Although a radio’s general manager is usually a behind-the-scenes presence, Peter Fretwell of Plainsboro, in that position since July 1, is on the front lines of WWFM’s fall fundraising campaign. The Classical Network, New Jersey’s only classical music station providing 24-hour programming, has its on-air fundraiser from Friday, October 19 through Friday, October. 26. According to Fretwell, the eight-day campaign is the shortest in station history. The station is housed at Mercer County Community College at 1200 Old Trenton Road.##M:[more]##
After a nationwide search for a new general manager Fretwell was discovered in Spokane, Washington, and relocated to Plainsboro in July. A graduate of John Brown University in Arkansas with a degree in organizational management, he has an master’s in business administration from Amberton University. With experience in leadership, management and communications, Fretwell has received three national news awards for broadcast journalism, and has been active in community affairs.
In college he was assistant manager at John Brown University’s KUOA-AM radio station, where he also represented the university as a talk show host. He has studied classical music and has played the cello, double bass, and piano. Fretwell is committed to the station’s classical format. “I have a great love of classical music,” he says. “My priority as manager of WWFM will be to expand the station’s influence on the arts in New Jersey, to grow its listenership, and to engage the community. I hope to continue to expand on corporate sponsorships and increase funding through arts grants.”
He met his wife, Rebecca, at a radio station where she was doing the accounting. She also did some on-air work and occasionally co-hosted on his talk show in recent years. A victim of blindness caused by retinitis pigmentosa, she played piano and organ when she was sighted.
“She still plays the piano, though without being able to see musical scores,” Fretwell says. “A close friend of hers is a former concert pianist who has worked with her on relearning piano after losing her sight. Once we get more settled, I hope to buy her a grand piano, since she is enjoying spending more time playing now.”
Rebecca enjoys cooking, knitting, crocheting, and gardening. “She gets two magazines in Braille each month — Cooking Light, and Martha Stewart’s Living,” says her husband. “I benefit greatly from her experimenting with the new recipes each month.”
Although she used to reach more than 100 books a year from Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, she has become a news junkie, according to her husband. “I think the East Coast is most interesting to her from that perspective — she cannot see the beauty of New Jersey or the bustling nature of Philadelphia or New York City, but she can literally hear the difference in the culture of the East Coast in the news and the media. She is blessed to be once of those people who can take life — and blindness — one day at a time, so she accepts the changes and enjoys the differences she finds here.”
Their two mini-dachshunds are ShyAnne and Sierra. Fratwell reports that “both of them love New Jersey!”
WWFM celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Since its first broadcast in 1982, the station has grown into a 24-hour classical music station serving New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and portions of Delaware and Maryland. Its reach also extends to Colorado via satellite. The station also reaches listeners through www.wwfm.org.
To highlight the contributions of musicians from central New Jersey, WWFM listeners also enjoy performances by world-class musical organizations from this region. The monthly Music in Princeton features chamber music presented by Princeton University Concerts, including professional ensembles and soloists known world-wide. Seasonal and holiday concerts by the American Boychoir, the Westminster Symphonic Choir of Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Fuma Sacra, the Princeton Festival, Princeton Pro Musica Chorus and Orchestra, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, and the Riverside Symphonia have added sparkle to WWFM’s programming.
Incentives for contributors include donations from Mercer County faculty including a painting by artist Mel Leipzig, a light plane ride, fitness center memberships, and a signed fine art photograph.
“The goal is to raise $200,”000, to be used for expanding the area’s access to great classical music,” says Fretwell. “We’d like listeners to give early, and give often.”
—Lynn Miller
To volunteer, become a member, or donate visit www.wwfm.org or call 609-587-8989. To listen to broadcasts visit www.wwfm.org or 89.1 on your FM radio.
