Get to Know a WPR Staffer!
by Claire Couillard

Meet Cheryl Dring, WPR's new music director. Cheryl joined us last month, to take over the directorship, which has been open since Vicki Nonn retired last year. Cheryl comes to us from Capital Public Radio, an all-classical station in Sacramento, California, where she was music director. At Capital, she started a travel program, encompassing international trips, as well as outings to see regional performances. She also started "Bach's Lunch," a series of free lunchtime concerts on the grounds of the state capitol. Cheryl originally hails from Louisiana, where she worked at several stations during college, graduate school, and afterwards. Her academic background is in vocal performance. “When I started pursuing a life in music,” says Cheryl, “I had no idea it would lead me into radio. Frankly, everyone who’s known me since childhood is just happy I found a career where talking is a job skill!”

RadioWaves: What are the most interesting challenges and opportunities that await you in your new role?

Cheryl Dring: I think it’s always a challenge to find the right balance between an organization’s history and its future. There are so many things that WPR does well! I want to maintain what’s special about the music here while injecting some new ideas. There are so many opportunities to reach people … on air, on the web, at events … I’ll always be looking for ways to build new audiences while providing engaging, compelling music programs for our current listeners.

RW: Have you ever eaten a brat and deep-fried cheese curds?

CD: Love the brats! I know cheese curds, but have never eaten them fried. However, being from the south (where “fried” is a food group!), I believe that anything worth eating is worth frying.

RW: Of all the types of classical music, do you have a favorite style/genre/composer?

CD: That’s a hard one … if you were to strand me on a desert island with only one kind of music, I guess I’d ask for early music … baroque and before. However, it’s hard to imagine a world without Brahms piano concertos, Schubert songs, Puccini operas, Mozart chamber music, Arvo Part’s choral music … well, you get the picture.

RW: What do you do for fun?

CD: I love to read, cook, garden, crochet, travel, and taste wine, among other things.

RW: People can get classical music from a number of sources these days — how do you keep them tuned to the radio?

CD: It’s not enough to have a great classical jukebox! You have to engage your listeners as a host; give them a sense of who you are; form a relationship with them. Point of view is not only important in talk radio; it’s what separates a great classical show from classical Muzak.

RW: You’ve worked in Louisiana and California up until now. Do you own a winter coat?

CD: Luckily, I hosted a winter trip to Prague and Vienna a couple of years ago, so I outfitted myself with coat and boots. My previous winter coat for California was a leather jacket!

RW: How important is "Music from Wisconsin" — recorded and live concert music from groups and musicians from this state?

CD: As you pointed out earlier, people can get music from a variety of different sources these days. A sense of place is so important — a sense of ownership and pride in what’s happening in our own backyards. People don’t always realize that great music doesn’t just happen in New York and Chicago.

RW: How many members of the Packers' starting lineup can you name?

CD: I have to admit, since Brett Favre retired, I haven’t followed the Packers as closely. Green Bay was the second favorite team for New Orleans Saints fans while Brett was playing; he was a Gulf Coast boy … and we desperately needed a winning team to root for! I’m a big football fan, though, so I’ll definitely be rooting for the home team.

RW: Do polkas count as classical music?

CD: Depends on the instrumentation!