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Classical 24
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<h2 id="on-air-hosts">On-air hosts</h2> <p>Classical 24 has three daypart-separated teams of ten different hosts which presents 4-hour/6-hour live air shifts: </p> <h3><i>Music Through the Night</i> hosts</h3> <ul><li>Jillene Khan</li> <li>Melanie Renate</li></ul> <h3>Daytime</h3> <ul><li>John Birge</li> <li>Jeff Esworthy</li> <li>Kevin O'Connor</li> <li>Lynne Warfel</li> <li>Melissa Ousley</li> <li>Steve Staruch</li> <li>Mindy Ratner</li></ul> <h3>Evenings</h3> <ul><li>Steve Seel</li> <li>Scott Blankenship</li> <li>Vernon Neal</li> <li>Valerie Kahler</li></ul> <p>The following presenters could also be heard on the network on a weekly basis in numerous short segments or as fill-in hosts: </p> <ul><li>Bill Morelock</li> <li>Ward Jacobson</li> <li>Elena See</li> <li>Liz Lyon (Assistant Program Director)</li> <li>Julie Amacher (The Network's Program Director)</li></ul> <h2 id="music-through-the-night">Music Through the Night</h2> <p><i>Music Through the Night</i> is a classical music radio program produced by <a href="/facts/American_Public_Media/b4h5yTbD">American Public Media</a> and distributed by <a href="/facts/Public_Radio_International/Q2tUhWtE">Public Radio International</a>, and broadcast on many <a href="/facts/National_Public_Radio/BohIW9Xg">National Public Radio</a> (NPR) stations as well as several other classical music stations, generally from midnight to 6 a.m. <a href="/facts/Central_Time_Zone/5UBgAgqS">Central Time</a> every night, though beginning and/or ending times might vary. </p> <h3>Background</h3> <p>According to a <i><a href="/facts/Time_Magazine/N4FXc99l">Time Magazine</a></i> article first published in 1952, <i>Music Through the Night</i> got its original incarnation when <a href="/facts/Civil_Defense/xa73Rr3S">Civil Defense</a> authorities asked Ted Cott of Manhattan's <a href="/facts/WNBC_(AM)/FqRrdYIX">WNBC</a> (660) radio to keep a radio tone signal playing all night so as to be immediately able to send out important public announcements. He elected to try an all-classical music program instead, and the program proved popular.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>Today's incarnation is provided by Classical 24 and is hosted primarily by <a href="/facts/Minnesota_Public_Radio/zTAzGD9S">Minnesota Public Radio</a>'s Jillene Khan and new host Melanie Renate.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> According to promotional materials, "Seven days a week, this program offers a choice of music and style of presentation perfectly suited for through-the-night listening. The program mixes standard repertoire with the finest works by lesser-known composers to lend perspective to major musical figures." The all-day Classical 24 format generally follows the <i>Music Through the Night</i> format with some modifications. </p> <h3>Format</h3> <p>The program begins at the top of each hour with a brief introduction by the host to the featured musical selection (which can run up to 10 minutes or longer) to be played later during the hour. A shorter musical selection follows for five minutes (some stations preempt this for the standard top-of-the-hour NPR newscast), and then four to six other selections, one or two of these being the featured selection(s) of the hour, which are longer in duration. A shorter selection often concludes the hour. </p><p>The host briefly introduces each selection, stating the name of the piece, its composer, the orchestra (and/or soloist if applicable) and conductor of the selection, and sometimes providing a brief anecdotal and/or historical note of interest about the piece and/or the composer. </p><p>Before some of the pieces, a brief pre-recorded "sound bite" interview with the composer, conductor or principal soloist of that piece is introduced by the host, to give some perspective on the selection being played. </p><p>The host will sometimes read one or two brief national, international and/or business news headlines in between selections, especially towards the top of the hour, and as the morning hours approach (in the Eastern time zone). At the top of the 6 a.m. hour (Central time), the two-minute program <i>Composers Datebook</i>, hosted by John Birge (pre-recorded and syndicated separately by American Public Media), is played as part of the <i>Music Through the Night</i>/Classical 24 playlist for the hour. </p><p>Different affiliates end their <i>Music Through the Night</i> coverage at different times in the morning to begin their broadcast day with local announcers; a handful present the entire Classical 24 schedule, including <i>Music Through the Night</i>, with no local hosts. Some affiliates present the entire Classical 24 schedule via additional <a href="/facts/Digital_radio/X0Kp5l8E">digital radio</a> channels and/or <a href="/facts/Internet_streaming/4rPhSq0Y">internet streaming</a>. The Classical 24 playlist is publicly available as much as 10 days in advance at the webpage <a href="https://www.classical24.org/?display=true&source=C24">https://www.classical24.org/?display=true&source=C24</a> . </p><p>While works from Modern and even a few contemporary composers are presented, most of the programming typically specializes in Classical and Romantic composition; while music from these periods is available on daytime programming in some markets, few shows specialize like <i>Music Through the Night.