Born in 1938 in Quincy, Massachusetts, he was taken by his father to jazz and Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts in the early 1950s, and developed an ear for both genres.
These broadcasts as well as his commentary at the Sunday Tanglewood Festival in the summertime are informed by his lifelong attendance of the orchestra, dating back to conductors Charles Münch and Erich Leinsdorf.
His mother, an educator in the South Shore, gave him a love of learning, a curiosity for many cultures, and until her recent passing, a tie to the last Golden Age of Opera.
[3] With the death of Robert J. Lurtsema in 2000, he became the host of Classical Morning, but retained his Friday afternoon Boston Symphony spot.
In that capacity, he has visited many of the famous and esoteric eateries and bistros in the Boston area, watching the owner/chefs turn their recipes into delicious dishes.