Jack Moore, one of WRTI's most well-known classical hosts, is signing off from the WRTI airwaves on September 21st after over 21 years on the air. He's leaving the station to pursue other opportunities and continue his active musical life outside of WRTI—as a conductor of three local orchestras, a performer, and educator.
"Simply put, Jack is an extraordinary talent, person, and steward of classical music," says General Manager Bill Johnson. "While everyone knows him as a host, they may not realize the tremendous impact he has had as the station’s classical music director, serving listeners for decades."
Jack joined WRTI in 1997 as a classical host; in 2002 he became the station's classical music director. A music major who studied at Rowan University, he began his radio career in 1972 working at stations in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and upstate New York, including nine years at Philadelphia’s former classical music station WFLN. His career has covered every aspect of radio including on-air hosting, programming, sales and management.
As curator of the classical music heard on WRTI all day long, Jack's impact on music discovery and enjoyment has been profound. Millions of listeners have been privileged beneficiaries of his knowledge and experience as a broadcaster and artist. He has guided them on journeys leading to new music while always keeping them grounded with the greatest performances and performers of all time. He has sparked new generations of classical music listeners and lovers.
Jack shared with us the joy he's found in his work at WRTI:
"To be able to go into the studio and share the music I love so much, with an audience that wants to hear what I have to say about it, and wants to hear the music—maybe something they haven’t heard before, or a performance by someone they haven’t heard before. Just to be able to share that is really fabulous.”
"If I hear something that really grabs me or stirs my emotions in some way, I want other people to have that experience."
In addition to overseeing WRTI’s day-to-day programming, Jack has served as executive producer and producer of some of WRTI’s most important local and regional programming, such as the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra broadcasts and Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection.
Beyond broadcast, Jack is committed to sharing his talents with our local community. He's the music director of both the Ambler Symphony and the Old York Road Symphony; he is also principal conductor of The Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, Philadelphia’s reading orchestra. Jack is also a frequent guest conductor of orchestras throughout the region, including the Ocean City Pops and the Bucks County Symphony, Jack has also appeared with symphonies in Europe and Russia, and has worked with educational orchestras in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland.
Jack has left an indelible mark on WRTI and our listening community. We’ll miss him as a friend and colleague, and are thankful that his considerable talents continue to benefit our performance and education communities.