If you’re a night owl, chances are
you know Peter Van De Graaff.
He’s the
producer and host of the overnight music block on the NPR News
& Classical Music service. In the studios at WFMT-FM /
Chicago, Peter works the wee hours presenting an interesting
mix of classical music selections. He can be heard starting at
9:00 p.m. weeknights and at midnight on the weekends.
Peter started his
radio career at KBYU-FM / Provo, Utah, where he was an
announcer and senior producer for three years following his
graduation from Brigham Young University with a degree in vocal
performance. He started hosting the Beethoven Overnight Service
in 1989.
Peter believes that
classical radio should provide the standard literature, but he
also knows how much other good music was written. So he brings
those works to light as well, respecting the listener’s
intelligence enough to believe that many want to expand their
knowledge of the art form.
He has an easy,
conversational style on the air. As one listener put it,
“I stay up late, only to hear that mellow, intelligent,
knowledgeable voice of yours talking about the music I love.
You say only enough to whet my appetite for more music and
information about the composers. I love your style.”
As a professional
singer, Peter has performed with opera companies and orchestras
throughout the world, including the Czech State Orchestra and
the symphonies of New Orleans, Utah, Colorado Springs, and San
Antonio. He has performed with opera companies in Rochester,
New York, Milwaukee, Chicago, and Boise.
Peter also has a
great interest in languages and speaks Dutch, German, and
French. In addition, he has studied Italian, Spanish, and
Russian. He also enjoys resurrecting and performing early
18th-century chamber operas called “intermezzi,”
which he and his soprano wife Kathleen have performed with a
number of orchestras.
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