The Morning Show 6-10a Monday – Friday
Dr. Dave’s Drive Time Elixir 3-7p Monday – Friday
WRCJ’s Program Director, Dr. Dave Wagner, is a lifelong Detroiter and well-known as an organist, pianist and music educator. He brings his vast musical knowledge and wry sense of humor to our morning airwaves with traffic and weather updates and his famous 7:15a “Sousalarm.” He returns weekday afternoons to ease your drive home with a mix of lighter classics and orchestrated popular tunes.
Dear Dr. Dave, I am seeking your expertise. I am directing a play and I would like your ideas for a piece of music that would evoke the idea of a whirling snowstorm. I had thoughts of Carol of the Bells or something from Nutcracker but those seem too obvious. I like the idea of something cheery (think snowglobe), rather than a dreaded scary blizzard. Your thoughts? Thank you, Sue Rogers
p.s. I love your wacky sense of humor. When I swear off listening to the news, you make me smile–the news rarely does.
Hello Suzanne, we will send this along to Dr. Dave. Maybe our other listeners here will offer suggestions too?
Dr. Dave, Thank you so much for filling our lives with beautiful classical music. Thank you also for making your show fun and informative. We learn so much by listening.
I do have a question, both you and Chris always spoke so highly of the DSO recording made during the dead of winter in the abandoned United Artist’s Theater. Is that recording still available and what is it called.
Thank you Steve. Those DSO recordings started in 1978 and were on the London label. The first was an all Tchaikovsky disc, the second was a collection of Dvorak, Ravel, Liszt and Enescu Rhapsodies and the third one consisted of Bartok works. This page may be helpful:
https://www.dso.org/upload_files/content_pdfs/res/interact/Listen/HistoricalDiscography2005.pdf
The Tchaikovsky disc was re-released so you might still be able to find that one.
It is with sadness that I report that Kirk in the Hills does not stand alone as the largest carillon in the world. 🙁 “Largest carillon | Guinness World Records
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-carillon
The largest carillon (minimum 23 bells) in the world is the Hyechon College Carillon, Seo-ku, Taejon, South Korea, with 78 bells. A Carillon is an instrument that consists of brass bells fixed to a frame, played by keyboard and pedals.
Kirk in the Hills – Carillon
kirkinthehills.org/music/carillon
Carillon High in the Kirk tower is the 77-bell carillon, the world’s largest in number of bells (tied with our sister tower, Hyechon College in Korea). The carillon was cast by the 300 year-old royal bellfoundry of Petit and Fritsen, The Netherlands.”
Oh darn it, so close!
In the “Moetet” you played this afternoon, what instruments did Larry and Curly play? What about Shemp? I miss this kind of discussion from the old WQRS days when Mister Music used to answer them. Any chance that old recordings of M. M. could be offered as a pledge bonus item?
Hello Dan,
Larry and Curly didn’t make an appearance today but maybe tomorrow we will play a Larrytet? As far as Mr. Music recordings… hmm, not sure if we have anything from that far back. We could take a look though. In the meantime, enjoy WQRS veteran Carl Grapentine! He’s no stooge.
Presumably the “Larrytet” will be played on “Fine” instruments!
Ha ha, that’s a good one. 🙂
Hi Dave good morning I love listening to the morning show with you it’s a wonderful great show and also I like Oregon music I’m always loved Oregon music I own a lot of Oregon CDs all of blocks music great and Virgil Fox also have a great day
Thank you Toney. Dr. Dave is both a performer and supporter of the organ!
Hi Dave, I was out of town in late Sept. and noticed on my return the absence of Chris during the day. It wasn’t until the money drive I realized he had passed. So sorry your co-worker is gone. I enjoy both of you will driving around the city. . . . I wonder if he is meeting all those wonderful composers and musicians in heaven? Maybe doing some really great interviews on Heavens Radio? Anyway I do miss hearing his wonderful insights to music. . . . Thanks again for all the wonderful music played on the station. Chuck
Hello Charles, thank you for the condolences. Yes, Chris is probably interviewing all sorts of people up there right now. We will miss him as well. Thanks for the note.
I am so thrilled to come back to Detroit classical music after years away. I must say that having the opportunity to listen to Dr. Dave’s organ genius on Sunday mornings was what reintroduced me to a long lost friend.
Welcome back Susan, we are thrilled to have you!
