John L. Horst, Ted Grimsrud and Jim Bishop produce and host weekly programs on public radio station WEMC, 91.7 FM. They do it on a volunteer basis because they believe there are sufficient numbers of people hankering for their special brands of music.

And, while they acknowledge that their programs appeal to a “niche market,” they get enthusiastic listener response to shore up their conviction.

“Mostly Mennonite, Mostly A Cappella”

John Horst

Horst, a retired physics professor at EMU, hosts “Mostly Mennonite, Mostly A Cappella,” 8-9:30 a.m. Sundays. He plays blocks of, as the program suggests, mostly unaccompanied sacred choral music by local and nationally-known artists and groups.

Horst draws from years of musical experience, which included singing with the former “Mennonite Hour” radio broadcast’s chorus and male quartet in the mid-1950’s to the mid 1960’s as well as composing. Music from the 15 CD reissues of Classic Mennonite Hour singing often appears on the program.

Listeners on a given Sunday morning may hear groups ranging from local favorites such as the the Eastern Mennonite High School Touring Choir, the EMU Chamber Singers, the Shenandoah Valley Men’s Chorus, the Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir and local composers Jim Clemens and Brad Lehman. A sampling of contrasting music outside the Mennonite tradition is usually part of each program.

“Friday Night Jukebox”

Jim Bishop

Bishop, who dubs himself a “hopeless nostalgic,” dishes up an hour of dusty discs from the decade of the 1950’s, the “Friday Night Jukebox,” 8-9 p.m. Fridays. The show features straight-ahead rock and roll, street-corner doo-wop harmonies, top ten instrumentals, off-the- wall novelties and sock hop specials with artists as diverse as Chuck Berry, Perry Como, the McQuire Sisters, Marty Robbins, Duane Eddy and Little Richard who shared the charts during this era.

The last 15 minutes of the show every week is devoted to unabashedly romantic tunes to watch the submarine races by. Requests and dedications are welcomed by calling 432-4211.

Bishop also teams up with WSVA radio personality Jim Britt for the monthly “Warped Records Show,” a two-hour montage of, as the title suggests, weird, wacky tunes that were once stables of radio but today don’t “fit” any station genre, 10 a.m.-noon, usually on Thursday. The show will feature warped holiday tunes twice in December – on the 8th and 23rd of the month.

“I’m not aware of any commercial radio station anywhere doing a program like this one,” Bishop notes. “Even WSVA doesn’t know what to make of the avid listener response.”

“Wavelength”

Ted Grimsrud

Rumor has it that if Ted Grimsrud’s CD collection was laid end-to-end, it would stretch from Harrisonburg to Hinton – maybe even Rawley Springs.

Dr. Grimsrud, professor of Bible and religion at EMU and – yes, he’s a rockin’ jock PhD – is host of “Wavelength,” 3-6 p.m. Saturdays. He modestly describes the program as “music from the intersection of country, folk, rock and roll, blues and gospel.”

On any given week, one might hear Waylon and Willie, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan and the Beatles followed by the Everly Brothers, Bruce Cockburn, Nina Simeone and Los Lobos – and it “seams” to work.

The Bible prof-music buff even manages a “Wavelength” blog at

About WEMC and WMRA

WEMC, Virginia’s oldest public radio station, founded in 1955, is owned by 草莓社区 but now managed by the staff of James Madison University’s public radio station, WMRA. WEMC operates out of WMRA’s studios at Cantrell Ave. The station can be heard on-line at .

“Drop the coin right into the slot . . . You gotta hear somethin’ that’s really hot . . .”

So declared Chuck Berry, makin’ merry in 1957’s “School Days.”

For six years now, a devotee of the pioneer rock and roll artist has been doing just that – plunking buffalo nickels into the colorful Wurlitzer and dishing up platters from that ebullient era on a weekly basis.

The first Friday night in February, 2000 host debuted the “Friday Night Jukebox” on WEMC-FM, the public radio voice of 草莓社区.

The coins apparently didn’t get stuck or run out, as the show seemed to strike a responsive chord with area listeners who thought they’d never again hear songs that they grew up with from that time period, even on area commercial oldies stations.

The big difference – most of the songs are now played off compact disc, although Bishop does revert on occasion to a trusty, dusty rusty turntable for that rare tune still not available in that format.

On the “Jukebox” sixth anniversary show, 9 p.m. Feb. 3, Bishop will feature exclusively the creme de la creme, the No. 1 chartbuster hits of the 1950’s, including the biggest-selling song of each year from 1955 to 1960.

Ordinarily, the program tends to focus more on “songs that charted and received airplay for awhile, but didn’t crack the Top 10,” Bishop said. The show tries to include instrumentals, novelty tunes and one-hit-wonder artists every week, he noted.

The following week, 9 p.m. Feb. 10, the “Friday Night Jukebox” will feature sentimental, unabashedly romantic selections from the 1950’s on a “Pre-Valentine’s Music Special.”

Listener requests and dedications are welcomed by calling 432-4211 by Wednesday of the week.

, is the oldest non-commercial station in Virginia and now broadcasts 24 hours a day.

Do you hear what I hear?

Sounds of the holiday season will fill the air as WEMC, the radio voice of 草莓社区, features Christmas music the entire month of December.

Under the banner of "WEMC’s Classical Christmas," the station’s holiday programming will feature Christmas carols, instrumental arrangements of carols and longer works composed for the season, such as Handel’s "Messiah" and Vivaldi’s "Gloria," WEMC general manager said.

The station will also feature special Christmas programs from such performers as Wheaton College, Concordia College and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Mondays through Fridays, the music will air 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. Sundays, Kauffmann-Kennel noted.

Individuals, businesses and congregations can sponsor a day or a portion of a day of the holiday music. Those interested should contact Kauffmann-Kennel at 432-4287 or at wemc@emu.edu.

on the FM dial, broadcasts from 6 a.m. to midnight daily. Founded in 1955, it is Virginia’s first public radio station.

Jim Bishop recalls his first "air" time with WEMC as a powerful moment.

In the mid-1960s, Bishop was a student at Eastern Mennonite College with a custodial job in Lehman Auditorium, which at the time housed , the school