DATE: Thursday, July 17, 1997               TAG: 9707170066

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   40 lines

AREA COMPOSER TO GIVE REPORT ON NPR SHOW

VIRGINIA BEACH composer BJ Leiderman is premiering on Saturday as a reporter for National Public Radio.

His April trip to the Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp in Miami Beach is the basis for a 15-minute feature on NPR's ``Weekend Edition,'' which airs on weekends from 8 to 10 a.m. on WHRV (89.5 FM).

Leiderman said his piece will air once during Saturday's show.

For the wait, listeners will be rewarded by hearing Leiderman playing drums with Mark Farner, guitarist for Grand Funk Railroad on ``Closer to Home (I'm Your Captain).''

``I almost died,'' Leiderman said.

He interviewed virtually all of the classic rockers at the event, including the Beach Boys' Mike Love, the Rascals keyboardist Felix Cavaliere, and Rick Derringer, a guitarist who played with Edgar Winter's White Trash.

This may be his first reporting gig, but it's not the first time Leiderman's been heard on NPR. The Norfolk native wrote the theme songs for ``Morning Edition'' and ``Weekend Edition.''

He landed the story after talking Weekend Edition senior producer Peter Breslow into going with him to the Fantasy Camp.

The rock stars were like camp counselors for those who paid to attend the five-day event. They hung out with the guests and offered workshops.

Leiderman also wrote the ``soundscape'' for the occasional ``Stump the Chump'' segment on Public Radio International's ``Car Talk,'' which airs Saturday mornings on WHRV after Weekend Edition.

A few months ago, he resumed performing at area clubs. Every other weekend, he plays at the Ramada Inn on 57th Street in Virginia Beach, near where he lives.

He'll be at the Ramada this Friday and Saturday, playing and thinking about the Fantasy Camp.

``Oh, it was a blast. It was like my dream come true,'' he said. ``Walking in and seeing all these players playing in a hotel ballroom. And you could just walk up on stage and play with them.''

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