Debra Lew Harder

Last updated

Debra Lew Harder (born 1960 or 1961) is an American pianist and radio announcer and host of the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. Harder was named as the fifth host of the broadcasts in 2021, succeeding the retiring Mary Jo Heath.

Contents

Harder was previously an announcer for classical music on radio station WRTI in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Biography

Debra Miyoung Lew [1] was born to South Korean parents in Burlington, Vermont, in 1960 or 1961. [2] She was raised in northeast Ohio and is a 1979 graduate of Western Reserve Academy. [2] [3] She studied the piano starting when she was six years old, and she was successful in music competitions growing up. [2] [4] She graduated from Kent State University with a bachelor's degree and she earned a Doctor of Medicine at the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in 1985. [2] [5] She studied under pianist Tung Kwong-Kwong while at Kent State University. [4] [6] After practicing emergency medicine in central Ohio for a few years, she decided to pursue a career in music. [2] She began attending Ohio State University in 1988 to study under pianist and artist-in-residence Earl Wild, and she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in 1994. [2] Through her career, she gave performances at venues such as the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series at the Chicago Cultural Center, Verizon Hall in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, and Wigmore Hall in London. [5]

Harder later moved to Philadelphia, where she shifted to mainly teaching music rather than performing, and she served on the faculties of Haverford College and Bryn Mawr College. [2] [5] She was host of the classical music programs on local radio station WRTI from 2016 to 2021. [7] In 2021, she was named as the new host of the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts, taking the place of the retiring Mary Jo Heath. [8] Harder is the fifth person in 92 years to hold the job since the radio broadcasts began in 1931. [2]

Personal life

In 1985, she married Thomas Harder. [1] [2] He is a physician. [2] They have two children. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WUAB</span> CW affiliate in Lorain, Ohio

WUAB is a television station licensed to Lorain, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD and Shaker Heights–licensed CBS affiliate WOIO, the latter station whose full-power spectrum WUAB transmits over via a channel sharing agreement. WUAB, WOIO and WTCL-LD share studios on the ground floor of the Reserve Square building in Downtown Cleveland, with WUAB and WOIO sharing transmitter facilities at the West Creek Reservation in Parma.

WVIZ is a PBS member television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Ideastream Public Media alongside classical music station WCLV and co-managed with Kent State University–owned WKSU, the NPR member for both Cleveland and Akron. The three stations share studio facilities at the Idea Center on Playhouse Square in Downtown Cleveland; WVIZ's transmitter is located in suburban Parma, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRTI</span> Classical/jazz public radio station in Philadelphia

WRTI is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a service of Temple University. The Temple University Board of Trustees holds the station's license. The broadcast tower used by the station is located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia at.

WVPX-TV is a television station licensed to Akron, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of Ion Television. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, it is jointly operated with Canton-licensed Bounce TV affiliate WDLI-TV, which transmits using WVPX-TV's full-power spectrum via a channel sharing agreement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTAM</span> Clear-channel news/talk radio station in Cleveland

WTAM is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, and carries a news/talk/sports format commonly known as "Newsradio WTAM 1100". Owned by iHeartMedia, WTAM serves Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio, and is a clear-channel station with extended nighttime range. WTAM is also Northeast Ohio's primary entry point station in the Emergency Alert System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKNR</span> Sports radio station in Cleveland, Ohio

WKNR – branded as 850 ESPN Cleveland – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland. Owned by Good Karma Brands, WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio and the AM flagship station for the Cleveland Browns Radio Network; the Cleveland affiliate for the Ohio State Sports Network, and the radio home of Je'Rod Cherry and Tony Grossi. The WKNR studios are currently located in the East Bank of The Flats in Downtown Cleveland, while the station transmitter resides in the Cleveland suburb of North Royalton. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WKNR is available online.

WCLV is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, carrying a combined fine art/classical music and jazz format. Owned by Ideastream Public Media, the station serves both Greater Cleveland and Northeast Ohio as the home station for the Cleveland Orchestra and an affiliate of the BBC World Service.

