The incomparable Fred Child has hosted America’s most popular classical music program Performance Today for 25 years. Fred has announced that he will depart from the show next year.
Join Fred as he hosts his last international trip as PT Host at the world’s premier classical music festival - The Lucerne Music Festival in Switzerland, September 4-14, 2025! Held in the prestigious, acoustically exquisite KKL venue on the shores of Lake Lucerne, this world-renowned festival features top-tier orchestras, conductors and soloists. Attend four nights of concerts in the heart of Switzerland. Then three days in the towering alps enjoying picturesque villages and breathtaking vistas from our 4-star mountain home. Dine on fondue while soaking up the stunning views of Europe’s most famous glacier covered mountains: the Monk, Eiger and Jungfrau! Cogwheel trains, gondolas and mountain walks through pretty villages await. We’ll end on glorious Lake Geneva and celebrate Fred at a special farewell dinner.
Space on this exclusive small land trip is limited and with Fred’s recent announcement, the space will go quickly. Don’t delay – make your reservations TODAY.
Fred Child loves music and the outdoors, Italian cheese, English soccer, flying, baseball, and cardamom.
Since 2000, Fred has been the host of APM's Performance Today, the most-listened-to classical music radio show in America. Fred is also the commentator and announcer for Live From Lincoln Center, the only live performing arts series on television. Fred also hosts musical events on stages around the country, working with major orchestras and festivals, and connecting with audiences coast to coast.
Beyond the world of classical music, Fred hosted NPR's innovative Creators@Carnegie, a program of wide-ranging performers in concert, including Brian Wilson, David Byrne, Dawn Upshaw, Youssou N'Dour, Caetano Veloso, Emmylou Harris and many more. Before going to NPR, Fred was music director and director of cultural programming at WNYC in New York, host of a live daily performance and interview program on WNYC, and for 10 years, a host at Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Fred has hosted live national concert broadcasts, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic from Walt Disney Hall, the Last Night of the Proms from London, New Year's concerts by the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, dozens of A-list artists from Carnegie Hall, and BBC specials for American audiences.
Fred's music reviews have appeared on NPR's All Things Considered, and his music reports have appeared on NPR's Morning Edition. He's been a contributor to Billboard magazine, and a concert host and commentator for BBC Radio 3.
While growing up in Portland, Oregon, Fred studied classical piano. He also dabbles in guitar, percussion and bagpipes. His percussion band opened for the Grateful Dead at the Oakland Coliseum. He has narrated works at the Aspen Festival, with the Virginia Symphony, with the U.S. Marine Band and at the Round Top Festival-Institute. His rare musical performances in public include percussion with guitarist Sharon Isbin, and piano four-hands duets with Andre-Michel Schub. He appears as an actor in a video commissioned for the Partita for Solo Violin by Philip Glass.
Fred loves baseball (throws right, bats left) and soccer (he's a fan of North London's Tottenham Hotspur), is an avid rock climber, and a licensed private pilot and certified scuba diver. His better half is composer Wang Jie. They make their musical home in New York City, with a musical Sealyham Terrier named Pilot.