Host profile: Michael Latsko
Name: Michael Latsko
Show: The King of Instruments (in summer changes to Evensong), Sundays, 6 - 7 p.m.
Day job and/or other volunteer activities:
Director of Music & Organist, Grace Episcopal Church, Keswick
Assistant VP-Human Resources, UVA
How long have you been a host at WTJU?
Since 1993
Why did you become a WTJU host?
There was a vacancy for pipe organ music; I helped on a marathon and we made a lot of money so got the "offer" I could not refuse
What do you want to share with the world?
The best in recorded music for pipe organ and choirs. There's only one nationally syndicated organ show (Pipedreams). King of Instruments/Evensong is local, carefully curated, and an area mainstay.
Tell us about one of your biggest gaffs while in the studio. (We've all got one, right?)
In over 1,200 shows I'm sure there have been at least 1,199. That's the beauty. Perfection is not the order of the day.
Favorite moments in the air studio? And/or what makes you feel great about being there?
Got a call from listener claiming to have heard music by a composer I was featuring. Claimed only to have heard it once many years ago in Washington DC. I was able to reach the composer's son who remembered the piece and the event. He even sent me the manuscript of the work, never published and never recorded.
If you could interview anyone on air, dead or alive, who would it be? Why?
Johann Sebastian Bach. Because he composed the best music for the instrument.
What are your guilty pleasures? (Music or otherwise)
Ice cold, very dry gin martinis, always up, always with olives, always in iced glasses.
How has it felt being a radio host during this pandemic?
Strange to be alone but great to stay connected on the air.
What are your passions outside of music?
Gardening, cooking, eating, traveling
Would you rather be trapped in an elevator with a banjo player, a bagpipes player, or an accordian player?
Never bagpipes. Bagpipes bad.