Special Feature Explores the Music of Transgender Pioneer, Wendy Carlos
By WTJU
Date: 11/16/2025
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Born on November 14, 1939, Wendy Carlos turned 86 this week. This Sunday we celebrate Carlos and Transgender Awareness Week with a special replay of an Offstage, On Air episode dedicated to her, with host, Brendan O’Donnell.
Wendy Carlos is a transgender pioneer of electronic music who assisted in the development of the Moog synthesizer. She composed scores for A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and Tron, and released several studio albums including the much loved Switched-On Bach. In 1979 Carlos raised public awareness of transgender issues by disclosing she had been living as a woman since at least 1968.
Transgender Awareness Week, observed Nov 13 to 19, is a one-week celebration leading up to the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), Nov 20, which annually memorializes victims of transphobic violence.
Each week Offstage, On-Air brings members of the local classical music community into the WTJU studio for conversations and curated playlists. Listen live in on 91.1FM or stream at wtju.net. You can also listen to the rebroadcast the following Tuesday at 9 p.m. and Friday at 1 p.m. on charlottesvilleclassical.org.