I’d like to know who was performing “I Won’t Dance” this morning just before 8am.
Hello Cyndi, with all the Fundraising Drive activity going on, we didn’t write down which version that was. It certainly sounds like it could be by Chanticleer or perhaps the Swingle Singers. It was from the Kern-Harbach musical “Roberta”.
Dear Dr Dave
So sorry to hear about Chris. You and Chris and the gals on the weekend are with us 24/7. Was always impressed when Chris would describe a piece that he really liked. He would find more expressive words that I didn’t even know existed. Who had that show before him? You and that person use to banter back and forth before he took over and when Chris came on he would have none of it. You had to close your mic and leave. Chris will be missed.
The last thing I remember about Chris was his aspiration to interview Renee Fleming prior to her recent local appearance. His great voice has been silenced. I suspected that he had had a stroke several months ago, but he sounded as good as ever last time on the radio. And, by the way, Dave, don’t go anywhere where I can’t hear you.
I don’t usually reply to my own comments, but here I go. My most recent contribution to WRCJ was in memory of Chris Felcyn and long overdue. Sometimes we don’t appreciate what we have until it’s gone. After the demise of WQRS years ago, I was somewhat lost radio-wise. When you, Ann and Chris brought classical music back to the airwaves in the Detroit-Windsor area, it was like the world was new and several hundred years old, again. Keep up the good work and humor. Your station has my future financial support.
Thank you for the support Michael and also for honoring Chris. We hope to avoid another time in Detroit without Classical music.
Hi Dave, which Grosse Pointe Park church is giving a free concert this Friday, Sept. 14?
Hello Kate, we didn’t find any free church events for today but this page has a very comprehensive list of things going on right now: https://www.theoaklandpress.com/entertainment/southeast-michigan-entertainment-sept/article_a72d01ae-b5d1-11e8-9568-d7fddcb27282.html
I love your station, since you started… I listen daily!
I’m not happy about the piece you just played:’Highway to Kill Kenny!’
Ken Friesen, Kingsville, ON…. it sets off my paranoia! The road are bad enough!
3 school buses in ditches on Wed.!
Oh, sorry about that. Maybe we could change the title in our database. Something like “Highway To… Be Very Easy And Clear For Kenny”.
always enjoy your show, whether morning or afternoon. one question: mat is the piece the classical broadcast closes at 7 p.m.
oh, and my wife wants to know: whence the music – any music you play? LPs? CDs? a big machine loaded with 200,000 hrs of classical music? an anonymous symphonic orchestra squeezed into a 60 square foot recording booth?
Dr.Dave’s theme song is a Bach Cello Suite being performed by Charles Curtis on the tableau from the album “An Imaginary Dance”. You can take a look at that cd at the link below. Actually we do have a big machine with thousands of hours of music on it that we play from. But also many, many cds and on rare occasions live ensembles in the studio but not as large as a symphony.
http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Imaginary-Dance-Charles-Curtis/dp/B004TB6G3Q
Hi Ellen, You’re welcome. We really hope you never get marooned on an island though.
The Old Redford Theater, one of Detroit’s gems, takes vinyl and reports brisk sales. You have to bring them when there is an event going on. Might want to stay, too. It’s quite an experience.
http://redfordtheatre.com/events/
Hi Mary, thanks for the tip. There aren’t too many music stores around these days.
Dave,
thanks for being the best part of our daily routine – morning and evening. We wake up to you and listen to all your morning show on our days off and have dinner with you every evening. WRCJ is on all the time in our home. As Far as we’re concerned we can leave it on 90.9 and bust the knob off… 😉
Last Christmas the play list was so wonderful that we barely listened to our large selection of Christmas CDs, every work that was played just kept us leaving the station on.
Thanks for your dry, wry and “insider” humor. So gives us a chuckle all the time. Perhaps you may want to put your funny comments in a book. “The Insider’s Guide to Classical Humor.” 🙂
Thanks again for the long hours you devote to what you do, it makes a difference in our lives.
Mark and Carine Lutz (Ann Arbor)
p.s. my husband’s part time retirement job is for Enterprise Car Rental – he puts WRCJ on the cars he takes care of.
Wow, thanks for being such devoted fans! We shared your email with Dr. Dave. We do feel a little bad for those unused Christmas cds. Also, thanks to your husband for bringing WRCJ to new potential listeners at his job. We appreciate it!