90.5 WUOL Classical Louisville will celebrate 40 years on the radio Dec. 20 with a rebroadcast of the very first hour-and-a-half of 90.5 WUOL from 1976. The audio was digitally transferred from a reel earlier this year by the University of Louisville School of Music Library.
Over its 40-year history, 90.5 WUOL has welcomed musical luminaries into the studio from across the globe, including JoAnn Falletta, Mark O'Connor, Pierre Boulez, Peter Schickele, Sharon Isbin, Joshua Bell, John Harbison, Philippe Entremont, Cho-Liang Lin, Rachel Barton-Pine, Evelyn Glennie, Paul Taylor, David Parsons and many others.
In addition to providing 24-hour-a-day quality programming, the station is proud to serve as an arts resource for families with musical outreach in schools, a free summer listening program and Young Artist Competition. Over the last decade and a half, 90.5 WUOL has donated more than 700 instruments to students in our community through its Instrumental Partners program.
"For 40 years, our community has supported a classical radio station, 90.5 WUOL, because we understand how rich it makes our city, and how it connects us to music and to each other," said Louisville Public Media Director of Radio Daniel Gilliam. "Over the years, we've grown from just being a broadcaster to being an agent for change in our community."
To celebrate the occasion, we're asking listeners to call (502) 814-6560 to leave a well-wishes greeting, share a favorite radio moment or just say what 90.5 WUOL means to you. We'll broadcast some of these messages on Dec. 20, 2016.