Maryland's All-Classical Music Station
The Fund for Educational Excellence was established in 2016 to provide support for Baltimore City Schools. I recently spoke with The Fund’s Senior Program Director Kevin Leary about their Heart of the Schools Program, of which he is the Program Lead. Those who wish to nominate principals of Baltimore City Schools for Heart of the Schools awards may do so through January 31.
The holiday season is here and Hampton National Historic Site is getting ready for its annual celebration. I recently spoke with Board Member Gayle Economos about Holidays at Hampton 2024.
Back in 1814, Baltimore found itself under threat of invasion from British troops. Ordinary citizens teamed up forces with the military to defend and protect the city. I spoke with Ranger Ray Snyder about this year’s Defenders’ Day celebrations at Fort McHenry and beyond.
On September 18, 1993, I got into my car and began a 900-mile, two-day journey that would change my life. Earlier that month, after a year of searching for a full-time radio job, I came home from my part-time gigs at WSUI and KSUI in Iowa City, Iowa and saw that my answering machine was blinking.
“Hi, this is Jonathan Palevsky at WBJC in Baltimore. We’d like to talk to you about a job.”
The next two weeks were a blur. My job interview took place over the phone (decades before Zoom, no less!), I flew out to Baltimore to find an apartment, met most of my new colleagues, and prepared for my solo road trip. The apartment was great even though it took a week for my furniture to be delivered and I fell in love with the East Coast very quickly.
When people ask “how did you get into radio?”, they’re always surprised that WBJC’s on-air staff give such different answers. In my case, I was sitting in a coffee shop in Iowa City pretending to study, most likely reading a novel, when I overheard a guy talking to a barista about being from Minot, ND. I walked over and said that wasn’t possible; he looked confused, said yes, he was, I continued to joke around, and the exchange continued for a couple of minutes before I laughed and said I’d also grown up there. He was a graduate student in broadcast journalism and I mentioned that I was interested in trying my hand at radio, so he said he’d try to get me an audition. I had to pronounce some composers’ and performers’ names and put together a newscast, prioritizing the order the stories should be in. My first shifts were Sunday nights, midnight-5am, which made 7am Spanish class a bit tough, but I persisted until I was allowed to work weekend afternoons. Eventually, I filled in for vacationing full-time hosts and started doing taped interviews. My position was officially a student job and I wasn’t enrolled in grad school, so I was about to be let go and things were getting tense when I got that message from Jonathan. I sent cassette tapes and resumes to every big city and university town public radio station that was hiring (and a few that weren’t) and crossed my fingers. My first day on the job at WBJC was September 20, 1993.
There have been a lot of changes in broadcasting during my 34 years in the business – one that makes me rather sad is the number of public stations that have dropped classical music or just air much less of it than they used to. Fortunately, we have the option of streaming now and anyone in the world can listen to WBJC on their PC or other device. We can’t take anything for granted, though, because there are also digital music services, so we don’t lack for competition. It will be interesting to see what the future brings and I hope I get to stay behind the microphone for a while.
Thanks, WBJC, and thanks, Baltimore, for 30 great years!
PS – Jim and I are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary on Halloween!
The Federation of Jewish Women’s Organizations of Maryland is having their 107th annual convention on Thursday, May 18 at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. I recently spoke with co-chairs Nina Rosenzwog and Janet Livingston about the event, at which women from numerous organizations will be honored.
The Kappa Guild of Baltimore’s fashion show is returning to the Zamoiski Auditorium at Sinai Hospital on Sunday, May 7 and they’ll be distributing funds to various agencies at their donor event, which will be held at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation on June 7. I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Sheila Mentz about both events. Here’s a link to our interview:
William Donald Schaefer held public office in Maryland for decades, serving as Mayor of Baltimore from 1971-1987, Governor of Maryland from 1987-1995, and Comptroller of Maryland from 1999-2007. He was well-known for his attention to detail and also for publicity stunts, including a taking a dip in the seal pool at the National Aquarium when he lost a bet. During his career in Baltimore, several national magazines dubbed him “Baltimore’s Best Mayor.” Composer Jonathan Jensen and playwright Rich Espey have a written a musical about “Willie Don” that’s now playing at Fells Point Corner Theater in Baltimore. Tickets are only available on a standby basis at this point; more information is at fpct.org/doitnow or 410-878-0228. I chatted with Jonathan Jensen about the process of creating the show and the current production this week.
Fort McHenry’s Defenders’ Day celebration will take place Friday and Saturday, September 17 and 18. Various activities are planned including a parade, musical performances, and living history re-enactors. I spoke with Ranger Shannon McLucas about this year’s remembrance of an important period in Baltimore’s history.
Baltimore actress Kay-Megan Washington has scored something most performers only dream about – a major role in a movie! “The Christmas Lottery” begins airing on BET, BET Her, and streaming services on December 12. Ms. Washington is a fabulous singer-actress and I recently spoke with her about her role as the family matriarch as well as what types of music bring her joy.
The school year is underway and many families are struggling more than ever to provide their kids with the items they need to succeed in class. I spoke with Sharon Matthews, Founder and CEO of Wish List Depot, about how her organization seeks to help students in the Baltimore area.
