THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 24, 1995 TAG: 9502220122
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
From Bartok to Buck Owens, Graham Harris loves it all and plays it all on the radio.
Harris is the newest announcer at WFOS FM-88.7, the radio station of the Chesapeake schools. The 24-year-old graduated from Great Bridge High School in 1990 and received his bachelor of arts degree in French from Houston's Rice University in 1993.
Harris will handle the station's ``Morning Overture'' slot from 6 until 9 a.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning.
Harris said he loves classical music and is keen on the works of Bela Bartok and the ``modern Russian composers'' like Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff.
But his musical tastes don't end there.
When he leaves WFOS for the day he dons a musical cowboy hat and handles the weekend overnight shifts at the country oriented Eagle 97 radio.
``I like country music radio. That's where I'm the most comfortable,'' Harris said. ``My musical tastes range everywhere. I like every kind of music except for easy listening; that drives me up a wall.''
Before working at Eagle 97, Harris spun discs at a couple of other regional country stations: 96-KIX in Elizabeth City, N.C., and WKEZ in Yorktown.
Where did Harris learn radio broadcasting skills?
``At WFOS, where else?'' he exclaimed. ``I took the course during the summer of '86 and worked there for a couple of years. I usually did the late afternoon classics show.
``I now look back at the station's broadcast program and say `Wow!' They sure get you squared away. It's a great program. It got me hooked on radio. I won't get rich off radio, but I love it.''
Along with his love of music and radio, Harris is also a dyed-in-the-wool Francophile, thanks to the year he spent attending high school at Margency, a town about 10 miles outside Paris.
``I was in the Youth for Understanding student-exchange program and went to high school in France during my junior year,'' he said. ``I stayed with a family and did a straight year in France. I was totally immersed in the culture. It was a great experience, and it made me fluent in French.''
During Harris' first year in France he was exposed to world beat, another one of his musical loves. World beat is a hybrid music form that incorporates all types of ethnic and indigenous music styles, usually in a pop setting. It includes Asian pop, African and Caribbean rhythms and vocal styles, Slavic music, Mid-Eastern sounds and many, many others.
``While in France I picked up a Juluka album by Johnny Clegg (a South African musician who blends native Zulu styles with pop/rock 'n' roll),'' Harris explained. ``I was knocked out by the music and have been hooked ever since.''
Harris took his love of world beat to Rice University, where he became the college station's world music director. He hopes someday to create a world music show for WFOS.
While Harris handles classical and country over the area's radio waves, he's also busy earning his teaching certificate from ODU.
``I hope to be doing some student teaching next semester,'' the Great Bridge resident said. ``Ideally I'd love to teach French at the middle school level or get a full-time radio job.''
Until then, listen to WFOS every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as Harris starts your day with the sweet sounds of classical music in the morning. by CNB