Kevin Gordon
Former Classical HostA veteran broadcaster, Kevin garnered a wealth of experience in radio before taking the weekday classical host position from 2 to 6 PM at WRTI, where he was on the air until his retirement in March 2023.
He served as host on the classical music station WQXR in NYC for 15 years, on Classical South Florida WKCP in Miami, and on WINS, NBC News, and the RKO Radio Network, all in New York.
In addition to his experience in radio, Kevin has performed comedy on the ABC Radio Network and narrated programs at New York’s Hayden Planetarium, Rochester’s Strasenbergh Planetarium and the Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias in Valencia, Spain. He appeared onstage at the Kennedy Center in a two-person program about Pablo Casals, and at Lincoln Center Out of Doors as the host of A Salute to Old Time Radio. Kevin has been the host of New York City’s Bryant Park Festivals, and has appeared onstage in various theatrical productions.
When he’s not on the air, or on the stage, Kevin enjoys a prominent career as a fine artist and portrait painter with works on display at numerous universities — including Columbia, Dartmouth, and the University of Michigan — and at hospitals and private collections throughout the country. His illustrations appear in books of all types, including his own best-selling, The Good Cigar. He's quite a talented guy!
Kevin grew up in Rochester, New York in a home filled with music and art. Is he a musician? “I play piano and guitar badly,” he quips. “But I try.” How did he break into classical music hosting? At WQXR, he originally started out in the news department, and then developed a background and passion for classical music, and transitioned in the ‘90s to classical host.
Favorite composer? “Beethoven. I really connect with him.” Kevin is so fascinated with the composer that he went to Vienna to visit all of the apartments that Beethoven lived in. “He was a bad tenant – he got kicked out a lot, so I was busy!”
Kevin also wrote a book about conductor George Szell, filled with anecdotes.
As he puts it, he has been — at one time or another — a television weatherman, a nightclub magician, a private pilot, and an amateur bullfighter. Kevin's wife is a licensed acupuncturist, and his son is an Emmy Award-winning actor.
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Classical Host Kevin Gordon brings you Flix@5 every weekday at 5:05 PM on WRTI 90.1. The week of August 10th Flix@5 treads the boards with music from hit…
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There are two men of note named Michael Collins. One piloted the Apollo 11 command module to the moon and back. The other, the one we’re interested in…
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Summer is a great time to read, watch movies, and listen to great soundtracks. WRTI Flix@5 Host Kevin Gordon talks with Susan Lewis about the movie music…
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May 11, 2020. If you listen to WRTI's weekday feature Flix@5, you're likely familiar with the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957), whose scores…
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April 13, 2020. JoAnn Falletta has led the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for over 20 years. In that time, the orchestra has recorded most of classical…
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February 24, 2020. As WRTI continues to mark Black History Month, we feature an album that celebrates, through contemporary music, the writings of the…
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February 3, 2020. WRTI celebrates the beginning of Black History Month by spotlighting the Black Composers Series, which marks the achievements of African…
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December 16, 2019. This week, we're celebrating Beethoven’s birthday! Although the big birthday, the 250th comes next year, we’re celebrating nonetheless,…
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December 2, 2019. Erno Dohnanyi was only 17 when he wrote his Piano Quintet No. 1 in C minor, his opus 1. Johannes Brahms, who composed one of the great…
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November 18, 2019. American Reflections, our Classical Album of the Week, has humble and typically American beginnings. The St. Charles Singers is a group…