Heather McDougall
Heather McDougall is a cellist and a native of the Philadelphia area, who took the long road to WRTI. "Two decades ago, Chicago came calling, and then Dublin...a great many musical adventures were had on both sides of the Atlantic along the way, and then 2019 turned out to be the year I found my way back to Philly. And what a brilliant moment to return – the city is just soaring artistically."
Heather programs the classical music heard on WRTI. "Our job in classical radio has never been more exciting. We're in a golden age of music-making; the array of stunning string quartets emerging on the scene every year just takes my breath away. We're spoiled...in the best way possible!"
Heather's background includes public media project management, overseeing production and managing partnerships for radio programming and podcasts, distributed nationally and internationally by the WFMT Radio Network-Chicago.
She has collaborated with a wide array of creative organizations, including the Poetry Foundation, Radio New Zealand, Shanghai Conservatory of Music and European Broadcasting Union. She called Ireland home for more than a decade – much of that time working in the radio and music divisions of RTÉ, the national public media organization.
As an arts manager, she has also focused on festivals and community engagement – with roles at the West Cork Chamber Music Festival and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Heather has a B.M. in Cello Performance (Eastman School of Music), B.A. in Linguistics (University of Rochester) and M.Phil. in Digital Humanities and Culture (Trinity College Dublin).
