Robert J. Lurtsema
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Robert J. Lurtsema (November 14, 1931–June 12, 2000) was a public radio broadcaster.
He hosted the classical music show, Morning pro musica, on WGBH in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1971 until his death from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was known among public radio listeners throughout New England for his sonorous voice and his phrasing, which frequently included long pauses.
The long pauses, anathema to mainstream radio, were either tolerated or loved by his loyal listeners. "I'm not afraid of dead air," he was quoted as saying. "I don't think there's anything wrong with a quiet spot once in a while. When I pause I'm visualizing my audience, the person I'm speaking to. I always imagine I'm speaking to someone in particular."
Lurtsema also did a great deal of voice-over work, especially for public television documentaries and classical pieces which included narration.
When "Robert J." as he was known, began his program in 1971, he decided to broadcast seven days a week, five hours a day. He had originally been hired for just the weekends, and then the weekday job opened up. Because he felt that the nation was in turmoil, and that he could, through his calm voice and reassuring presence, not sensationalizing the news, bring some much needed consistency to people's lives, he accepted the weekday job while continuing the weekend job. This schedule lasted for 23 years, after which time he was heard only on the weekends.
Robert J. did many surveys of composers. He would play, in order of composition, say, all the string quartets of Beethoven or Dvorak, at the same time each day Monday through Friday, so that his listeners could count on their being played, and learn about each piece and composer. He himself had had no "classical" music in his childhood, and therefore knew what it was like to grow up without any knowledge. He himself said that he learned along with his listeners.
When Robert J. died, he left a loving partner, Betsy Northrup, then of Wellesley, Massachusetts. They had been together as a couple for ten years. She was an enormous help to him, at WGBH, in his narrations, and as a companion, both professionally and personally. He also left a mother, two sisters, and a brother.
[edit] Trivia
His signature opening pieces, one for each day of the week, were accompanied by his personally made recordings of chirping birds, suggesting the show (which began at 7am) as virtually the first thing his listeners heard in the morning. Ottorino Respighi's Ancient Airs and Dances Suite and one of Giovanni Gabrieli's triple brass quintets were among his opening themes.
In addition to his calming manner, he had a subtle sense of humor. He played the birdsong recording unaccompanied for the first part of his program, before fading in his classical opening piece for the day. On at least one occasion, on April 1 in 1982, he celebrated April Fools Day by giving the birds "the morning off" and substituting for them himself. On that morning waking listeners were greeted by his measured, utterly deadpan voice offering an earnest spoken rendition of birdsong (i.e., "chirp... twitter... chirp... bob-WHITE!... chickadee-dee-dee...") for the length of time the birds would normally have been heard unaccompanied.
