ANDREA BAKER - RADIO AND PODCAST

In 2015 I was asked by BBC Radio 4 to present a feature documentary on Frederick Douglass and his time in Scotland. It sparked something new for me, a passion for radio and podcasting. Along with my producer Pauline Moore, we began a partnership that continues today.

Below are links to listen back and information on current and past projects. I hope you will enjoy and share! 

Get in touch with Andrea if you have a proposal for an audio production you would like to collaborate on - she’d love to hear your ideas!

Sing Sistah Sing!© Tales of Transatlantic Freedom, Bristol, TN USA 2024

Sing Sistah Sing!© Tales Of Transatlantic Freedom continues to grow and reach audiences around the world. We were honoured to be invited to return to the Tri-Cities area of Tennessee to perform the show in a variety of spaces thanks to Martin Dotterweich and the King Institute.

Pauline Moore, Sound Editor

Andrea Baker, Co-Creator

Howard Moody, Co-Creator

Newman Taylor Baker, Special Guest

Martin Dotterweich, Local Tour Producer

BBC Sunday Morning with… 2023

This programme highlights the Scottish influence that remains today in Charlotte, NC, featuring head of the Charlotte Shout! festival Robert Krumbine, head of the Brooklyn Collective Monique Douglass, a surprise meeting at the Highland Games with international Director of the Colquhoun Clan Michael Lloyd-Stern and co-creators of the Pianodrome, Tim Vincent Smith. Producer: Bobby Seiler | 2023

Black History Month Edinburgh 2022

During Black History Month, Andrea brings us four different conversations with people who have made Scotland their home and are involved in the Scotland’s artistic, creative life.  

Paul Philbert became Principal Timpanist with the RSNO back in April 2018.  He also teaches at the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow.  He was a founding member of Chineke, a majority black and ethnically diverse orchestra.  Recently he became a trustee of Sistema Scotland, a programme which makes learning musical instruments more accessible for young people who might not readily have the opportunity.  Andrea Baker caught up with him at the RSNO centre to talk about the lack of diversity in the classical music world and how that is slowly changing.

Ica Headlam moved from London to Aberdeen in 2004.  As well as his day job in social work he has been highlighting the work of talented creatives, from artists and poets to musicians and DJs, both on social media and on his podcasts.  Last year he set up WE ARE HERE SCOTLAND to support People of Colour across Scotland, to address the hurdles many experience in finding funding and opportunities as well as open up discussions about race and racism in Scotland. He spoke to Andrea from his studio in Aberdeen.. 

Windy, wet days don’t always lend themselves to a walking tour but that doesn’t deter Lisa Williams. She founded the Edinburgh Caribbean Association and now curates a range of arts events across Scotland to promote Caribbean culture, spanning film, art, literature and live music. She runs educational and anti-racist programmes in schools and universities and leads walking tours focusing on Edinburgh's Black History. She is an author and poet, chairs and performs at literary festivals, and loves to teach creative writing to all ages.

Dr Peggy Brunache is an Haitian American food historian and archaeologist.  She lives in Perth and lectures at the University of Glasgow on the history of Atlantic Slavery. She combines her academic career with her love of food and runs Perth’s Southern Fried Food Festival.  She’s a regular TV contributor both in the UK and USA.  Andrea caught up with Peggy just after she’d finished teaching to find out more about her thoughts on Black History Month, what brought her to Scotland and how she combines academia and the arts.

Sounds Connected 2021

Sounds Connected is a regular series with guest hosts showcasing “quirky, peculiar and personal connections that link music through history” on BBC Radio 3. Produced by Laura Metcalfe.

Andrea was a guest for three episodes throughout May 2021, revealing unexpected links between musicians and composers such as Hazel Scott, Adolphus Hailstork, Mahler, Jessye Norman, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Debussy, Wagner, Arvo Part and Undine Smith Moore.

Listen back to episodes here to discover the fascinating connections!

Unsung Vocal Sheroes! 2020

This series of short programmes featuring 6 of Andrea’s favourite and most respected fellow singers was Andrea’s first work in #lockdown for the BBC Radio Scotland show Classics Unwrapped.

It features their life stories and some of their most iconic performances.

Producer: Gavin McCollum | 2020

Tuscaloosa March to Freedom

This nine part series for BBC Radio Scotland began when Andrea met Professor Scott Bridges after a Sing Sistah Sing! concert in North Berwick, inviting her to Tuscaloosa to perform the show but in addition telling her about Bloody Tuesday. A civil rights march that has been lost to history, and the extraordinary foot soldiers that made it happen.

In 2018, Andrea and producer Pauline Moore returned for a second report from Alabama, meeting two quilters and learning more about it’s tradition, spiritual and political roots.

In the final three episodes they explore the lives of the Foot Soldiers, the life and tragic death of Reverend TY Rogers and a longer visit with Bryan Stevenson, of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

Follow this incredible story as it unfolds.

Producer: Pauline Moore | 2017 | 2018

A Man’s a Man for a’ That Frederick Douglass in Scotland

Andrea’s first documentary, made for BBC Radio 4, during which Andrea explores how Scotland and Robert Burns shaped the life of the great statesman and civil rights activist Frederick Douglass.

Producer: Pauline Moore | 2016