In the early ‘80s broadcaster Bill Battista was cared for by a physician, Dr. Arnold Benton, who listened regularly to WMNR and had it playing in the office. He suggested to Bill that given his knowledge of classical music and his deep voice he should consider being a broadcaster. Bill took his recommendation and called Kurt Anderson at the station, then housed at Masuk High School.

Soon thereafter, Bill began training with Kurt and broadcaster Bernie Morse (who he happened to know as one of his professors at Norwalk Community College). Concurrently, Bill began classes at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in Stratford, CT. At the time he was working as a telephone operator in Norwalk, CT.

Bill began hosting a classical program on Sundays from 6:00 to 9:00 am, extending his show to noon for a period, then settling into the three hour block which has been his for four decades. In the early days, broadcaster Bill Spielberg followed Bill. As an educator in Danbury, it was Spielberg who inspired Bill to complete his degree at Post University. For some time Bill also hosted Thursdays from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, followed by yet another “Bill”-- Bill Connors.

Bill credits his mother with introducing him to classical music. She was a soprano who sang in a church choir at St. Mary’s Church in Norwalk, CT. Bill remembers shopping trips to the Trumbull Mall to buy albums at E.J. Korvette's. The first album he recalls his mother buying for him was “Handel’s Greatest Hits,” a collection of Columbia Records recordings of what Bill describes as “Handelian warhorses.”

Each Sunday Bill arrives with an idea of what he might like to play, but largely choses and organizes on the fly. He works from his personal collection and recalls shopping at Al Franklin's Musical World in Greenwich, CT for albums.

Bill enjoys the English college choirs but found The Choir of King's College, Cambridge to be overplayed and set out to share recordings from other choirs, such asThe Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford. He tells us “I made it my life legacy to play people who are off the radar and composers who aren’t on an endless loop.” Close listeners know that over the last few weeks Bill has been enjoying Alia-Vox recordings by Spanish viol player, conductor, composer Jordi Savall.

Thank you Bill for over 2,000 Sundays, of sharing your knowledge and passion with WMNR listeners!