Christopher Purdy
Classical HostChristopher Purdy is Classical 101's early morning host, 7-10 a.m. weekdays. He is host and producer of Front Row Center – Classical 101’s weekly celebration of Opera and more – as well as Music in Mid-Ohio, Concerts at Ohio State, and the Columbus Symphony broadcast series. He is the regular pre-concert speaker for Columbus Symphony performances in the Ohio Theater.
Christopher remains a New Englander at heart, with strong ties to Manhattan where he lived for many years. But he has strong Columbus ties: his late father-in-law, Wayne Rittenhouse, was the football coach of Central and Northland High Schools in Columbus. Christopher met his wife, Linda Rittenhouse, while they were both working at a food kitchen in New York City. They married in 1989; their daughter Kerry Megan was born in 1990. The family moved to Columbus in 1991. They are still adjusting to the Midwestern lifestyle. A city boy, Purdy maintains that he would be happy to cement over his entire yard spare me the lawn mower and the weeds!”
His favorite composers are Monteverdi and Bruckner. An accidental encounter with a beat-up recording of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at the age of eight changed Purdy’s direction from law school or the priesthood to one of classical music and public broadcasting. He was so captivated by the cover art, that he took the recording home, popped it on his battery-operated kiddy record player and his life changed forever. He still has the recording.
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Classical 101We may love having everyone home during the holiday season, but it's just as easy to go a little stir-crazy. Luckily, there are untold riches of holiday music and dance available. -
Classical 101When I first came to WOSU just over thirty years ago, listeners I was meeting for the first time would ask me, “Do you know Mary Hoffman? You must meet Mary Hoffman!” -
Classical 101Sundays at 1 pm in January and February, join Classical 101 for performances by the students and faculty of the School of Music at The Ohio State University. -
Classical 101Should I call these my favorites? Maybe. It all depends on my mood, on what I need music for at any given time. I can tell you that these are the recordings issued in 2021 that give me a lot of pleasure. -
Classical 101Music lovers in Central Ohio needn’t wait long for plenty of music bringing “comfort and joy” during Advent and throughout the holiday season. -
Classical 101This Sunday’s Music in Mid-Ohio, the season finale, presents the Columbus Symphony as heard in Carnegie Hall in April of 2001. We’ll hear Brahms Symphony number 2, and selections from the prologue to Boito’s opera Mefistofele. -
Classical 101The Metropolitan Opera presents Verdi’s Requiem on September 11, 2021, the twentieth anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The performance will air live on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. on WOSU TV. -
Classical 101Sony Classical has just issued a 15 CD set of all of Marian Anderson’s RCA recordings, including several titles never before published. The set comes with a “coffee table book” detailing the lady’s formidable career. From African American churches in Philadelphia to Scandinavia, Russia, Israel, South America and every European capital. From the Metropolitan Theater in Detroit to the Metropolitan Opera in New York. -
Classical 101La reine de Saba has just been recorded by the Boston-based Odyssey Opera, conducted by Gil Rose.
