On Dec. 10, classical station 98.7 WFMT announced that Peter van de Graaff would take over its long-running program “Exploring Music” from its founding host, the conductor and composer Bill McGlaughlin, next year.
McGlaughlin worked for the station on yearly contracts since he was hired to host “Exploring Music” in 2003. Both a WFMT spokesperson and McGlaughlin confirmed that his present contract expires on Dec. 31.
However, in an interview with the Tribune, McGlaughlin claims the terms of his departure were not mutual. He says WFMT management first approached him with a transition plan in the summer, but says the station offered no feedback or rationale for the change. “Some of the reasons you get from stations are, ‘too much vocal music,’ ‘too much new music,’ ‘too much talk’ — none of that. … I’m getting a lot of no-answers,” McGlaughlin says. “It’s just a strange way to end a 22-year-long commitment.”
McGlaughlin additionally claims he is negotiating a copyright disagreement regarding the program’s theme music, which he composed. A WFMT spokesperson declined to comment on those claims. (In disclosure, this reporter was formerly employed at WFMT as an intern from June to September 2015.)
Based in New York, McGlaughlin, 82, is also a composer, former orchestral trombonist and conductor, leading the Kansas City Symphony as its music director from 1986 to 1998. He was head-hunted by former WFMT general manager Steve Robinson to host the program that would become “Exploring Music” in 2003.
Genially erudite, “Exploring Music” episodes hinge on a subject or composer, with McGlaughlin sometimes demonstrating concepts at the piano. The syndicated program’s popularity — with 400,000 U.S. listeners at its peak, in 2013 — led to praise from the Chicago Business Journal and from former Tribune critic John von Rhein, who wrote that McGlaughlin’s “folksy but informed manner has pulled thousands of listeners into the classical experience.”
McGlaughlin’s final “Exploring Music” episodes will delve into the Belle Époque, France’s cultural flowering between the Franco-Prussian War and World War I, for a to-be-determined air date. The series will end at five episodes, rather than the planned 10.
“I made it from Berlioz to Bizet’s ‘Carmen,’” McGlaughlin says.
His successor van de Graaff assumes host duties on March 30, 2026. Van de Graaff is a longtime WFMT fixture who has hosted nationally syndicated programs through the station’s Beethoven Network programming since 1989, most recently its late-night program. He is also a professional bass-baritone who was an early fixture at the Haymarket Opera Company and has performed with the Chicago, Utah and Houston symphonies, among others.
In addition to van de Graaff’s new post, the station announced Jan Weller and Kristina Lynn as its new weekday and weekend morning hosts, respectively. Weller, who began his shift on Dec. 15, is a three-decade veteran of WFMT, most recently serving as a Saturday afternoon and fill-in host. In addition to various live hosting duties, Lynn co-hosted “Sounds Classical,” a program that was canceled earlier this year, according to a social media post made by Lynn in September. (A WFMT spokesperson declined to confirm the program’s cancellation to the Tribune.) She begins her new shift on Dec. 20.
“The voices of our hosts are the heart of WFMT,” said WFMT head of programming and operations Roger Wight in a written statement announcing the appointments.
McGlaughlin’s departure makes him the fifth on-air host to depart from, or change relationships with, the historic station in the calendar year. John Nasukaluk Clare, hired to succeed weekday mornings host Dennis Moore, and “Sounds Classical” co-host LaRob K. Rafael both left the station in the spring. Veteran host Kerry Frumkin and former “Introductions” host Robbie Ellis shifted from full-time to part-time earlier this year, the latter transitioning into a new role managing the suburban Northbrook Symphony.
Clare left the station in June after just five months on the job. In an interview at the time, he told the Tribune that he felt “micromanaged” by WFMT leadership.
“It’s not, at this moment, a very healthy environment, to my perception,” Clare said.
Amid discontent at classical station, WFMT employees announce intent to unionize
The staffing changes follow other upheavals at the station. Moore, the former weekday mornings host, filed an ongoing EEOC complaint against the station last year, alleging that WFMT management failed to negotiate medical accommodations prior to his termination last August.
This March, eligible WFMT employees submitted a petition to unionize with SAG-AFTRA, the union representing broadcast media professionals. A station spokesperson and a bargaining unit representative confirmed negotiations were ongoing but declined to comment further.
Hannah Edgar is a freelance writer.