WKCR mourns the death of Gunther Schuller, a remarkable composer, conductor, artist, teacher, musician, and innovator of music. Born in New York on November 22nd 1925, Schuller would go on to be a pioneer of uniting the genres of jazz and classical music and creator of the "Third Stream." Schuller died at the age of 89 on June 21st 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. In honor of the strides Schuller made to fuse jazz and classical music, WKCR will be dedicating the following classical and jazz programs to an in-depth look into the life and music of Gunther Schuller. It is with a heavy heart that we announce the Gunther Schuller Memorial Tribute, please join us:

• Afternoon Classical -- Thursday June 25th from 3:00 - 6:00 PM: We will devote this entire program exclusively to exploring the classical repetoire of Gunther Schuller and commemorating the life and accomplishments of this extraordinary composer, musician, conductor, and trailblazer of music. Elisabeth Stam hosts.

• Saturday Night At The Opera -- Saturday June 27th from 9:00 PM - 1:00 AM (on Sunday June 28th): Although the late Gunther Schuller wrote few operatic compositions, Schuller was extremely active in the opera world. A former hornist for the Metropolitan Opera, Schuller is perhaps best known in operatic circles for his restoration of Scott Joplin's little-known opera Treemonisha. One might say that Schuller's interest in combining elements of jazz and classical music would prove an ideal fit for Joplin's own hybrid opera. Tune in to Saturday Night At The Opera to hear Schuller himself conduct his edition of Treemonisha. Stepan Atamian hosts.

• Jazz Profiles -- Sunday June 28th from 2:00 - 7:00 PM