ABOUT THE SHOW and THE HOST:Howard Dicus can't play a musical instrument, and can't read music with any facility. But he spent much of his childhood playing his dad's 78 rpm jazz records, and singing with his brother and sisters, who could hear any song once or twice and sing it back in multi-part harmony. Though the family home was filled with music, exposure to classical music was limited to the usual (for babyboomers) soundtracks of movies and cartoons, and the very few classics his father acquired on record, including "The Nutcracker," "Gaite Parisienne," and "Peter and the Wolf."As a teenager, checking out jazz records from the library, Howard discovered the Swingle Singers and the Jacques Loussier Trio swinging Bach, and it was a short step from there to the real thing. Around 1979, the development of the CD led to LPs on sale for $1.99, and a headlong self-guided tour of classical music ensued, completely out of order compared to what
Gene Schiller joined HPR in September, 1993 as a board operator. His first break came when he was asked to fill in for Music Director Alan Bunin. Six months later, he became the new host of Evening Concert, a program that runs on HPR-2 from 6 to 8 p.m. on weeknights.