</i> </p> <h3>First Black host terminated</h3> <p>Garrett McQueen, the Classical 24 overnight host and its only Black host, was employed by Minnesota Public Radio when he was terminated on September 10, 2020, for "not following programming guidelines."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> McQueen "was taken off the air after his shift on Aug. 25" and "given two warnings — one of which was about his need to improve communication and the other warning was for switching out scheduled music to play pieces he felt were more appropriate to the moment and more diverse," according to McQueen.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p> Minnesota Public Radio and its larger sister organization American Public Media (APM) co-produced Classical 24. <a href="/facts/Minnesota_Public_Radio/zTAzGD9S">Minnesota Public Radio</a> President Duchesne Drew and APM President Dave Kansas wrote in a statement published on September 11, 2020, that previous warnings were tied to his departure, not his music choices or his "unauthorized changes to playlists."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> They claim it was the manner in which he made the changes, not the actual content,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> which were a direct response to the <a href="/facts/Murder_of_George_Floyd/xKSGNay8">murder of George Floyd</a> in the custody of the <a href="/facts/Minneapolis_Police_Department/rq3Bj4Do">Minneapolis Police Department</a>. The video of Floyd's murder prompted both local and international protests in the name of <a href="/facts/Black_Lives_Matter/vdpHmDVV">Black Lives Matter</a> despite <a href="/facts/Shelter-in-place/4G7CS78G">shelter-in-place</a> orders during the 2020 <a href="/facts/COVID-19_pandemic/0xTsh7Ut">global COVID-19 pandemic</a>. In posts on his social media accounts, Garrett claimed that his playlist changes were a direct response to the national events and that the audience welcomed his changes:</p><blockquote><p>"When things happened in the news or when there were hours of <a href="/facts/Radio_programming/0mnA4qUJ">programming</a> that only represented dead white men, I would take it upon myself to change that," said McQueen. "That always got lots of really positive feedback, but it's not exactly what protocol calls for."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></p></blockquote><p>Yet, the collective statement from executives at MPR and APM emphasized that McQueen's departure was due to other concerns:</p><blockquote><p>We have a process in place for changing <a href="/facts/Playlist/dV3NlYS8">playlists</a>, and that process exists to maintain our more than 200 partner stations' compliance with the <a href="/facts/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act/rVTdnnc2">Digital Millennium Copyright Act</a> and to ensure <a href="/facts/Royalty_payment/8caVPHCP">royalties</a> are properly paid for the music played.</p></blockquote><p>McQueen felt his departure was prompted by his direct on-air response to local protests:</p><blockquote><p>"And let's just face it," said McQueen, "with [the murder of] George Floyd and all of those things, there was a lot of pressure for me to engage the audience while that's happening. I'm on the air, literally while the 3rd Precinct is being burned down. So, it's my responsibility to make sure that the [classical] programming spoke to that and that's what I did."</p></blockquote><p>McQueen is a professional bassoonist, whose classical playlists reflected a "deep knowledge of the history behind classical music," given the problematic under-representation of Black composers and musicians in the field of recorded classical music and staged performance.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> He had played a significant role since 2018 to diversify the station's programming. MPR and APM stated that they "remain steadfast in pursuing that commitment," highlighting in bold: </p><blockquote><p>Across Classical MPR, 24 percent of the music we play features a composer, conductor or soloist who is a woman and/or a Black person, Indigenous person, or Person of Color. We are committed to increasing this number.</p></blockquote><p> As of early 2021, McQueen continued to co-host <i>Trilloquy,</i> an independent podcast co-created with MPR classical music host Scott Blankenship, which discusses classical music's role "in the fight against police brutality, anti-racism, and more."