Graham Parker – New VP of WQXR

People can have different relationships with WQXR besides broadcast.  Radio isn’t just FM anymore.  Great content will find people wherever they are – we need to open up the definition of what radio is.

Graham Parker, the new VP of Classical WQXR.  Parker is enthusiastic about the variety of platforms and programming coming out of WQXR, both on the air and online.  He comes to WQXR most recently from the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, an organization that has a unique philosophy of what an orchestra is.

Part of being creative is that you have to make mistakes.  Individuals have the power to make decisions and to try out their ideas,  and you have to embrace that some ideas are not going to work.   The strength is in the team and the power of the individuals.  What you end up with is the power of the collective.

Parker brings that inclusive philosophy to WQXR.  He likes the station’s practice of hiring strong personalities and letting them be creative.  He also brings a deep history of producing live performances, which dovetails with what WQXR has planned.  This year the station is hosting 65 live-to-air performances in its Greene Performance Space, building on what WNYC’s Soundcheck host John Schaefer has been doing since 1982.

Parker says he thinks great live radio begins with the relationship the hosts have with the artists, then the way the hosts manage to bring the audience into that relationship.  He also believes in the station’s emerging philosophy of getting the audience to interact more with the station through web feedback, coming into the studio for live performances, downloading podcasts, sending in ideas, and engaging directly with the hosts.

I asked Graham Parker what his ideas were for the station, and his response was, “give me time to actually get there and start my new job before I offer up my ideas.”

This interview comes on the heels of a discussion ongoing on the AMPPR Listserv.  Gabe DiMaio from WNED in Buffalo posed the question to the list of why stations choose to run (or not run) the orchestra and specialty shows.  I plan to post some of the answers on the blog next week. 

It’s interesting to me that the number one station in the country is going live and adventurous at a time when many stations seem to be doing the opposite.  The orchestra shows are of course some of the best live music you can hear, even if the shows themselves are post-produced.   I personally am working on a series of 26 American Music Festivals, and I’m absolutely jazzed by the material we are getting.  The utter excitement of the people involved and the innovative ideas they are bringing to our field is making great, great radio.   More to come.

In the meantime, welcome to our radio world, Graham Parker.  We expect a lot from you.

About Marty Ronish

Marty Ronish is an independent producer of classical music radio programs. She currently produces the Chicago Symphony Orchestra broadcasts that air 52 weeks a year on more than 400 stations and online at www.cso.org. She also produces a radio series called "America's Music Festivals," which presents live music from some of the country's most dynamic festivals. She is a former Fulbright scholar and co-author of a catalogue of Handel's autograph manuscripts.

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5 thoughts on “Graham Parker – New VP of WQXR”

  1. We listeners to 105.9 FM and streaming, and we listeners to Q2 streaming wish Mr. Parker great success.

    But the WQXR colossus is having great success because it has – on its own – first, recognized the power of the internet; and second, hit on what I was preaching to various PubRadio stations to which I belonged four and even five years ago: do something different. Especially because of the internet, where so much listening is happening (KUSC is in 38 states and 11 countries)find a hook, or some hooks, things that no other stations are doing. If you look at some of the special projects, especially on Q2, “Eight days of Steve (Reich)”, the new “Cued up on Q2″, ‘Hammered”, a celebration of all things keyboard, “Hope Springs Atonal”, the wonderful Nadia Sirota around whom Q2 seems to revolve; and on 105.9 the NY Phil, the Saturday opera ( well, even WWFM does that), the stuff at the Greenespace, WQXR is almost modular. Time slots are blocked out. If something does not draw listeners, try something else.

    And the Comment pages, which they call blogs. We can comment on each and every piece of music played on both streams. Also, people like Elliott Forest, Terrance McKnight, Naomi Lewin, they can pose a question for listeners. The responses can go on for a week. Things become issues, listeners debate with other listeners, it is wonderful, sometimes almost chaotic.

    So, I ask you, or any of your readers: tell me anywhere else in Classical Music Radio, PubRadio or otherwise, where all of this is happening?

    This is why my first comment on the news of Mr. Parker’s advent was “Don’t screw it up”, which turns out to be one of the mottoes of General Electric.

    Good luck and all of the best to Mr. Parker.

    Reply
  2. Hey, Marty! Can’t wait for your American Music Festivals series. Count us in, here in PDX.

    I think I like this Graham Parker fellow! Good stuff. I now wonder if Orpheus needs a good radio person to run things over there! They have enough musician types, I’m sure. *wink*

    In all seriousness, I was impressed that Graham shared right up front,“give me time to actually get there and start my new job before I offer up my ideas.”

    He’ll get it right – acknowledging that content is king and giving smart people the latitude to experiment and make mistakes. That is old-school. We need to remember our radio roots. It is New York for crying out loud. I want to hear some of that city with the music. I for one will be listening!

    Cheers!

    Reply
  3. Thanks, Jack. We’re including Portland’s own Chamber Music Northwest in the American Music Festival Series.

    My feeling about Graham’s lack of radio experience is that he’s lucky to be going to a station that has a big staff with vast radio experience, so anything he lacks in that department will be made up for by others. That might not work at a smaller station, but it’ll be fine in NYC. I see him as a brilliant choice as liason between the active performing community and the radio community.

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  4. As someone who has been an orchestra manager for many years and who is now very interested in working in radio, I hope that Mr. Parker’s appointment will start a trend for stations looking to fill key management positions. I’d like to think that many of us (myself included, hopefully) can transfer our years of programming, fund raising and community relations experience in the performing arts to the world of public radio.

    Reply

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