WKSU is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Kent, Ohio, featuring a public radio format. Owned by Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media, WKSU's primary signal encompasses the Akron metro area, Greater Cleveland and much of Northeast Ohio as the regional affiliate for National Public Radio (NPR), American Public Media, Public Radio Exchange and the BBC World Service. The station's reach is extended into the Canton, Mansfield, Lorain, Ashtabula, Sandusky, New Philadelphia and Wooster areas via a network of five full-power repeaters, two low-power translators, and one on-channel booster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAKS</span> Contemporary hit radio station in Akron, Ohio, serving Cleveland

WAKS is a commercial radio station licensed to Akron, Ohio, known as "96.5 KISS-FM" and featuring a contemporary hit radio (CHR) format. Owned by iHeartMedia, WAKS's studios are located at the Six Six Eight Building in downtown Cleveland's Gateway District, and its transmitter resides in Brecksville; because of this, the station is recognized as a Cleveland radio station serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHKW</span> Christian radio station in Cleveland, Ohio

WHKW is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, and is known as "AM 1220 The Word" featuring a Christian format. Owned by Salem Media Group, the station serves both Greater Cleveland and the Northeast Ohio region. WHKW's studios are located in the Cleveland suburb of Independence while the transmitter site is in neighboring Broadview Heights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKDD</span> Radio station in Munroe Falls, Ohio, serving Akron

WKDD is a commercial radio station licensed to Munroe Falls, Ohio, United States, featuring a hot adult contemporary format known as "98.1 KDD". Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., the station serves both the Akron-Canton metro area, with additional coverage in Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. WKDD's studios are located in North Canton, while the transmitter is located in Cuyahoga Falls. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WKDD broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and streams online via iHeartRadio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Perkins (radio personality)</span>

Robert “Bob” Perkins is an American retired radio personality who worked as a jazz program host and DJ in Philadelphia. His radio career began in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. In 1969, Perkins began working for Philadelphia's WDAS, where he worked for 19 years before moving to WHYY in 1988. In 1997, he joined Temple University's WRTI Radio, where he worked until his retirement in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Jepson</span> American opera singer

Helen Jepson was an American lyric soprano.

The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are a regular series of weekly broadcasts on network radio of full-length opera performances. They are transmitted live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network airs the live performances on Saturday afternoons while the Met is in season, typically beginning the first Saturday in December, and totaling just over 20 weekly performances through early May. The Met broadcasts are the longest-running continuous classical music program in radio history, and the series has won several Peabody Awards for excellence in broadcasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland Browns Radio Network</span> Regional play-by-play radio network

The University Hospitals Cleveland Browns Radio Network is an American radio network composed of 24 radio stations which carry English-language coverage of the Cleveland Browns, a professional football team in the National Football League (NFL). Jim Donovan is the lead announcer along with Nathan Zegura and sideline analyst/reporter Je'Rod Cherry.

Mary Jo Heath is an American radio music host, associated with the Metropolitan Opera since 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAKR</span> Radio station in Akron, Ohio

WAKR (1590 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Akron, Ohio, and known as "Soft Hits 93.5 FM". Locally owned and operated by Rubber City Radio Group, Inc., the station primarily services the Akron metropolitan area, including both Summit County and Portage County.

References

  1. 1 2 "Marriage of Miyoung Lew / Harder". Akron Beacon Journal . October 27, 1985. p. 21. Retrieved June 1, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Tonguette, Peter (May 28, 2023). "Musician turned radio host Debra Lew Harder heard by millions of Metropolitan Opera fans". The Columbus Dispatch . Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Dr. Debra Lew Harder '79 Named Radio Host for the Metropolitan Opera". WRA Magazine. Western Reserve Academy. Winter 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2023– via Issuu.
  4. 1 2 Krebs, Betty Dietz (April 13, 1989). "Columbus concerto winner has local ties". Dayton Daily News . p. 34. Retrieved May 30, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 "Debra Lew Harder Named Metropolitan Opera Radio Host, Only the Fifth in the Company's History" (Press release). New York: Metropolitan Opera. September 20, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Prizes won by area musicians". Akron Beacon Journal . April 18, 1983. p. 30. Retrieved June 1, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Dobrin, Peter (September 20, 2021). "WRTI's Debra Lew Harder is the new host of Metropolitan Opera broadcasts". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  8. ↑ Salazar, Francisco (September 21, 2021). "Metropolitan Opera Names New Radio Host". operawire.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.