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://classical24.publicradio.org/">Classical 24 web site</a> <ul><li><a href="http://classical24.publicradio.org/listings/now_playing.php"><i>Music Through the Night</i> playlist listings</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="http://www.yourclassical.org/listen/radio">YourClassical from American Public Media</a> featuring a live Classical 24 stream</li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Music-Through-the-Night/188726817393">Music Through the Night Facebook page</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"PRX – Classical 24®". <a href="https://www.prx.org/stations/shows/classical-24" target="_blank">https://www.prx.org/stations/shows/classical-24</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Classical 24 Clock" (PDF). November 8, 2023. <a href="http://www2.pri.org/infosite/programs/class24/pg/c24_clock.pdf" target="_blank">http://www2.pri.org/infosite/programs/class24/pg/c24_clock.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"City Pages - Ode to Joy". Archived from the original on June 3, 2006. Retrieved June 17, 2006. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060603112341/http://citypages.com/databank/25/1211/article11898.asp" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20060603112341/http://citypages.com/databank/25/1211/article11898.asp</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Classical 24". Wisconsin Public Radio. August 14, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2018. <a href="https://www.wpr.org/programs/classical-24" target="_blank">https://www.wpr.org/programs/classical-24</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Radio: Music in the Night". September 22, 1952. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 22, 2018 – via www.time.com. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070930084549/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,822505,00.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070930084549/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,822505,00.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Hosts". classical24.publicradio.org. Retrieved August 22, 2018. <a href="http://classical24.publicradio.org/docs/hosts.html" target="_blank">http://classical24.publicradio.org/docs/hosts.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"MPR's only Black classical host Garrett McQueen fired after being taken off air". MPR News. September 10, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021. <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/09/10/mprs-only-black-classical-host-garrett-mcqueen-fired-after-being-taken-off-air" target="_blank">https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/09/10/mprs-only-black-classical-host-garrett-mcqueen-fired-after-being-taken-off-air</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"MPR's only Black classical host Garrett McQueen fired after being taken off air". MPR News. September 10, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021. <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/09/10/mprs-only-black-classical-host-garrett-mcqueen-fired-after-being-taken-off-air" target="_blank">https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/09/10/mprs-only-black-classical-host-garrett-mcqueen-fired-after-being-taken-off-air</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"A Note on Garrett McQueen". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved January 4, 2021. <a href="https://www.mpr.org/stories/2020/09/11/a-note-on-garrett-mcqueen" target="_blank">https://www.mpr.org/stories/2020/09/11/a-note-on-garrett-mcqueen</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"A Note on Garrett McQueen". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved January 4, 2021. <a href="https://www.mpr.org/stories/2020/09/11/a-note-on-garrett-mcqueen" target="_blank">https://www.mpr.org/stories/2020/09/11/a-note-on-garrett-mcqueen</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"MPR's only Black classical host Garrett McQueen fired after being taken off air". MPR News. September 10, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021. <a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/09/10/mprs-only-black-classical-host-garrett-mcqueen-fired-after-being-taken-off-air" target="_blank">https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/09/10/mprs-only-black-classical-host-garrett-mcqueen-fired-after-being-taken-off-air</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Garrett McQueen". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved January 4, 2021. <a href="https://www.mpr.org/about/people/gmcqueen" target="_blank">https://www.mpr.org/about/people/gmcqueen</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Wyllie, Julian; Reporter (September 11, 2020). "Garrett McQueen exits Classical 24 after disagreements over changing playlists". Current. Retrieved January 4, 2021. <a href="https://current.org/2020/09/garrett-mcqueen-exits-classical-24-after-disagreements-over-changing-playlists/" target="_blank">https://current.org/2020/09/garrett-mcqueen-exits-classical-24-after-disagreements-over-changing-playlists/</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>