WXXO (91.5 FM) is a public, listener-supported radio station in Rochester, New York, airing a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

radio format. Its programs can also be heard in Houghton on WXXY (90.3 FM) and on the seventh

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...

WXXI-TV WXXI-TV (channel 21) is a PBS member television station in Rochester, New York, United States. It is owned by the WXXI Public Broadcasting Council alongside NPR members WXXI (1370 AM) and WXXI-FM (91.5). The three outlets share studios at 280 S ...

(channel 21). It's owned by the WXXI Public Broadcasting Council, which also owns WXXI-TV and a two-station news and information service, WXXI (1370 AM) and

WXXI-FM WXXI-FM (91.5 MHz) is a public, listener-supported radio station in Rochester, New York, airing a classical music radio format. Its programs can also be heard in Houghton on WXXY 90.3 FM and also on a digital subchannel of WXXI-TV on 22.7. The ...

(105.9). WXXO holds periodic fundraisers on the air to support the station. WXXO has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 45,000 watts. The transmitter is located on Pinnacle Hill in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. It is co-located with the towers for several Rochester FM and TV stations.

History

The station signed on December 23, 1974, as WXXI-FM, the FM

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

to WXXI-TV. Its initial format was a mixture of classical music, folk music, jazz, news and

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

. WXXI-FM switched to mostly classical music after the 1975 format change of

WBFB WBFB (97.1 MHz, "97-1 The Bear") is a commercial FM radio station in Bangor, Maine. The station is owned by Blueberry Broadcasting and airs a country music radio format, simulcast on sister stations WBFE in Bar Harbor and WMCM in Rockland. T ...

(92.5 FM) from a commercial classical station to

all-news radio All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...

. WBFB donated its classical music library to WXXI-FM, and WBFB program director Simon Pontin soon joined WXXI-FM as its morning host. On July 2, 1984, WXXI-FM shifted most of its news programming, including NPR's '' Morning Edition'' and '' All Things Considered'', to its new second service, WXXI (1370 AM). With the exception of some weekend and evening specialty programming, WXXI-FM became a full-time classical music service. In 2007, WXXI-FM began broadcasting using

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...

technology, offering a simulcast of WXXI on its HD2 channel and a third service of news and information on its HD3 channel. On May 10, 2023, the station changed its call sign to WXXO with the

call sign moving to the former WJZR (105.9 FM) ahead of 105.9's relaunch as an FM simulcast of WXXI. Despite the change, WXXO continues to brand as "WXXI Classical".

WXXY

The station that is now WXXY originally signed on in 1979 as WJSL. It was the

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

station of Houghton College.Site of the Week 7/9/2021: Wellsville and Alfred, NY
Retrieved July 9, 2021. Houghton sold the station to the WXXI Public Broadcasting Council in 1999; the ownership change saw WJSL replace a simulcast of

religious programming Religious broadcasting, sometimes referred to as faith-based broadcasts, is the dissemination of television and/or radio content that intentionally has religious ideas, religious experience, or religious practice as its core focus. In some coun ...

from WMHR with WXXI-FM's classical programming. In August 2004, WJSL began carrying some of WXXI (AM)'s NPR News programming in drive time, along with the Saturday edition of '' Weekend Edition''. The call sign was changed to WXXY in September 2009.

Programming

WXXO originates broadcasts of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, hosted by Brenda Tremblay. WXXO also originates the national program ''With Heart and Voice'', hosted first by Richard Gladwell and currently by Peter DuBois. It features sacred choral and organ music. Local live music broadcasts include ''Live from Hochstein'' and ''Backstage Pass''. During late night and weekend hours, WXXO carries the national classical music service " Classical 24". During drive time, WXXY breaks from the simulcast with WXXO to carry ''Morning Edition'' and ''All Things Considered'' in a simulcast with WXXI AM-FM.

References

External links

* {{Classical Radio Stations in New York Classical music radio stations in the United States XXO NPR member stations Radio stations established in 1975 1975 establishments in New York (state)