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Celebrating 50 years on FM 91.5
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In 2024 WXXI-FM 91.5 celebrates its 50th anniversary, 12/23/1974. Each month we will share reflections and memories of events, celebrations, honors and personalities that have made WXXI Public Media what it is today.

Classical 91.5 memories for July mark the addition of WXXI’s second radio station

As we continue looking back at the 50 years since WXXI FM 91.5 went on the air, we take a look at the early days of radio and how WXXI has grown.

When WXXI’s new Public Broadcasting Center at 280 State Street opened in December 1974, WXXI FM 91.5 went on the air as a mixed format station of music of various genres, news, lectures and specialty programs. Some of these you may remember; some you may have forgotten, like Connoisseur’s Corner, Musicale, From All Directions, Parnassus of the Air, Monday evening at the Opera and NPR’s Folk Festival USA. Others are still heard today, such as All Things Considered.

As public radio was beginning to grow throughout the country, so were the program offerings made available to stations from NPR and other stations & distributors. It soon became apparent that if WXXI wanted to provide the best service to the greater Rochester community, WXXI would need another outlet for these programs.

Karl Haas, host of Adventures in Good Music
Karl Haas, host of Adventures in Good Music

On July 2, 1984, WXXI launched its second radio station – AM 1370, as a public affairs, news and jazz station, making it possible for FM 91.5 to convert to a “mostly” classical music format. There was still a variety of programming, including Sounds Like Fun, A Prairie Home Companion, Essence of Jazz, Anything Goes (later Fascinatin’ Rhythm), Adventures in Good Music with Karl Haas, and the always unpredictable Sunshine Show, complete with arts reviews and commentaries.

Home King as commentator "Ollie Oldster"
Home King as commentator "Ollie Oldster"

The very first commentator on Simon Pontin’s Sunshine Show was that of Homer King (a.k.a. Ollie Oldster), an editorial writer for the D&C for more than 15 years, and radio commentator focusing on subjects of importance to older listeners, even if those subjects were controversial. The WXXI President and General Manager William Pearce said of King, “He had an editorial writer’s lack of fear of things controversial. His pieces would often generate listener response. We all loved him.”
Listen to Ollie Oldster’s “two conflicting points of view on social security” during the Ford/Carter years.

Ollie Oldster.mp3
Homer King as "Ollie Oldster" talks about Social Security

Later, the Sunshine Show would include commentary and stories such as A Tale in Two Minutes with Jay Stetzer, What in the World is Music with Ellen Koskoff, music reviews by David Raymond, film reviews by George Grella, book reviews by Bob Koch, and features on the arts by Isobel Neuberger.

Eastman Brass and producer/host Barbara Walters
Eastman Brass and producer/host Barbara Walters

FM 91.5 would soon become a destination for visiting musicians to come to record programs or interviews. WXXI began partnering with the Eastman School of Music, the Hochstein School and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, even producing and distributing Eastman in Concert and Eastman Brass to other stations, hosted by special projects producer Barbara Walters.

In recent years, WXXI Classical has partnered with the Gateways Music Festival and many local and regional performing arts organizations, helping to distribute Gateways Radio, a 13-week series of programs to the public radio system, and the live broadcast of the Gateways Music Festival Orchestra performance live from Carnegie Hall in New York City in 2022, as well as the production of Performance Upstate, which kept local ensembles before their patrons throughout the pandemic when most live performances were shut down.