Elaina Johann, administrative manager
My increased listening to classical music happened by accident. Last May, Wisconsin Public Radio shifted its stations to either WPR News or WPR Music. Before, their statewide stations were not solely dedicated to music. The station that I happened to have set on my car radio, 101.3, switched to WPR Music—I have hardly turned the dial since.
One reason for not changing is because my daughter Orla was born about a month before this switch. Too busy with a new passenger in my car, I couldn’t bother to find the WPR news station. As a bonus, the station’s classical music, continues to keep her calm. It’s a nice option for everyone in the vehicle.
As summer kicked off this year, I was intrigued by WPR’s advertisement for Sounds Wild: Music at the Zoo, a collaborative project launched at the Wildwood Park & Zoo. This was the first time I had heard of the nearby zoo in Marshfield, and I knew I wanted to take my daughter there, not only for the animals, but also the music. A few weeks after the launch, our family took a day trip there for my birthday.
I couldn’t turn down the perfect happenstance that the Woodson Art Museum program, Art Babies, was scheduled to happen the same morning as our planned day out. My daughter, husband, and I spent that morning experimenting with dobber pens on the wall, pouring colored sand onto sticky paper, and brushing water over sidewalk chalk. With all the other babies and parents, we moved to the galleries of Cultivating Beauty under Joan Miró’s artwork to sing and read a storybook inspired by the squiggly bird and bold shapes within the artwork. Art Babies set us up for a great day of adventure.
After arriving in Marshfield, we loaded up our stroller for a journey through the park. The first stop was the bald eagle aviary, and I had my phone ready to listen to some music! Sounds Wild is a curated playlist that helps you think about each animal at the Wildwood Park & Zoo a little differently. At each animal habitat, we scanned their corresponding QR code and played the song that accompanied the animal on my phone.
The curators of the playlist, program hosts at WPR, selected compositions that added deeper meaning to the zoo’s wildlife. Some brought upon majesty, while others created a bit of mischief, allowing me to narrate a little bit more excitement and emotional connection to the animals for my one-year-old. We especially liked the Kodiak bears and the selection Der alte Brummbaer (the Grouchy Old Bear) by Julius Fucik perfectly mirrored their playfulness as they wrestled in the mid-day summer heat, breaking for a dip in the pond.
Sitting in the backyard, reflecting on the day, we listened to the playlist again. Though I highly recommend a trip to the zoo for anyone, if you want to listen to the playlist while exploring the wildlife in your backyard, you can find it here.
