Now celebrating more than 15 years on the air, WRCJ 90.9 FM and HD-1 is a listener-supported classical & jazz music public radio station licensed to Detroit Classical and Jazz Educational Radio, LLC., and managed by Detroit Public Television and the Detroit Educational Television Foundation Board of Trustees. The station is located inside the Detroit School of Arts, a public high school training young people for careers in performing, visual and media arts.
WRCJ broadcasts classical music from 5 am to 7 pm each day and jazz overnight. WRCJ’s weekday classical music is The Morning Show (6a-10a) and Dr. Dave’s Drive-Time Elixir (3p-7p), hosted by Dave Wagner. Midday Music (10a-3p) is hosted by Peter Whorf. Classical weekends are hosted by Classical24 hosts. The WRCJ Jazz host on Fridays is Maxine Michaels (Maxology from 7-11p), John Penney on Saturdays (JazzFest Detroit from 7-10p), and Linda Yohn on Sundays (The Swing Set from 7-9p). Throughout the other jazz hours, listeners enjoy music presented by John Hill, Dave Schwan, Leslie Keros and Dee Alexander from Jazz Satellite Network.
WRCJ’s vision is to provide an unparalleled selection of classical and jazz music programs to entertain listeners and increase music literacy. Additionally, the Station is committed to partnering with cultural and educational institutions to help them achieve their goals.
Our Mission
– Present the world’s best classical and jazz music
– Provide musical experiences for people of all ages
– Connect artists and arts organizations with greater audiences
– Encourage people to attend live concerts and events
– Promote arts education
WRCJ receives no ongoing funding from the State of Michigan, City of Detroit or Detroit Classical and Jazz Educational Radio, LLC. The primary source of our annual operating budget is voluntary contributions from listeners like you. Thank you!
WRCJ 90.9 FM is a 501 (c)(3) organization located at 123 Selden St., Suite 250, Detroit, MI 48201. 313.494.6410 or 90.9@dptv.org. Connect with us on Facebook.
I am a long time listener and financial supporter of the station and live in Trenton MI. I listen primarily on my radio and am currently experiencing very poor signal quality. Can you give me some insight?
Hi Paul, thank you for supporting and listening to the station. Is the poor reception new or have you always had trouble? If it’s more convenient you can also listen to us online at https://www.wrcjfm.org/listen-live/ or with our free app. Just search for WRCJ in the Apple or Google Play stores.
Dear Dave
Your program breaks off in the morning and I have to constantly restart. Happens on your afternoon program too. ??? Is it the station or our internet? Tell me what you think. Thanks
Hi Dave, sorry to hear that, we’ll ask our Engineer about the issue…
What happened to John Hill’s jazz program? A few months ago, I began getting up at 3:45 AM in order to listen to listen to Mr. Hill’s show for the full hour of stairclimbing (actual stairs in the stairwell of my 3-story apartment building) I do wvery weekday morning. This morning, Bill McGlaughlin’s Exploring Music was playing in its place. Is this a permanent change?
Hi Thomas, no permanent change, our computer system was acting up. Sorry for the confusion!
George Frideric Handel Water Music Suite No. 2 in D HWV 349 it is a good song
We think so to! We play it fairly often.
I listen to you all every night driving home from work, and there was a song Dave Schwan played I believe was titled “I wouldn’t if I were you”. I have been searching but can’t find out who it was by. I would LOVE to know if it’s possible. Thank you and keep the music coming!
Hi George, we saw two possibilities. There was “I Get A Kick Out Of You” by Harold Mabern from the album The Iron Man: Live At Smoke or maybe it was “I Love Every Little Thing About You” by Mike LeDonne/The Groover Quartet from the album I Love Music.
What is playing at 8:05 pm. January 21st 2021. It is awesome!
Hi Martha, here were the first few songs of that hour:
8:00pm 01/21/2021 Jazz with John Hill
Bye-Ya
ARTIST:Monty Alexander
ALBUM:Wareika Hill
LABEL:MACD
8:05
Mysterioso
ARTIST:Monty Alexander
ALBUM:Wareika Hill
LABEL:MACD
8:12
I’m Hip
ARTIST:Veronica Swift
ALBUM:Confessions
LABEL:Mack Avenue
Ok, I have the WEIRDEST question about a particular song that was played on WRCJ 90.9, Saturday, January 2, 2021 at 7:45pm? What was the name of that song?
Hi Jerald, here are the songs from around that time:
Time Start Artist Title Album Label
Eric Reed The Break For A Time Such As This Smoke Sessions
Kurt Elling and Branford Marsalis Quintet As Long As You’re Living Upward Spiral Okeh
Modern Jazz Quartet Bag’s Groove MJQ & Friends Atlantic
Great hearing Carl Grapentine again!
Thanks Dave!
How do i find what is playing right now???? I mainly listen while driving and navigating your website on my cell phone is e tremely dangerous
Hello Dale, no don’t check while you’re driving. For our classical programming, if you have the display in your car the composer and title should show up. We are still working on adding our jazz info. If you’re looking at our website later this page has all our playlists: https://www.wrcjfm.org/playlists-schedule/
I too had the Jean Francois Paillard recording of the Pachelbel piece, got it when I was about 13. But Dr. Dave, you know as well as anyone it’s a chaconne, not a canon.
Thank you for programming Jorge Bolet performing Cesar Franck’s Symphonic Variations. They took it quite a bit slower than the other recording I was reared on, and this tempo captured the true spirit of the work. This time it really spoke to me, and it just literally made my day. I am now going to buy Bolet’s recording on HB Direct. Thanks for your impeccable programming decisions.
Thank you Peter! We try out different recordings for just this reason. We appreciate you tuning in.
Hey there! Today I started my car right in the middle of an announcement that was I think about an upcoming carillon concert. My folks are big carillon fans and we’re on the hunt for socially distant concert opportunities! Do you happen to have any more details handy? Thanks as always for all you do for our community.
Hello Vera, that sounds like the Drive-In Carillon Concert at Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church in Bloomfield, Michigan.
A little trivia here from a son of the South who loves WRCJ…
the Suanee River begins in Georgia, partially draining the Okefenokee Swamp and “the” flows into Florida eventually emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you Frederick, we appreciate you listening and writing in.
What is the name of the program and host that filled the 6:00 a.m. time slot on Saturday, May 2.
Thank you
Hello Linda, that was host Garrett McQueen. He doesn’t really have a name for his program other than Classical 24 which is what plays a good amount of time on our weekends. The are a couple hosts that do different times of the day.