The 2010-2011 season marks Lawrence Leighton Smith’s 11th year as Music Director of the Colorado Springs Symphony and Philharmonic, and his final one on the job. What should have been a triumphant retirement year for Smith has been darkened by news of his recent diagnosis with Binswanger’s Disease, a form of dementia. But Smith was in high spirits as he looked back on his career with KRCC’s Michelle Mercer, who offers this retrospective.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Disclaimer: the Philharmonic is an underwriter of KRCC.

The United States Air Force Academy Band has been a proud Colorado Springs tradition for over 50 year. The internationally-renowned Academy Band tours widely, performing for official military functions, and most of its 60 members are also active on the local music scene. But now, as KRCC’s Michelle Mercer reports, the Academy Band’s status is changing, and many are worried its role in the community will change too.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Readers of the Colorado Springs Independent will find in its pages this week the second edition of Precis, a new African American publication. KRCC’s Michelle Mercer spoke with the publication’s editor and publisher about the new paper, and gathered some reactions to Precis from the local African-American community.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The other publication mentioned in the story, the African American Voice, can be found here.

Agricultural historian Bonnie Lynn-Sherow closes Colorado College’s State of the Rockies series tonight, with a talk on “The Mythological Power of the Family Farm.” The Kansas State University history professor connects the history of the family farm ideal with Jeffersonian principles. KRCC’s Michelle Mercer spoke with Lynn-Sherow about that history, and met up with some eastern Colorado farmers to see how the Jeffersonian ideal holds up today.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Disclaimer: Colorado College is KRCC’s licensee.

The Colorado Springs’ City Auditorium joins many programs and facilities throughout the city facing cuts and possible closure due to a significant budget shortfall. This weekend, the first of several benefit concerts seeking to raise money to help save the auditorium takes place. KRCC is a sponsor. But inside the building sits a relic from another time…a Wurlitzer Theater organ, and a local treasure for many. KRCC’s Michelle Mercer visited the auditorium for a rare demonstration of the Mighty Wurlitzer from some area musicians…one seasoned on the organ, another, a novice.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Hear Tom O’Boyle play Stephen Foster’s “Beautiful Dreamer” on the Wurlitzer organ:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Pikes Peak Derby Dames, Colorado Springs’ flat-track roller derby league, is hosting its first tournament this weekend. The tournament comes at a time when the famously campy sport is trying to gain new legitimacy. As KRCC’s Michelle Mercer found out, even practices are rough and tumble affairs.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Boulder’s annual International Film Festival wrapped up over the weekend, with films on topics ranging from the Dalai Lama to Jean Claude Van Damme. One of the films screened at the festival was Come Back to Sudan, about Sudanese refugees living in Colorado who make a journey back to their homeland. Colorado College graduate Daniel Junge directed the film. KRCC’s Michelle Mercer caught up with the award-winning documentary filmmaker in Boulder and has this report.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

More information on the documentary and on Sudanese men and women currently living in Colorado is available at Colorado Friends of the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan.

The historic nature of President Barack Obama’s inauguration inspired many people around the country and the world to hold special inauguration-viewing events. At Colorado State University in Pueblo, about 150 students, faculty and staff gathered for their own festivities on campus. In the lobby of Belmont residence hall, they sat in couches and chairs before a giant screen TV, eating breakfast burritos and watching the inauguration coverage on MSNBC. KRCC’s Michelle Mercer has this audio postcard.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

KRCC’s Michelle Mercer is in Brazil for a two-month artist’s residency. And while many across the United States are preparing for the holiday season, Michelle has this rare glimpse into a very special Brazilian holiday celebration on the island of Itaparica.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Award-winning Colorado writer Kent Nelson has published nine books and has taught at Colorado College for a decade. He read October 9th, as part of the College’s Visiting Writers Series. KRCC’s Michelle Mercer sat down with him to talk about odd jobs, birdwatching, and what it takes to make it as a writer.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.