Twenty years ago, we launched Sunday Baroque (formerly known as Sunday Morning Baroque) as a nationally syndicated offering to stations across the U.S. I had originated the local version of the program 11 years earlier on WSHU Public Radio in Fairfield, Connecticut — my hometown, and my first radio job.
We began with five pilot stations: WSHU Fairfield, WGUC Cincinnati, KBAQ Phoenix, WETA Washington DC, and WUSF Tampa. Over the years the Sunday Baroque family of stations has grown to its current size of 229 stations. More importantly, the family of Sunday Baroque listeners has grown and flourished over these 20 years. It is the single most gratifying aspect of hosting and producing this program. You contact me with your questions, observations, reactions, and requests, and I relish these communications and connections we share.
Over these two decades there have been tremendous changes in technology, too, in the way we produce the show, the way musicians record and distribute their performances, and in the way you can listen and get in touch with us. It’s a marvel that people listen on their local stations, as well as online all over the world, and on a range of devices. It’s amazing that the Sunday Baroque podcast can feature musicians and other interesting people I have interviewed, even though we’re sitting in studios that are hundreds of miles apart.
And as remarkable as the last two decades’ of technology has been, it’s also extraordinary to think of the explosion of technology since the baroque era. We can enjoy music by people who lived hundreds of years ago — before electricity, before radio, before recording technology, before social media and hashtags, and before all the other associated technological advancements we enjoy. Bach, Handel and Vivaldi could never have imagined all the ways we listen to their music today. We no longer need to convene in a palace, or church, or concert venue to hear music.
Despite all these changes and evolutions, one thing that has remained constant over these years is the connections that are made through music. Sunday Baroque strives to connect you with music you love, music you may not know, and music that touches your emotions. It’s entertainment for listeners who are novices, as well as experts — no prior experience or training needed to enjoy this lovely music, and appreciate the composers who wrote it and the musicians who bring it to life.
Thank you for being on this journey with us — whether you’re a new listener, or someone who has been there right from the beginning. You’re the reason we are celebrating this milestone anniversary, and I look forward to the connections we’ll make in the future.