Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / Public Radio Music Day - TPR's In Focus - Oct. 28, 2026

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Public Radio Music Day - TPR's In Focus - Oct. 28, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from the Janice Hawkins Cultural Arts Park on
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  the main campus of Troy University, featuring the International
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  Arts Center, the Fred Noll Hollis Museum,
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  and the Hua Bao Zhu Gallery. More information at troy.edu/artspark.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is In
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  Focus, and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson. Every year on
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  October 28th, listeners everywhere
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  celebrate Public Radio Music Day. Our guest, Kyle Gassiott,
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  is director of radio as well as a musician
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  and musicologist. He's responsible for
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  the music programs you enjoy on weeknights and weekends.
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  The theme for Public Radio Music Day this year is Sounds
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  Like Home, and we're glad you call Troy Public
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  Radio your home for music on the airwaves.
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  Kyle, welcome to In Focus. Thank you,
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  Carolyn. Always happy to be here. It is a joy to host
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  you because this is a special day. Today is Public
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  Radio Music Day. And so that means stations around the country and NPR and other
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  public radio networks are honoring
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  what happens on our air every day, and that is great music programming.
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  That is music programming in genres that you're necessarily not going to
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  find everywhere on other radio stations and across
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  the dial. And we think, Carolyn, that what we do
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  here at Troy Public Radio and across the public radio network in
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  terms of bringing our listeners great moments of musical inspiration is
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  pretty special. And today— and I like to celebrate it every day, but I think
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  today is a really great day to do that as well. One thing I like
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  to do is celebrate the listeners, and especially those who support
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  Troy Public Radio. That's right. And a lot of people actually support us because
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  of our music programming. We have amazing shows that we produce
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  here in our studio and also put out on podcasts as well.
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  And that includes Inchoir, which is hosted by Diane Orlowski and
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  Scott Sexton. And if you're not familiar with that show,
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  I would point you to whatever podcast app that you have and search for I-N-C-H-O-I-R,
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  Inchoir. They talk about choral music, the arts,
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  and life. It's really a great deep dive into
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  a topic along with some really excellent music to
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  accompany and some really insightful moments. And they have interviewed Grammy Award-winning composers,
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  performers. They've talked to a number of folks on that podcast,
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  and it's really great. And Kyle, they're in their 3rd year.
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  They are in their 3rd year, and they're going strong. We're so proud of the
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  audience that it has built. I'll also alert people to
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  one of the best gems that Troy Public Radio has had around for years,
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  and that is Clarinet Corner, hosted by none other than clarinet
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  professor in the John M. Long School of Music here at Troy University,
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  Tim Phillips. It airs on our stations at
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  7 PM Central on Monday nights. And Kyle, coming ahead
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  in early 2027, we are going to be celebrating
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  that podcast, that show, Troy University
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  is hosting some really big events in conjunction with
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  that. That's right. With Clarinet Corner, we're going to be celebrating that show as we
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  always do here as it hits big milestones.
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  The wonderful thing I think that listeners to that program find
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  whenever they tune in is that Tim talks with a variety of musicians.
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  It's not just classical clarinet. Clarinet is part of jazz.
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  It's part of film music. It has its place in a lot of
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  different musical genres. And Tim does such a great job
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  of incorporating that and also of doing different themes
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  and also bringing new music, new composers, new pieces for the clarinet
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  to the forefront. And so I was so glad when we could put it out
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  as a podcast as well and share it with listeners there.
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  And it has a devoted fan base around the world to that particular
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  program too. We do need to remind the listeners that now we
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  are reaching audiences all over the globe. It's true.
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  Your program in particular really goes out everywhere. So I'm glad that people that
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  around the world are going to hear us, that are listening different places and around
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  the country, that are going to find out maybe about some of these new shows.
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  And that's what we're hoping always happens when you listen to Troy Public Radio.
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  You find out about a new program or a new conversation that you can tune
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  into. And Clarinet Corner is really one of the best around. And I know
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  everybody big in the clarinet world has joined Tim for a conversation.
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  And I think that folks are going to find out, even if you aren't
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  familiar with a lot about the clarinet, You're going to find something that you
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  like listening to that show. Kyle, I'm not sure
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  how many people in our audience realize that you yourself are a musicologist.
