THANKS FOR 35 CLASSIC YEARS KUAT-FM!

posted by Jack Gibson

Many of you have been listening to Classical KUAT-FM 90.5 for the 35 years that it’s been on the air, so I’d like to share some history that may entertain you and give you some idea of how far we’ve come. Arizona Public Media’s first radio station, KUAT-AM (now KUAZ-AM) began offering Classical music in October, 1968 and the station became a charter member of the newly-formed National Public Radio (NPR) system in 1971. At that time phone lines connected public radio stations throughout the country to the program production center in Washington, D.C.

On May 19, 1975, KUAT-FM 90.5 began broadcasting as Tucson's first non-commercial FM station (the first selection to be played was Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man). Warren Clark was the welcoming announcer, and the format was primarily classical music with cultural programming, news and public affairs. The broadcast day was 6 a.m. to 12 midnight, seven days a week, from a transmitter on the KUAT-TV tower at Mount Bigelow.

In the years since the station’s first sign-on, we’ve added translators (remote auxiliary transmitters) to reach more of Southern Arizona, won awards for programs, added many broadcast series featuring the world’s greatest classical music performances including the Metropolitan Opera (in 1977), embraced talent like Bill McGlaughlin (who now hosts Exploring Music and Saint Paul Sunday), shared hundreds of local community concerts, and expanded into the new digital age with online streaming, classical blogs from James Reel, and iPhone compatibility.

If you’re passionate about classical music, you will love KUAT-FM no matter where you listen – in your car, on your computer, or on any number of portable hand-held devices. It has been our privilege to keep classical music on the air for your enjoyment, from Southern Arizona to Shanghai.