Letting the Music "Speak for Itself"

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Photo courtesy of Dr. Jonathan Øverby

The term is much abused. “World music” has been used as a dubious marketing category for performers originating outside the Anglophone nations but think about it for a second—the only music we can hear is from our world! Dr. Jonathan Øverby’s long-running program on Wisconsin Public Radio, “The Road to Higher Ground,” has sometimes been described as world music and maybe, for once, the application makes sense. On a typical evening, the mellifluously voiced radio host might spin music originating in several African nations as well as from the Balkans and the Near East, from Haiti and Cuba and Spain. He might add B.B. King, Sonny Rollins and Mahalia Jackson to the playlist to span the breadth of Black American music.

The Milwaukee-raised radio host has a long career behind him as a concert performer and an educator. He was named a Distinguished Broadcaster in 2013 by the University of Wisconsin Extenson, received the Wisconsin Idea Award in 2016, and has been invited to speak at musicology conferences around the world.  In September, “The Road To Higher Ground” moved to 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on WPR's NPR News & Music Network. Listeners in the the Milwaukee area will continue to hear the entire Saturday broadcast beginning at 7 p.m. on WHAD, 90.7 FM.

Off the Cuff caught up with Dr. Øverby in a quick exchange of email.

Were you at Rufus King after it became a college prep academy? I was a guest speaker there early this century and my impression was that the faculty were genuinely interested in exposing student to a wider understanding of the world. How did Rufus King influence the direction of your life and education?

I attended well before that, though it was apparent the direction the school was headed in; I was honored two years ago as a distinguished alum; I was the first freshman they allowed in the A-choir; in time I became president, entered Wisconsin’s Solo & Ensemble contest—taking second place. That experience launched my interest in music.

Tell me a little about your “traveling years” as a concert performer: what was your repertoire?

I had the good fortune to travel throughout Europe as a solo concert artist performing arias, spirituals and artsongs.

Let’s talk about the conception of “The Road to Higher Ground” beginning with the name. Did you have any difficulty convincing WPR of its merits? Has the concept for the show evolved since 2007?

WPR frowned on the idea for many years, though the current format is precisely what I proposed in 1994. It is constructed upon history and how it has shown us that what people don't understand, they come to fear. What they fear they ignore and what they marginalize, as we have seen far too often, they kill. I earnestly wanted and still want to change that narrative by exposing our universalism which can be readily found in the music making of humans worldwide.

What are the musical boundaries of “Higher Ground”? In other words, what won’t you play?

The idea of “boundaries” is essentially kryptonite to the premise and mission of the broadcast…if the music is edifying, culturally inclusive, womanistic and celebratory, then I will consider airing it. Some pieces I have to live with for a while before it is shared—not because I don’t like it, but rather because I require time to live, sleep and dine on it in order to increase [my] own understanding. Listeners are not required to “like” or become practitioners of the any genre of music. This is foundational to my onus to let the music “speak for itself” through the voice of the artist and “their” experience in music. 

How widely syndicated is “Higher Ground”?

"The Road To Higher Ground" is broadcast statewide, though I’d certainly welcome the opportunity to "spread the good news" on the power of world music to draw us together as a people–those near and far.

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