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Friday, December 21, 2007
New York Hires Georgia Radio Host
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta, and the state of Georgia, is losing one of its most robust and edifying voices.
Georgia Public Broadcasting’s announcer-producer Terrance McKnight, whose voice might be described as a lyric basso profundo, was recently hired away by WNYC-FM, one of New York’s flagship cultural institutions. The 44-year-old Morehouse College graduate will take the 7p.m.-11 p.m. shift once held by Margaret Juntwait, who left three years ago to become the host of the Metropolitan Opera’s radio and HD theater broadcasts. He’ll also host occasional live performances.
McKnight served as host of various shows on GPB, a network broadcast across Georgia, although Atlantans in the central city often get more static than music when they try to tune in. He’s been the state’s radio voice of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 2004. He’s also done candid, compelling interviews with many local musicians and visiting stars.
“I’m humbled,” McKnight said Thursday. “New York is a place where an idea can become a national trend. I’ll get to help shape the template for the arts, for listening to music, where the term ‘classical’ is a misnomer and sometimes does more harm than good. We’ll redefine what classical music is.”
For his WNYC job interviews, McKnight sent the station managers what he thought might be regarded as his “wackiest” programs — but which they singled out as a model for the future. For an episode of GPB’s “Studio GPB” show, for example, he opened with a couple of Otis Redding songs followed by Robert Schumann lieder, with each set described in plain language and accessible imagery.
“It’s all human emotions and different expressions of it, across 500 years of music,” he recalls. “There are ways to connect the historical with the new and the popular with what goes on in concert halls. In many cases, the barriers are artificial. The key is how it’s presented.”
McKnight broke the news to his GPB colleagues Thursday. “In Georgia we grow great talent but we can’t keep it,” says Susanna Capelouto, GPB’s news director. “I’m very proud of him, but it’s a loss for the state.”
McKnight’s last GPB show will be mid January. He’ll be heard at WNYC beginning in April. And nowadays, almost all radio is listenable on the Web, on www.gpb.org and www.wnyc.org.
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