KPAC 88.3 FM is My Source for. . .

Texas Public Radio’s KPAC 88.3 FM is an invaluable resource to the community. As one of the few remaining 24-hour classical stations left in the nation, San Antonio’s Classical Oasis carries our listeners through the day. The music serves as a backdrop to our lives and keeps us connected to the vibrant artistic community that makes this city unique.

Now we want to hear from you. We are inviting our listeners to share unique and personal stories about how classical music impacts their lives. Simply respond to the prompt, “KPAC 88.3 FM is my source for. . . “

We want to know how KPAC entertains or empowers you. Collectively, these stories will illustrate the many ways in which KPAC contributes to a civil, diverse, participatory and artistic society. Whether you are a listener, supporter or community leader, we want you to share your story.

Two Ways to Tell Your Story

Email: mysource@tpr.org
Phone: (800) 622-8977

* Be sure to include your name, email and daytime phone number so we can get back to you about recording your story.

We will select testimonials to broadcast on KPAC and to publish on our website. We look forward to hearing from you.

KPAC is My Source For. . .

Keeping the Mind Above the Mundane

"In the oft dry landscape of our lives there is a musical oasis that quenches our thirst, provides a companion in the long day and lonely night offering delights and memories while also opening a path to the unexplored."

"When I rise in the morning, I turn the first radio on, then proceed as I go from room to room. I have music wherever I go — even out on the terrace, and of course in the car. My flowers, and animals thrive on the daily dose. It keeps the mind above the mundane and helps the spirit soar."

—Arline Terrell

To Escape Talk Radio

"I started listening to KPAC just so I would not have to listen to talk radio. Because of that switch I have become fond of classical music. This year I purchased partial season tickets to the San Antonio Symphony and went to see my first opera. In a roundabout way I guess all because of talk radio."

—Tom Anderson

A Soundtrack for my Dreams

"I go to bed every night listening to KPAC 88.3. It adds a soundtrack for my dreams."

—David Cochran

A 24/7 Musical Experience

"Waking up weekday mornings to Randy Anderson and great music which seem to always include a pleasant Vivaldi piece. Listening to Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin daily to continue my musical knowledge after Karl Hause passed on. Musica Antiqua on Wednesday nights with Gerald Self who picks something exciting to hear. Great performances of Opera works explained vivdly by Ron Moore on Thursday nights. The music I do not want to wait over 200 years to hear, Alternate Routes co-hosted by James Baker & Ron Moore on Friday nights (WOW! What a program). Spending a pleasant Sunday afternoon listening to The Piano with Randy Anderson sharing his expertise on the various composers spotlighted. An overall musical experience anytime of the day or night seven days a week. Listening 99% of the time on my car radio as long as I’m inside the frequency range in or out of San Antonio! "

—Joe Romo

An Enjoyable Ride

"KPAC is my source for an enjoyable ride to and from work every day. I love to listen to Randy Anderson’s comments about the composers’ lives and the lovely music he selects. Performance Today is also one of my favorite programs. What would the music station be without Fred Child? He is so good. And the opera on Saturdays is something I look forward to listening to if I am going to be at home. I definitely could not do without this classical music station. It is a very important part of my life."

—Margaret Willms

Anger Management

"KPAC is my source for anger management."

—Brian Martin

Rejuvenation

"You are my source for peaceful rejuvenation of my soul."

—Marie Helsley

Making Life Worth Living

"KPAC 88.3 FM is my source for the auditory elixir that makes life worth living, no matter what!"

—W. Royall Cox, Ph.D.

Peace and Elegance

"As I make my way to and from my workplace five days a week, I see traffic creeping at a snail’s pace, impatient drivers weaving in and out of lanes and tempers flaring.  Thanks to KPAC 88.3 and the modest sound system in my little Subaru Outback, I am magically transported to a place of peace and classical elegance where I float happily to my destination – many times much quicker than I would like."

— Cathey Champlin

Inspiration

"KPAC 88.3 FM is my source for inspiration when is late at night and I’m seating by my drafting table seeking for a new design for my architecture design studio class. The classical music sets me in an artistic mood when I need it the most. The classical music at KPAC 88.3 FM is my Muse."

— Lina Luque

Enlightenment

"When I moved to San Antonio more than 30 years ago, the airwaves constituted an aural waste land. Though the city was home to a fine orchestra and several other talented ensembles, it was easier to find a corral in the undeveloped reaches of Bexar County than a choral symphony on the local radio.  San Antonio was one of the largest cities in the United States, but it was not until KPAC began broadcasting in 1982 that its spirit could begin to be as capacious as its population.  I have been a member and listener since the first moment that the station began filling the air with exquisite arrangements of sound. Though I am especially fond of "Listener's Choice," which delights with offerings ranging from the banal to the esoteric, KPAC is in general this listener's choice.  It is my source for entertainment, enlightenment, and inspiration."

—Steven G. Kellman

Carrying Me Through

"My story starts with an old radio. My dad passed away in 1995, we were cleaning out his house and there was an old table radio. A Panasonic. It has a wooden case and a great sound, but was difficult to tune. When you tuned it, it was staticy and erratic, so no one wanted it. Well, it belonged to my mother, who died quite young, of cancer, in 1968, so I took it for sentimental reasons.

In 2004, we moved here to be with my daughter and her family, because she was very sick, and needed us. I put the radio in my little office, got it tuned to 88.3 and it sounded just great. It's perfect because I have no reason to tune it to anything else. During the dark days of my daughters illness, it was a great comfort, and in those days you had "Adventures in Good Music" which I learned to love when I was in the Army. AFRS carried the program and is was real bright spot during my military years. I miss it, but enjoy all the programs especially "With Heart and Voice" on Sunday morning, Writers Almanac, "The Piano" is very good and Musica Antiqua is often very interesting, but the constant supply of "good" classical music is the greatest blessing of all."

—Carl Kirkegaard

Peace and Excitement

TPR is my source for the peace and excitement and energy that listening to classical music gives me.  It's my source of memories stored away that I didn't realize were there any longer, of childhood and adult years spent studying with excellent teachers, as I drew strength and put order into my life by working at the piano on historical and contemporary great music.

When the choirs sing, I'm there with them, for I spent many adult years in different places I lived, joining choirs of all kinds and thereby working on wonderful music and working with other members of the communities where I lived.

When Juliam Bream - and others - play classical guitar, I'm back in Colombia and Spain, where I also lived and learned to love guitar music.

When a pianist plays a sensitive passage, I'm playing it with them.  I'd honestly forgotten how many pieces of music I studied over the years.

I'm 66 now, and hadn't listened to a classical music station in years.  Then while I was living in New Braunfels, I discovered I could get 88.3 on my radio.  That's been 5 years ago now, and I live here in San Antonio now, and you have been on my radio's punchbuttons all that time. 

88.3 is my source for warm voices where I live - James Baker's "Itinerarios" and "Listeners' Choice" and Dierdre Saravia's gentle accent in the mornings and "Pipe Dreams" and well, just anytime of day or night that I check out what's playing right now.  And it's my source for finding out who wrote that incredible piece of music, because when I call in and ask, the program host is always friendly and helpful to repeat what I just missed hearing.

Listening to TPR has gotten me back into studying Bach again, which I haven't done in at least 20 years -- any classical music.  I went to Southern Music and bought the loveliest book of a variety of his works, and now I'm into Brahms again and Chopin.

It's my source for poems I would never have heard on Garrison Keillor's daily noon hour show.  I go to the web and find my favorites and send them to friends.

I'm so glad you're here.  Thank you for being here.

—Becky Purcell