Culture
Bob Boilen to Bring Creative Professional Know-How to OU
By: Emily Votaw
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From making musical history in 1983 when he sampled wildlife sounds in a production of Whiz Bang, a History of Sound at Baltimore’s Impossible Theater to getting his foot in the door at NPR by sheer will and persistence (not to mention incredible talent) to crafting the incredibly popular NPR Tiny Desk Concert series, Bob Boilen has created a stunning career for himself.
Friday, April 14, Boilen, (also the host and creator of NPR’s All Songs Considered,) will make a stop in Athens County to speak about his trajectory as a creative professional, as well as his book, Your Song Changed My Life.
“This is something that Bob and I have been trying to plan for about a year,” said Josh Antonuccio, a lecturer at Ohio University’s School of Media Arts and Studies. Antonuccio said that he’s known Boilen for a while, having met him professionally a few years ago. “(Boilen) has been doing this series of events since his book came out last year where he talks about the book and then one of the artists from the book comes out and shares stories; and I thought that would be something really cool to do at OU.”
Antonuccio will be interviewing Boilen in Glidden Music Hall from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., joined by Americana singer-songwriter John Paul White (formerly of The Civil Wars) and Scandinavian pop duo My Bubba.
After the Glidden Hall event, Boilen will speak on music journalism in the Lasher Reading Room in Schoonover Hall.
That evening, starting at 8 p.m., Boilen will host a free event at Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville, featuring a book signing and performances by John Paul White, My Bubba, and Ohio University alumni Adam Torres.
“They way we’ve set it up is so that Bob is curating the (Stuart’s) event; he’ll emcee and introduce each artist, and each of them will play a set of music,” said Antonuccio. “We’re really privileged to have Bob here at Ohio University. He’s an amazing musical curator and we have a huge number of students who are fans of him, so there’s a lot of excitement to hear about his career and his story.”
Look for WOUB’s in-depth in-person interviews with John Paul White and Bob Boilen following the event.