Episode 176: Bill McLaughlin

Bill McLaughlin was a classical music radio host, a music educator, a musicologist, a composer and a conductor.  He was a Peabody Award–winning classical music radio host. In 1980, he launched the popular St. Paul Sunday Morning on NPR.  Later he hosted Exploring Music, heard on the WFMT network.  He was known for his ingratiating personality. Bill was also a professional orchestra musician, over three decades as a conductor, and a decade as a composer.Trained as a trombonist, Bill took up conducting in1969 after completing a Master of Music degree in conducting at Temple University, studying under Robert Page. He also worked with William R. Smith, associate conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the esteemed Max Rudolf. He had stints with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Eugene Symphony, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony, leaving his mark wherever he served.