FAQs

Do you have an app?

Yes! Download our free app from the App Store or Google Play for all mobile devices and tablets. Now you can listen from anywhere, no need for our FM signal. If you have the internet, you have WMNR!

What’s the schedule on WMNR Fine Arts Radio?

WMNR is one of the best classical music radio stations in the country, in fact one of only 40 in the nation that devotes over 90% of its hours to classical music. Our schedule also includes specialty programs which generally air in the evenings and on Saturday. Tune in for jazz vocal programs, hours devoted to instrumental jazz, a folk music program that has been running for decades, nostalgic looks back at the jukebox era, show tunes and standards from Broadway, a weekly show devoted to complete choral works, and early music programs.

What’s WMNR playing now?

Right this second? Peruse our What’s On Now. Need to know more? Give the station a call to find our what was airing, by whom, and why!

Is the music stream on WMNR the same as what’s on the FM dial points?

Yes, when you stream the station - whether you’re looking for Christmas jazz, the Mozart Effect, or to determine who you think is the greatest composer of all time - you are streaming our programs live. But! There is no static. Since online listening is internet radio, there is no atmospheric interference and the sound is crystal clear.

How long has WMNR Fine Arts Radio been broadcasting classical music and jazz in Connecticut?

Our volunteer broadcasters have been airing classical - and classic - music in our current format since 1982. For nearly forty years, listeners tune in for beautiful classical music like symphonies, concertos, solo piano, string quartets, and choral works. These works are drawn from all eras and genres of classical music— Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic, Modernist, Contemporary and everything in between. Evening at the Opera has been on air weekly since 1983, featuring opera buffa, bel canto, and grand operas, enjoyable for an opera aficionado or a newbie . Over the years, WMNR listeners have discovered instrumental jazz and jazz vocals, folk music, AM gold from the jukebox era, Broadway show tunes, Gilbert & Sullivan, performances by regional ensembles like the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Music Festival.

Where is the music broadcast from when I listen to WMNR Fine Arts Radio?

WMNR Fine Arts Radio broadcasts classical music - and classic music like jazz, AM gold, opera, folk, and Broadway - from studios in Monroe, Connecticut. Our FM signal reaches most of Connecticut and nearby portions of eastern New York state and Long Island. You can stream WMNR’s programs for free (yes, free) without a subscription via our website.

What do you mean by member-supported, independent?

The radio station is not affiliated with any national news-gathering organization. 75% of our budget comes from listeners who support the station. The rest of the budget comes from our underwriters and from our affiliation with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Why are there so many different FM signals for WMNR Fine Arts Radio and such a long station ID?

WMNR Fine Arts Radio began in Monroe, Connecticut, hence the call letters M-N-R. In 1982, we adopted today’s primarily classical format and added the phrase “Fine Arts Radio” soon after to describe the programming. In time, our broadcast capabilities came to include four stations: WMNR (the flagship), WRXC, WGSK, and WGRS. We could choose to air four different broadcasts from these four different towers, but we choose to air the same fantastic programming on all four and call them, collectively, WMNR Fine Arts Radio.

Why those call letters? A bit of creativity. WRXC is for Radio 90, XC being the Roman numeral for 90, as it is 90.1 FM. WGSK stands for Gaylordsville South Kent and WGRS stands for Guilford Radio Station.

As for our many station identifications, per FCC regulations, stations must identify themselves on, or close to, the hour. Translators must be identified by hidden signal or said on-air in the morning, at 1:00 pm, and in the late afternoon. WMNR has four stations and 15 translators. Hold on, what’s a translator? Translators are pieces of radio equipment which rebroadcast the main frequency to a wider geography so more listeners can tune in. You hear us name some on air, ie. W286CL Shelton, when we do our legally-required station ID. The others, you’ll be relieved to hear, are identified in a manner detectable only by the FCC.

So, the WMNR you love and support is a conglomeration of stations and translators, acquired and activated over decades as licenses became available from the FCC.

Is WMNR affiliated with NPR? Is there news on WMNR?

No, WMNR is not an NPR affiliate. No news, no traffic, no elaborate weather reports, only music, all music playing for free on the radio.

Contact

Telephone: (203) 268-9667

Studios and Shipping: 731 Main Street, Monroe, CT 06468

Mailing: P.O. Box 920, Monroe, CT 06468

Questions? Comments? Requests?

Email us at info@wmnr.org

Notice and Take Down: Kurt Anderson, General Manager is WMNR’s “agent to receive notice of claimed infringements.”