From the University of Illinois Springfield

Classics With Karl Scroggin

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Click Here to RSVP for Karl's Retirement ReceptionClassics with Karl Scroggin was heard every weekday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. through March 30, 2012 after which Karl retired.

Through the Years

A Slide Show of Karl's Coda: His Retirement Reception

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UIS Chancellor Susan Koch's remarks at Karl's Coda:

The Primo Uomo

Thank you so much for the opportunity to share with all of you in this coda to honor Karl Scroggin, who has been the bel canto voice for classical music at WUIS for nearly 30 years.

As maestro of the University of Illinois at Springfield, and as one of Karl’s many listeners, I find myself feeling quite agitato and a little soto today as I realize, Karl, that your presence here on our campus is diminuendo.

In the short time that I have been here at UIS, like so many others here today, I have enjoyed that pianissimo, dolce voice behind which has always been the brilliante expertise that you have delivered to all of us so grazioso.

I doubt that you would describe yourself as a primo uomo, but you have played a leading role at WUIS and here in our UIS community with molto, molto bravura.

Karl, as Chancellor of UIS, I thank you with great affettuoso.

Best wishes on your retirement and …… BRAVO, Karl, BRAVO.

Susan J. Koch, Chancellor

About Karl Scroggin

For nearly 30 years, classical music enthusiasts welcomed the soft and quiet demeanor of retired WUIS host Karl Scroggin. The calming tenor (more of a baritone, really) of his voice, coupled with the encyclopedic detail in which he discussed his musical selections, has earned both Karl and WUIS widespread respect throughout the classical music community.

Karl's lifetime love affair with classical music began as a child when he began singing Gregorian chants in church. In college, Karl studied music and eventually took a degree in creative arts with an emphasis on music at the University of Illinois Springfield. His expansive education and command of several European languages have served him well as a classical music host. Complementing his extensive understanding of music and musical forms is his vast comprehension of the history of composers and the periods in which they worked. In addition, he plays the guitar, lute, viola de gamba, mandolin and recorder. Such a complete approach to music is part of the secret of Karl's success.

In 2006, the Illinois Humanities Council presented Karl with the Studs Terkel Humanities Service Award. In 2011, UIS Chancellor Susan Koch presented Karl with the UIS CARE Award.

It would seem that Karl was groomed specifically for the role of classical music host, however, he became an integral part of WUIS quite by accident. "I was going to school and teaching part time and a friend of mine suggested I get a student job on campus. The radio station had an opening, and I was hired to do odd jobs – cleaning the shop, working in the front office. They realized I knew a lot about music so I worked in the record library and in the radio information service. Then I started filling in for Lori Berg, the classical music host at the time, who was gone frequently. She eventually quit and I stepped in. There was no plan. It just happened and when it did I took it on faith that it was meant to be."

Although Karl had never been trained as a host it was a role he performed almost instinctively. "Brad Swanson said to me after the first couple of times that I hosted, 'I know you weren't trained to do this, and I don't know where you learned it. But you know how to do it.' I always had a great interest in foreign languages. I had extensive background in music. All the data was in my head."

In some respects, hosting a radio program is an odd professional choice for Karl who considers himself a rather private individual. However, his demeanor has served him well from the standpoint that he allows the music to take center stage. "I don't get in the way of the music."

Karl also has been involved in arts reporting for the station and numerous special events, but among his more memorable accomplishments was the Young Musicians Concert Competition. "That came about when I was listening to one of my students playing Christmas songs and it was so cute that I recorded it. And it dawned on me that it would be nice if kids could hear themselves play classical music on the air. I thought, 'let’s create something along the lines of a Music Federation competition, record it, and play it on the air during the holiday season so the kids can hear themselves.' People want to hear their children and grandchildren on the radio."

As a nearly 30-year veteran of the station, Karl has witnessed a technological revolution of sorts in the delivery of radio programming. "When I first walked in we used turntables and reel-to-reel tapes. There were many transitional technologies. We recorded on VHS cassettes and DAT cassettes. Then it went to mini discs. Now it is moving to 'on demand' music that we download from the Internet."

Karl has rebuilt the entire WUIS classical music library replacing all of the LP records with compact discs. "What’s wonderful about compact disc technology is that so much music can be recorded and so much more is available than has ever been available before. On an LP they (producers) could only afford to release top name ensembles, but now you have access to the complete piano sonatas of Domenica Scarlatti on 12 CDs. The technology has opened up for the listener the opportunity to discover repertoire that was never available before."

While the technology has certainly expanded access to the great works of the masters as well as those of little known composers, for many in the WUIS listening area it is the welcoming, sometimes satirical, often whimsical delivery of the soft-spoken Karl Scroggin that has allowed them to truly appreciate the beauty and the depth of this ageless musical genre.

Contact Karl Scroggin

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