Suzanne Bona
Sunday Baroque Host and Executive Producer, WSHU Music DirectorSuzanne Bona is the host and executive producer of Sunday Baroque, a syndicated weekly radio show of Baroque and early music. She originated the program in 1987 on WSHU Public Radio in her hometown of Fairfield, Connecticut. Sunday Baroque has been distributed nationally since 1999, and is currently heard by nearly a half million listeners every week on more than 300 public radio stations and networks across the United States.
Suzanne is also a classically trained flutist who earned her Bachelor of Music degree from The University of Connecticut. She performs frequently as a soloist and chamber musician, and has especially enjoyed collaborating with some of her musically talented public radio colleagues in performances for listeners in Connecticut and New York, coast to coast in the US, and twice in Guam! Suzanne is a member of the Sylvan Trio, with pianist Greg Kostraba (a radio colleague) and cellist Josh Aerie. Their recordings include the 2020 album, MUSIC FOR FLUTE, CELLO AND PIANO BY WOMEN COMPOSERS, featuring music by Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger, Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia, Judith Lang Zaimont, Mel Bonis, and Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee.
When she is not making radio or playing her flute, Suzanne’s hobbies include reading, running, cooking, baking and traveling. She is also passionate about the cause of literacy, and is on the Board of Directors of Literacy Volunteers on the Green in New Milford, CT.
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What inspires a composer to turn history into music? Sarah Kirkland Snider talks with Suzanne about Forward Into Light, an orchestral work inspired by the American women's suffrage movement, and the storytelling at the heart of her music. -
July 14th is Bastille Day in France – the anniversary of the storming of the bastille in 1789. This weekend Sunday Baroque will feature some of the musicians who were making music in pre-revolution France. That includes a composer who wrote a theatrical work based on Chateau Fontainebleau, where the French royalty liked to go for feasts and hunting … and a musician who wrote a loving musical tribute to the tolling bells at a Paris church dedicated to the city’s Patron Saint. It’s on Sunday Baroque this weekend. -
The summer solstice is on Sunday, June 21st – so this will be the first Sunday of Summer AND Father’s Day! You’ll hear Antonio Vivaldi’s peppy SUMMER CONCERTO from the Four Seasons played by an ensemble that includes Dutch keyboard player and two of his talented children on Sunday Baroque this weekend, Sunday starting at 7 a.m. on 91.1, 107.5 and our music stream. -
Every year on June 14th the United States commemorates the adoption of our flag in 1777 -- that was only a few years after the baroque era in history ended. We’re celebrating Flag Day on Sunday Baroque featuring a few top ensembles from across the US playing music from during the lifetime of our Founders. -
What does it mean to be a trailblazer? A trailblazing musician can be someone who experiments with unusual techniques on a musical instrument … or maybe it’s a young woman who follows her passion for music from inside the walls of a convent in 17th century Italy. You’ll hear music by these trailblazers on Sunday Baroque this week, starting at 7 am on 91.1, 107.5 and our music stream. -
You’ll hear a luminous 17th-century choral work called Eternal Light, reflective music by a composer who died in military service to his royal patron, plus stirring marches for trumpet and organ.Spend part of the holiday weekend with Sunday Baroque, Sunday morning from 7 to 1 on WSHU… 91.1, 107.5, and our music stream. -
There are so many interesting and obscure holidays … did you know that May 16 is the annual celebration of “love a tree” day! Even better -- would you believe that there’s a famous baroque era aria by George Frideric Handel that is a love song … to a tree? OMBRA MAI FU is from Handel’s opera XERXES, and it’s one of the highlights on Sunday Baroque this weekend. -
Founded in 1973 by a music-loving furniture salesman, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Association has grown into the world’s largest chamber music competition. Executive Director Josh Aerie talks about the organization’s mission to support young musicians through competition, education, and outreach. -
April is National Garden Month, and you can stop and smell the MUSICAL flowers as you stroll through a magnificent harmonic garden cultivated by musicians with particularly fertile imaginations and creativity – including some Scottish suites named after seasonal spring flowers. It’s a musical bouquet on Sunday Baroque this week. -
On this Easter weekend, you’ll get to hear a joyful, extroverted Suite for two trumpets … a contemplative violin sonata for Easter … and charming Italian dances by a composer who worked for the Gonzaga family by day, and composed Hebrew language liturgical music by night. It’s on Sunday Baroque this weekend, starting at 7 a.m. on 91.1, 107.5, and our music stream.
