Classical NEPM is a new service that triples the amount of music presented by NEPM in western Mass. You’ll find John Nowacki here every weekday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with his vibrant mix of music from every era, along with programs from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, and much, much more.
Listen to Classical NEPM
Classical NEPM Hosts
John Nowacki
Originally from the Midwest, John Nowacki has had an interest in classical music since he was a high school student, having discovered organ music recordings by E. Power Biggs and singing in the high school’s choirs. His radio career began in 1982 at WILL-FM in Champaign-Urbana, Ilinois, where he started as a board operator for local programming, then became a classical music host. He worked for several Illinois stations before making the move to WNPR in 1990.
Stephen Petke
Stephen has been a classical music host at New England Public Media since 2016. He has a three-decade, multi-faceted career at Cigna Healthcare Insurance. Currently, he is the classical music director at University of Hartford’s radio station WWUH 91.3. Stephen studied at Seneca College in Canada (where he was valedictorian) and Central Connecticut State University. He has a graduate degree from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Stephen has an identical twin brother and his wife, Suzanne, is a fraternal twin. He has performed with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra as the barking dog in Walter Piston’s The Incredible Flutist. He is from a very musical family. Stephen’s father was a singer; mother a pianist and teacher for 30 years. His sister played clarinet while his brother played the trombone. Stephen, himself, is not as musical, but played shortstop in baseball.
Jon Solins
Jon is host of New England Public Media’s Sunday morning classical program on WFCR. He first worked at NEPR, then WFCR, while a student at Amherst College; after years as a craftsman he rejoined the station as a music announcer and producer. At WGBH Radio in Boston, he was responsible for classical programming and national and international music productions, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra and "Sound and Spirit." His productions have won the Ohio State and Gabriel Awards, and honors from the International Radio Festival, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. Now back in the Valley, he is currently president of Arcadia Players and enjoys performing with the Da Camera Singers.
Classical NEPM News
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One hundred years after her birth, Maria Callas still commands attention in the world of opera, which she forever altered with her singular, searing performances. -
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Florencia gives star Ailyn Pérez a rare chance to sing in Spanish. As the bilingual daughter of Mexican immigrants, she learned early on that language had the power to shape her experience and voice.
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Actors Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan give warm, deeply sympathetic performances as wide-ranging musician Leonard Bernstein and his wife, Felicia Montealegre Cohn, in a biopic directed by Cooper.
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Scott Simon talks with violist Mark Ludwig about his efforts to preserve - and play - the music written by some of the many musicians imprisoned and killed at the Terezin concentration camp.
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The Grammy-winning bassist, bandleader and broadcaster talks about his love for music, family ties in the jazz world, and the thrill of sitting in with Wynton Marsalis as a teenager.
