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- Canary Song Trials
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Back in 1934, a group of eight women in Milton, Massachussetts gathered with a goal: to create an uniquely tuneful pet canary for American homes. The result of their breeding experiments was the American Singer Canary, specially-built to produce the sweetest song imaginable. Today, there are 41 chapters of the American Singer club throughout the United States and Canada, many of which hold ?song trials? to determine the breed?s best avian soloists. One of the biggest competitions takes place each year in Livonia, Michigan, just outside Detroit. Long Haul Productions presents a short portrait of the recent song trials, as hundreds of green, yellow and variegated canaries assembled in identical cages in a church gymnasium, waiting for their turn to battle it out.
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Piece Description
Back in 1934, a group of eight women in Milton, Massachussetts gathered with a goal: to create an uniquely tuneful pet canary for American homes. The result of their breeding experiments was the American Singer Canary, specially-built to produce the sweetest song imaginable. Today, there are 41 chapters of the American Singer club throughout the United States and Canada, many of which hold ?song trials? to determine the breed?s best avian soloists. One of the biggest competitions takes place each year in Livonia, Michigan, just outside Detroit. Long Haul Productions presents a short portrait of the recent song trials, as hundreds of green, yellow and variegated canaries assembled in identical cages in a church gymnasium, waiting for their turn to battle it out.
Broadcast History
Aired on NPR's Day to day June 20, 2007
Timing and Cues
Host Introduction (not on tape) : Back in 1934, a group of eight women in Milton, Massachussetts gathered with a goal: to create an uniquely tuneful pet canary for American homes. The result of their breeding experiments was the American Singer Canary, specially-built to produce the sweetest song imaginable.
Today, there are 41 chapters of the American Singer club throughout the United States and Canada, many of which hold ?song trials? to determine the breed?s best avian soloists. One of the biggest competitions takes place each year in Livonia, Michigan, just outside Detroit.
Producers Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister documented these recent song trials, as hundreds of green, yellow and variegated canaries assembled in identical cages in a church gymnasium, waiting for their turn to battle it out.
Tape: 7:45
In: ?Birds ready! Birds ready!?
Out: vacuum sound fades to crossfade Willie Nelson?s version of ?Songbird?)
Back announce (not on tape): Our story on the Canary Song Trials was produced by Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister for Long Haul Productions.
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Mary Feitelberg
Posted on May 01, 2009 at 01:50 PM | Permalink
Canary song trials
It's wonderful to hear a piece with such diverse and "quality" audio! Thanks for doing such a nice job, and especially for balancing everyone's perspectives. Closing with Willy's "Songbird" was a great touch, too. Please consider covering the trials again this year, here or elsewhere. All the best, MP