Cameo Appearance

["Laurence Glavin" <lglavin@lycos.com>]

Every rating period, some station makes a "cameo" appearance
at least in the 12-and-over ratings.  Once in a while, it's even
WJIB-AM.  WUNR-AM 1600 has appeared there, and even W-H-RB-FM 95.3.
This time, it's Gloucester's WBOQ-FM 104.9.  Rronline.com
identified the format as "classical" (something they've done 
with WNBH-AM 1340 in the Providence book).
WBOQ is almost all light (non necessarily "smooth")jazz,
American standards and Big Band.  It was probably this fare
that diarists heard when they wrote in WBOQ.  But the 
station DOES return to its classical roots on Saturdays;
they broadcast the Metropolitan Opera on Saturday afternoons,
and tapes of the DEEtroit Symphony Orchestra announced by Dick Cavett (yes he's still alive) at about 10:00 pm the same day.
The Met broadcasts began just before the diaries had to be turned
in and probably no-one listens to the DSO; WBOQ probably picks
up a fee for carrying the concerts.
On Dec 28, WBOQ was nearly all-classical from 1:30 on...
they carried the broadcast premiere of a new opera by my pal
Bill Bolcom (ok I met him briefly after a concert in Charlton, Mass)
called "A View From the Bridge" based on an Arthur Miller play.
I listened to (and taped) that broadcast.  Later, at 8:00 pm
they provided an FM stereo simulcast to an opera on channel 2,
Beethoven's "Fidelio", which I watched on TV but didn't
use WBOQ for audio;
then after the opera, WBOQ carried the DEEtroit Symphony
concert, which I also didn't hear.  But for about 12 hours 
on Saturday, Dec 28th, they came close, much closer than WCRB,
to the moniker, "classical radio".
(I suspect the South Street snoozer was all Xmas muzak.)

Laurence Glavin



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