DJ leaves classical music slot New MPR host comes from commercial radio

BANGOR – The popular host of Maine Public Radio’s morning classical music show is leaving after six years.

Dave Bunker, who took the post in 1995, is moving to southern Maine. MPR announced late last week that Leitha Christie, a former classical music host at WMCM and WAVX in Rockland, will succeed Bunker in the 8:35 a.m. to noon slot.

To those that listen to MPR’s stations throughout Maine and in neighboring states and provinces, the classical music host is more than a CD shuffler and announcer. Listeners here care very much who sits behind the microphone, a fact that surprised Bunker when he arrived in Maine from a public radio station in Pensacola, Fla.

“There was a fair amount of hoopla that went along with my joining the staff,” he said last week, a reaction that Bunker did not see in other parts of the country. He calls it “the Robert J. effect.”

The late Robert J. Lurtsema became a radio celebrity when his classical music show, broadcast in Boston but syndicated to stations throughout New England, successfully melded the host’s personality with the power of the music. Listeners tuned in as much to hear what Lurtsema would say about the music as to hear the pieces, according to Bunker.

So it is not surprising that Bunker’s own departure leaves listeners disappointed, and even stoked the rumor mill about its true cause. Suspicion was already well-fueled by the flap earlier this year when substantial programming changes triggered an outcry and subsequent campaign among listeners.

Some of Bunker’s listeners have said Bunker offered to continue hosting his show from MPR’s Portland studio, but was rebuffed by Charles Beck, MPR’s director of radio services.

Beck said Monday that he and Bunker discussed the possibility of Bunker continuing to host the show from Portland, but Beck concluded it would not work for logistical reasons.

“We had discussions,” Beck said. “We thought about it, believe me,” but he said it made sense to keep producing the show in the Bangor studio.

Beck said Bunker’s job – along with producing the show – includes supervision of some staff in Bangor. In addition, he said the network’s music library is in Bangor, and the Portland studio is small and used by the staff that produces MPR’s news program, “Maine Things Considered.”

Bunker said he is resigning because his wife has taken a job at York County Technical College. He does not have a radio job lined up, and is in fact looking for something outside broadcasting, possibly in the management of a non-profit organization.

But clearly, Bunker has enjoyed his stint at MPR. Like Lurtsema, whom he knew while the two served on the board of the Association of Musical Personnel in Public Radio, he consciously inserted himself into his broadcasts.

“I really think that Robert J. created the idea of classical music host as celebrity,” he said. And while Bunker couldn’t be described as pompous, as Lurtsema was by some critics, he believes that a good host can add to the listening experience.

In introducing pieces, Bunker has tried to provide “little nuggets, little hooks, something to listen for in the music,” he explained. Whether it was an anecdote about the composer, the historical context of the piece, or the role of the various instruments in the composition. He says such information enhances the listening experience for both casual listeners and aficionados.

Bunker has also been known for pushing the envelope on what belongs in a classical music program. On the day he spoke to the NEWS, he had played a piece by 20th century composer Charles Ives, something he said might not have sat well with all his listeners.

Bunker says he does not agree with those who think that listeners “graduate” to being able to appreciate more challenging pieces of music after cutting their teeth on simpler compositions. He said he often gets positive feedback from non-classical music fans on some of the more “edgy” pieces.

While one school of thought holds that programming should provide a smooth, stylistic transition from piece to piece, “so people aren’t startled by their radio,” Bunker took his show in a different direction.

“I prefer to vary the sound piece by piece,” he said, “to try and get them [the listeners] to pay attention to their radio. That’s what was interesting to me.”

Bunker also pioneered the “Live at 11!” a.m. program, which brought classical musicians into the studio to perform.

“Radio at its best is local radio,” he said.

Christie, Bunker’s successor, is a musician herself, Beck said, and has taught piano. Her last radio posts were at WMCM and WAVX in Rockland, commercial classical stations that are no longer on the air.

Beck said Christie is excited to be working in public radio, where she will be free from the constraints that come with commercial classical stations, such as trying to offer music that appeals to a broad audience.

“She’s got a wonderful voice,” Beck said of Christie. Christie takes over on the air Sept. 7.

Tom Groening is a NEWS reporter based in the Rockland bureau. He covers Maine media and can be reached at 596-6688 or via e-mail at groening@midcoast.com.