89.1 WEMU, Eastern Michigan University's public radio
station, has found its new evening jazz host.
Beginning Jan. 2, veteran jazz broadcaster Evelynn Hawkins
takes over as host of the weekday evening jazz program,
Tuesday through Friday, from 8-11 p.m. She succeeds longtime
evening jazz host, Michael G. Nastos, who retired last
July after 27 years at WEMU.
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Hawkins |
"Evelynn Hawkins brings incredible knowledge and experience
to WEMU, along with the kind of warm and welcoming on-air
presence I believe our listeners will very much appreciate," said
Program Director Clark Smith. "I'm really looking forward
to her joining the WEMU radio family."
"I consider radio
to be the 'theater of the mind,' said Hawkins. "Whether
or not a person is a serious or casual public radio listener,
I look forward to inviting him or her to hear, enjoy and
learn more about jazz by sharing the music's history,
the performers — past and present — and all
that this music represents to both America and the world."
Hawkins
has worked in radio since 1984, as an announcer and producer.
For nine years, she was the music director at WDUQ-FM in
Pittsburgh, a station with a similar format to WEMU's jazz
and news mix. She has co-hosted the national broadcast
of the Detroit International Jazz Festival and hosted WDUQ's
nationally-syndicated JazzWorks satellite network. She
has served on the boards of both music and community non-profits,
and was honored with a dedicated song, "Dr. DJ", by Andre
Previn (Deutsche Grammophon 447 639-2).
"I've known Evelynn
Hawkins professionally for years and am thrilled that she's
going to join the WEMU music crew," said Music Director
Linda Yohn. "She brings heart, soul, spirit, intelligence
and integrity to her work, and she knows jazz's rich tradition,
but has wide open ears for the best fresh music. She'll
be an excellent addition to the WEMU's already stellar
staff."
WEMU is
a listener-supported, NPR/PRI/APM affiliate with a format
of jazz, local news, and blues in addition to network
information and cultural programming. The station broadcasts
to an eight-county area including all or part of Washtenaw,
Wayne, Oakland, Livingston, Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe, and
Lucas (Ohio), Web casts live 24 hours a day at wemu.org,
and operates a secondary channel, WEMU2, on HD radio.
For more information, call Molly Motherwell at 487-2229.
