WRCJ 90.9 FM Offers Listeners' Classical and Jazz Music

Did you know that Detroit has a classical and jazz radio station? Among the varieties of music and talk on Detroit's radio dial, many are unaware of this niche station, WRCJ, 90.9 FM, at the far end of the FM frequency. WRCJ is a listener-supported public radio station which airs 14 hours of classical music each day from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. and 10 hours of jazz music overnight from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Where else in the world but Detroit can you listen to the music of Beethoven while drinking your morning coffee and also enjoy the sounds of Miles Davis as you dawdle through your bedtime routine?

"We are on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are a totally independent, public radio station," says WRCJ Program Director Dave Wagner, who also serves as daytime host of the Morning Show from 6 to 10 a.m. and Dr. Dave's Drive Time Elixir from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Wagner's morning show features the Sousa Alarm each morning at 7:15, when he plays one of American composer John Philip Sousa's 136 marches. Wagner says that although WRCJ is a public radio station it is not an NPR (National Public Radio) station, which features news, talk, and cultural programming.

Although the station first went on the air in 1948 as WDTR, an educational service of Detroit Public Schools, over the years it has hosted a variety of programming and in 2005, due to budget constraints within the school district, Detroit Public Schools announced a format change to classical and jazz and that Detroit Public TV would take over control of operations at the station. In 2017, Detroit Public Schools sold the station's license to the non-profit Detroit Classical and Jazz Educational Radio, LLC. The new ownership maintained the operating agreement with Detroit Public TV.

Today, WRCJ FM is known as Detroit's only classical and jazz music radio station. Wagner has been with the station since its inception in 2005. "The nice thing about being a public station, about being a local station, and being a live station is that we can connect the community together and be a voice for the local artists," he says. "Our job is to kind of be the megaphone for all the arts and organizations here in Detroit and connect people with all the events that are going on. We have the DIA, the Charles H. Wright Museum, and the Science Center; there are musical programs going on there and how else are you going to find out about that unless you have a local radio station?"

For lovers of jazz, WRCJ offers local hosts Maxine Michaels and her "Maxology" Show on Friday evenings beginning at 7 p.m .; John Penney hosts "JazzFest Detroit" on Saturdaysbeginning at 7 p.m .; and Linda Yohn hosts "The Sunday Night Swing Set" from 7 to 9 p.m. The remainder of each evening features "Jazz Overnight," hosted by John Hill, Dave Schwan, Jana Lee Ross, and Dee Alexander. The program is part of the Jazz Satellite Network and originates at WFMC in Chicago.

Classical programming includes "Exploring Music" with host Bill McGlaughlin, an exploration of classical music and its famous composers. Sunday mornings offer "Great Lakes Concerts" at 10 a.m. featuring recordings from regional orchestras and professional classical musicians from Michigan. On Sunday evenings at 6 p.m. "Film Classics" with host Jack Goggin takes a listen to music from films.

Since WRCJ FM does not operate as a commercial radio station by selling advertising, nearly 84 percent of the stations' operating budget is met by individual contributions from loyal listeners, lovers of classical and/or jazz music. "People are very generous, both the classical and the jazz listeners," says Wagner. WRCJ partners with more than 125 organizations and non-profits that support public radio and WRCJ and in turn, are able to have their cultural and musical events announced on-air without the need for expensive radio advertising commercials. As for commercials, WRCJ limits each hour to only two minutes of 30-second commercials which makes plenty of time for music, music, and more music.

A native Detroiter, Wagner says WRCJ's position as a live and local radio station provides a sort of customer service in addition to music to the residents of metro Detroit. "I think the station has a real sort of Detroit sound. We're proud of our heritage as a city that not only has the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, but has a great jazz tradition and has the Paradise Theater, but also has a large and diverse population," he says. "How terrible it would be for us to lose local radio."

You can enjoy the music of WRCJ FM at 90.9 on your radio dial. Find out more about the station and all it offers at http://www.wrcjfm.org.