording of recordings from 1948 to 1952, titled The Original Mambo Kings.

09-21-25 Classical Guitarist Aaron-Larget Caplan 2025 - Conducting Conversations

This week, we feature Aaron-Larget Caplan, classical guitarist. He’s back after a couple of years to introduce another brand new lullaby album, and we'll listen to examples of music from his other CDs. We’ll discuss his career and how he has had the opportunity to travel the world playing at great concert venues. For more information, go to www.alcguitar.com

09-13-25 Nationally Bestselling Author Jessa Maxwell - Dead of Summer - Ocean House Author Series

Join us as Ocean House owner and award-winning author Deborah Goodrich Royce moderates a conversation with our featured author, Jessa Maxwell, a nationally bestselling author.
About the Author: Jessa Maxwell is the nationally bestselling author of The Golden Spoon, I Need You to Read This, and Dead of Summer. She is also the author and illustrator of five picture books for children. Her comics and cartoons have been published in The New Yorker and The New York Times and her writing has been published in Slate, Marie Claire, and many others. She now lives in Jamestown, Rhode Island, with her husband, two cats and three-legged dog.
About The Book: Years after her best friend mysteriously disappeared from a remote New England island, a young woman returns in search of answers in this atmospheric and scintillating thriller from Jessa Maxwell, nationally bestselling author of the “deliciously entertaining” (Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author) The Golden Spoon.
Orla O’Connor hasn’t been to the isolated New England enclave of Hadley Island since she graduated from high school a decade ago. As a teenager, her best friend Alice disappeared from its shores without a trace—but with plenty of rumors.
Now, Orla returns to her family’s beachfront home to clean it out before her parents sell it. The island and her best friend’s house next door, abandoned after her family left in grief, are stirring up memories she would like to avoid. Then there are the locals, always gossiping and watching Orla’s every move. Worst of all, David, Orla’s childhood crush and son of a wealthy Manhattan family, is back for the summer with his new, impossibly pretty girlfriend, Faith.
Faith suspects that David is going to propose but as soon as she settles into his family’s sprawling Hadley Island estate, she feels out of place. She anticipated a luxurious summer of fun and romance, but David is never around—lured into business conversations with his entrepreneur father from dawn to dusk. With nothing else to do, Faith begins to investigate the island’s dark past, curious about what really happened to Alice all those years ago.
Meanwhile, local Henry hasn’t left his house since the young girl went missing, in an attempt to let the accusations against him die down. Except they never have. For years, Henry has had an endless supply of time to pursue his only hobby, watching the island from his telescope and recording the activities of its inhabitants. But Orla’s return has shaken him and lately he’s been seeing strange things: shadowy figures walking on the beach in the middle of the night and a light on in the upstairs window of the long-abandoned house of the missing girl.
When there’s another disappearance on the island, all three find themselves pulled into an eerie and twisty mystery that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Find out more about Jessa Maxwell and her books at simonandschuster.com. For details on Deborah Goodrich Royce and the Ocean House Author Series, visit deborahgoodrichroyce.com

09-12-25 Saxophonist Hal McKusick-Now’s The Time - Jazz After Dinner

This week, Joe is featuring Saxophonist Hal McKusick, from his 1995 GRP Records recording, originally recorded for Decca Records in 1957-58, titled “Now’s The Time."

09-14-25 Mystic Chamber Music Series - Conducting Conversations

The Mystic Chamber Music Series is the subject of this week's program with Thomas Readett, Artistic and Executive Director, and Sila Senturk, pianist. We discuss the upcoming 2025-2026 series and its concert, scheduled for Saturday, October 11, at 5:30 PM at The Noank Baptist Church. For more information, you can go to www.mysticchambermusicseries.com

09-11-25 Same Waves - A Walk In The Park

This week, Jane explores how observing nature helps us cope with the challenges in our lives.

09-06-25 Perro Salado - The 95.9 Company Break

In this week's 95.9 Company Break program, Mike talks to Zack Pierce, General Manager of Perro Salado. Co-owner and general manager Andi Johnson’s artistic eye transformed this historic 18th-century home of a naval officer in the heart of Newport into a casual and boisterous gathering space. Earthy colors saturate the walls, and the whimsical decor makes each of the cozy rooms come alive with a fiesta-like energy. Behind the bar, Andi’s experience as a mixologist turns classic margaritas into bold and fresh concoctions as exciting and remarkable as a great glass of wine. Perro Salado is at 19 Charles St., Newport, RI 02840. Call 401-619-4777 or visit them at perrosalado.com