Update: This event is now sold out. Thank you for your support and please consider becoming a Sustainer or donating to BPR.
Join us for an afternoon of music, community, and connection at “Be the Lifeline: A Benefit for BPR featuring BJ Leiderman and Friends."
- When: Sunday, September 28; doors open at 2:30 p.m., program begins at 3 p.m.
- Where: Highland Brewing Event Center, 12 Old Charlotte Hwy. #200
- Tickets: $25 (not tax deductible; includes 1 beverage ticket)
This special benefit concert brings together the best of music and public media. The afternoon will feature BJ Leiderman, the American composer and songwriter beloved for creating the iconic theme music to NPR favorites like Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, Science Friday, and Marketplace.
Alongside Leiderman’s performance, we’ll come together as a community to engage in fun auctions and three special raffles:
- Morning Edition raffle: One winner and a guest will win a visit to the BPR studio with Helen Chickering. Join Helen from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the studio to see Morning Edition in real time, followed by a station tour and coffee, donuts and a Q+A with members of the BPR staff.
- All Things Considered raffle: One winner and a guest will win a visit to the BPR studio with Jose Sandoval. Join Jose from 3:30- 4:30 p.m. in the studio to see All Things Considered in real time, followed by a station tour and coffee, cookies and a Q+A with members of the BPR staff.
- Lunch with the CEO/GM: One winner and a guest will enjoy lunch with BPR's CEO and General Manager Ele Ellis and BPR's board chair.
Why “Be the Lifeline”?
BPR is more than a station; it’s a lifeline for Western North Carolina.
Whether through breaking news and investigative journalism, emergency updates or the shared joy of music and culture, BPR keeps our community informed and inspired.
By attending, you’re helping ensure that local public media continues to be a lifeline amidst federal funding cuts and other challenges.
About BJ Leiderman
BJ Leiderman is the noted composer of the theme music heard on NPR's Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, and Wait Wait..Don't Tell Me!. His themes are among the most instantly recognizable sounds in all of public radio.
Music and music making comes easily to Leiderman, who was born on Valentine's Day 1956 and grew up as the only child in a musical family. As a member of a variety of different bands during his high school and college years, BJ found he was a natural at writing memorable music — including jingles.
While studying broadcast journalism at American University, BJ was introduced to Jim Russell, the producer of an as-yet-unnamed morning show at NPR. Russell was looking for a way to use music to transition NPR listeners from the classical sounds they'd been accustomed to hearing on the air each morning to something that would instantly engage them with an exciting new show. BJ suggested an approach that began with a baroque musical phrase, continued with a music-as-sound-effect "whoosh," and then segued into the main theme. Morning Edition's first theme was born and BJ's relationship with NPR took root.
Hear more of BJ's works-in-progress at www.bjleiderman.com.
