Nicole Lacroix

Evening Host, Classical WETA 90.9 FM

Nicole Lacroix joined WETA 90.9 FM in 1998. Her interest in radio was sparked by Voice of America broadcasts in Vientiane, Laos where her family was stationed at the start of the Vietnam War. The little American compound had no television and no telephone. The warm and reassuring voices on the radio were the only communication from home, and made a big impression on a small child. When the family was transferred to the Ivory Coast, radio was again the vital link that kept them in touch with what was going on in the United States. Through the Cuban missile crisis and the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the neighborhood ham radio operator became the local hero.

After receiving a degree in music from Trinity College, Lacroix spent fifteen years at WGMS in Washington, with stints at VOA, KDFC San Francisco and at Baltimore's WJHU and WBJC.

Lacroix lives in Baltimore’s Federal Hill with her husband and their cat, “Random,” Labradoodle, “Skipper,” and English Bulldog, “Chopper.” Her hobbies include singing lessons, yoga and running with the above-mentioned Labradoodle.

A conversation with Nicole Lacroix

How did you first become interested in classical music?

When I was about four, my mother’s boss gave me an LP with the highlights of La Boheme and La Traviata and I listened to it over and over again until it drove my parents crazy. Eventually, they started taking me to this big record store on Connecticut Avenue that had listening booths and we would pick out new music to take home.

Then, when we moved to Laos via Hong Kong the following year, my dad got himself a super-duper hi-fi system. I remember he went to the PX and got an LP of Jaimie Laredo, the violinist and he said, “I’m going to learn to play the violin like this.” He played that record over and over again. So, I would wake up to Jaimie Laredo playing his violin and go to sleep to my dad going “Screech! Screech! Screech!”

What do you think of Washington as an environment for classical music? How do you think it compares to other areas?

I asked National Symphony Orchestra Associate Conductor Emil de Cou that question about Washington vis-a-vis San Francisco where he also spends a lot of time. He had a really interesting response. He said that San Francisco is a place that has its own musical heritage where opera, ballet, and symphony are very much part of the city's identity. In Washington, we have our home artistic team, but we also welcome the whole world to our stages. It’s very international here and we have an embarrassment of choices, far beyond what most cities can offer. Anytime you pick up a brochure, you see acts from everywhere.

What is your favorite aspect of your job as an on-air host?

I really love learning about composers and musicians and sharing their stories. So many of them are exceptional people and their lives are fascinating. Most of them are dead, so it’s okay to gossip!

One of my favorite stories is about Berlioz. Apparently, he once became so upset with his girlfriend that he dressed up as a maid and got in a carriage to go murder her! Where else are you going to get these kinds of characters? And then you get to play their music, which is always sublime! (He never did murder her by the way. He ended up spending time on the Riviera instead.)

On a more serious note, I also enjoy going out and talking to performers. They are always so passionate about what they do. It’s inspiring.

Any favorite memories of people you’ve met or experiences you’ve had related to classical music?

The person I remember most fondly is Patrick Hayes. He was the founder of Washington Performing Arts Society. He had so much vision, so much vigor. Talk about passion—he was overflowing with it! For any kind of art form! He really, really cared about sharing art, bringing it to people and developing artists. And he was always such a gentleman!

What’s the future of classical music? How can we grow audiences and appeal to younger listeners?

I think one of the things we have to watch is turning classical music into museum music—something that has no life to it, which was created by white men who lived 300 years ago. There are a lot of people who are composing music now who deserve the chance to be heard. It is part of our responsibility to listen, hear this new music and foster it as much as we can. It’s just like theatre—we don’t only listen to Shakespeare. We have to keep classical music vibrant, a living entity.

It sounds simple, but I think a big step is simply exposing our children to classical music. All of us say that our experiences as children influenced our love of music. The same is true for our children. Something as basic as leaving the radio on all the time, so that the kids hear it, can predispose them to enjoying those sounds. It's also important to give them the experience of going to performances.

Maybe it’s from hearing my dad screech away on his violin, but I also think the tactile experience of making music oneself is very important, especially for kids. You don’t have to be CD quality or even very good. You just can’t duplicate that experience of creating music—it’s very satisfying and makes our lives so much richer.

What is your favorite style of music?

It depends on my mood. Sometimes something really loud by Stravinsky is perfect. Sometimes if you’re driving around with you’re top down on a beautiful spring day, you want something really romantic. I also particularly like things that I can sing along to in the car. The other day, I found myself singing Mozart's "Alleluia" while walking the dogs.

(Editor’s note: Nicole is currently taking singing lessons so if you hear her at a stoplight be sure to say hello.)