Alex Beyer, Julianne Boyd and Bart Roccoberton, Jr. Set for This Week's State of the ARTS on WPKN-FM

Pianist Alex Beyer, Artistic Director JuliAnne Boyd and Director of UConn Puppet Arts Program Bart Roccoberton, Jr., are highlighted this week (Friday, June 24) on State of the ARTS which airs LIVE every Fridayfrom 12noon to 1pm on WPKN-FM (89.5) in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Co-hosts of the weekly arts & entertainment program are Richard Pheneger with Leigh Katz sitting in for Peggy Nelson.

Pianist Alex Beyer was just ranked third in the recent Queen Elisabeth competition in Belgium. Heralded as a "sensation" with "formidable technique," Beyer has acquired an impressive array of prestigious concert appearances nationally and internationally. He has been a guest soloist with the Milwaukee, Charlotte, Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, and Bridgeport Symphony Orchestras, among others.

JuliAnne Boyd co-founded the Barrington Stage Company where, as Artistic Director, she has directed such productions as the world premieres of Mark St. Germain's Dancing Lessons, Dr. Ruth, All the Way and Best of Enemies, as well as An Enemy of the People, Much Ado About Nothing, The Crucible, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Follies, among others. For Broadway, she conceived and directed the musical Eubie!which starred Gregory Hines and garnered three Tony Award nominations.

Bart Roccoberton, Jr. Director of the world-renowned Puppet Arts Program at the University of Connecticut, recently collaborated with the Boston Pops Orchestra for a special presentation of Puppets Take the Pops, featuring imaginative puppets (including the iconic Arthur Fiedler) created especially to tell the beloved story of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" and new creations to accompany a suite of works by the iconic American composer Leroy Anderson.

State of the ARTS, featuring arts and entertainment personalities, airs LIVE each Friday from 12noon-1pm on WPKN-FM located at 89.5 and streams worldwide online at wpkn.org.

Pictured: Puppet of Arthur Fiedler created by Puppet Arts Program at UConn

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Sound Design - Top 3

1. Adam Fisher - The Lost Boys

30.4% of votes

2. John Shivers - Chess

15.6% of votes

3. Tony Gayle - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

8.3% of votes

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