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  You're also a musician. So all of this comes
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  into play when you are designing the programming of the station.
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  And we seem to have as many fans of the music aspect
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  of Troy Public Radio as the On Air with NPR
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  and all of those talk programs. Thank you for acknowledging that, Carolyn,
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  that I do wear a different hat every now and then as a musician.
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  But yes, I have some degrees in double bass performance and
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  a degree in musicology. And that's why taking this job
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  and entering public radio, I really felt like it was tailor-made for me in
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  a lot of ways because I do have the news bent, so to speak,
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  in which going out and reporting and announcing and
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  being live on air is important to me. But music is such an important
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  part of my life, and I am happy Whenever I can locate
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  a show or put a show on our air, if it's a regular show that
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  we bring to folks every week, such as Tiny Desk Radio or Performance Today,
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  which is on a daily basis, or Radio Deluxe. I mean, we know how much
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  people tune in for that show, American Roots, something like
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  that from any of our network partners that I'm able to bring to our listeners.
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  And they come back and tell us how much they enjoy it. I'm always really
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  happy about that, but I'm really excited about what we're able
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  to do here at Torrey Public Radio. And Carolyn, we would be remiss if we
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  did not talk about Opus 3. Opus Three with Dr. Catherine Allard.
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  Kyle, she is celebrating 26 years
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  of serving the Troy Public Radio listeners with Opus Three.
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  That's right, going strong. That was one of the first programs that I tuned into
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  myself when I first moved to the area, but I remember noting
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  the time that Catherine's show came on on Sundays and making sure
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  to tune in because even as a musicologist, and, and no one can know everything,
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  but Catherine taught me so much more listening to that program. And Catherine
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  has varied tastes. Catherine did a program on classical
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  music and wrestling and the similarities between the two. And so, yes, we explored
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  that topic on the last Fund Drive. She's willing to go to a lot of
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  different places and take a lot of audience feedback about show ideas
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  and pieces that they want to hear. And that's one thing that a local public
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  radio station and show can do, Carolyn. She has a loyal following,
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  and this is just an example of the variety
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  that is offered to our listeners, whether they're in Alabama,
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  Florida, Georgia, or elsewhere. As we know, they're listening,
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  seems like, all over the world. But the weekends are tremendous
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  for music offerings, as are the weeknights.
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  That's right. I mean, what we always say here every hour is that
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  we're news and information by day and musical inspiration by night, and that starts every
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  night at 7 PM. A lot of those programs I've already mentioned are
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  on. We have a couple of hours that we're able to rotate and
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  bring in special programming such as the BBC Proms or Carnegie Hall Live,
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  The Score with Stone is a big stalwart around
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  here, and From the Top brings you so much joy because
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  we're talking to the next generation of talented classical musicians. And these
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  kids, Carolyn, when they play and you hear how young they are, they sound so
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  mature in the way that they perform and they play and present themselves on
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  air. It's just amazing and heartening. Sundilla Radio Hour,
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  which is a program that is now played at a lot of different stations
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  across the country but has its roots in Auburn and got started here
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  at Troy Public Radio. I'm very proud that we support that program as well.
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  Really, any of your musical tastes, you're going to find something in public
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  radio, and I think at Troy Public Radio, that you're going to resonate with.
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  So Public Radio Music Day is
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  a tribute to the listeners who support it, those who
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  tune in all the time, and we celebrate them
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  and celebrate what's on the schedule for them. That's right.
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  So happy to do it. Happy Public Radio Music Day to all.
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  Kyle, thank you for joining us today. Thank you,
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  Carolyn. Always happy to talk to you and always happy to talk about
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  music on Troy Public Radio. That was Kyle Gassiott, Director of Radio,
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  joining us for Public Radio Music Day.
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  This year's theme again is Sounds Like Home,
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  and we're glad that you found your music home here on the Troy Public
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  Radio airwaves. Thanks for joining us today for In Focus.
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  Which is a podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
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  And feel free to get in touch at infocus@troy.edu.
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  I'm Carolyn Hutcheson, and this is listener-supported
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  Troy Public Radio.