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Gene Stratton-Porter
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The Music Behind “Music of the Wild”

Over the course of two weeks in February 2026, the WTIU production team worked with Airtime Studios and studio owner and chief audio engineer Dave Weber in Bloomington, Indiana, to create the musical soundscape for the new WTIU/PBS documentary Gene Stratton-Porter: Music of the Wild. Several world-class musicians helped contribute to the musical soundtrack for the documentary special.

Tyron Cooper, PhD.

A smiling man wearing glasses and a light blue dress shirt sits while playing an acoustic guitar. Next to him on a table are multiple Emmy Awards.

The musical soundtrack was composed by musical director Tyron Cooper, PhD., a six-time Emmy Award winning composer and arranger. Tyron is an associate professor of folklore and ethnomusicology at Indiana University, and his works have been featured on a number of WTIU documentary programs and concerts over the past decade. He is also the Director of the Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC) on the Indiana University campus.

Carrie Newcomer

Singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer sitting down and tuning an acoustic guitar against a textured brown background

Carrie Newcomer has more than 20 nationally released albums known for their musical depth and progressive spiritual context, an artist the Boston Globe described as a “prairie mystic” and one who “asks all the right questions” by Rolling Stone magazine. Carrie is also sharing her talents as a voice-over artist, reading passages by Gene Stratton-Porter in this new WTIU/PBS documentary.

Krista Detor

Singer-songwriter Krista Detor smiling and playing an accordion on stage into a microphone.

Krista Detor has been referred to by BBC Radio as “America's Best Kept Secret,” and recognized by the Indiana legislature for Contributions to the Arts for her collaboration in PBS's award-winning “Wilderness Plots.” She's a literary, piano-driven songwriter with a restrained, atmospheric sensibility and character-driven storytelling approach. Krista also graces this new Gene Stratton-Porter documentary by providing voice-over narration as the “voice” of Gene Stratton-Porter's daughter Jeannette in the new
documentary film.

Along with these sensational talents, the soundtrack also features Ella Jordan on violin, bass player Brandon Meeks, Pat Otto on mandolin, clawhammer banjo and guitar, Brandt Smith on banjo and dobro, cellist Ben Sollee and George Tyler on drums. WTIU chief audio engineer Kevin Evans and associate audio engineer Brock Hamman also help create the music mix for the program.

The title of the new WTIU/PBS documentary pays tribute to one of Gene Stratton-Porter's most popular nonfiction works, Music of the Wild, in which she compares the sights and sounds of nature to a symphony and a quiet walk in the woods to the hushed reverence one experiences when stepping into an ancient spiritual temple.