For the last five years, Mike Bolton has been a steady Saturday-morning presence on the air at WRTI. He’s now stepping away from this weekend role, for personal reasons. His final shift as host of Saturday Morning Classical will be at the end of this month, on Aug. 29.
Thankfully, he isn’t stepping away entirely from WRTI. He will continue as a part-time host — contributing to Fanfare, covering fill-in shifts across our schedule, and hosting Sunday Classical (including the broadcast on Aug. 30).
“Mike’s warm, thoughtful, and generous presence has made him an ideal Saturday companion, and our listeners will no doubt miss starting their weekends with him,” attests Zev Kane, WRTI Classical Program Director. “We are so thankful for everything he has accomplished on Saturday mornings and thrilled that he will continue lending his talents to WRTI.”
Josh Jackson, WRTI’s Associate General Manager for Programming and Content, echoes the sentiment. “I listened to Mike routinely while running weekend errands, and I have enjoyed working with him during Saturday fundraiser programming,” he says. “I'm not alone as a listener who will feel the loss, but I am thankful for all that he has contributed. We're glad that he will remain a part of WRTI.”
For Bolton — a longtime part of Philadelphia’s classical ecosystem who now works as the Director of Advancement at the Academy of Vocal Arts — his signoff from Saturday Morning Classical stirs up gratitude first and foremost. “Thank you to everyone at WRTI and to all our wonderful listeners for making me feel so welcome, for allowing me to fulfill a lifelong dream of being on the radio, and for sharing your passion for music with me as I shared mine with you,” he says. “This is farewell, not goodbye, and I look forward to being back with you from time to time. Until then, don’t forget to celebrate your love of music every day!”
From Sept. 5 on, Saturday mornings will feature a roster of familiar WRTI hosts on an interim basis, beginning with Zev Kane. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for future updates on our Saturday schedule.