Naomi Lewin
Weekday Host, Monday-Friday, 10 am-2 pm
Classics for Kids® host

Naomi Lewin's story Remembering the War to End All Wars recently won First Place in the "Soft Feature" category at the 2008 Public Radio News Directors Inc. conference.

Place of Birth:
Princeton, New Jersey

Why do you like working at WGUC?
The most fun—and the most difficult—thing I do at WGUC is writing and producing Classics for Kids. I love working on Classics for Kids because I get to share my love for this wonderful music with kids of all ages, and because I learn so much as I do research for the show.

How long have you been at WGUC?
I arrived at the beginning of October 1998, just in time for a membership drive. I think the first thing anyone in Greater Cincinnati heard me say on the air was the phone number!

Describe a typical day
What I like best about radio is that there's really no such thing as a "typical" day. Since radio (at least at WGUC) means being on the air live, it always involves being in touch with what's going on in the world, and being in touch with everyone who's listening.

What was your first radio job?
My first—and only—radio job before this one was at the public radio station licensed to Western Kentucky University, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. To get started in radio, I moved to Bowling Green from New York City, where I had been pursuing a career as a singer and actress. It was quite a change—I loved living in a place where there were cows along the Interstate.

What is your favorite classical composer or piece of music?
The first piece of music I fell in love with was Brahms's First Symphony—the fourth movement. I wore a record out by playing it over and over when I was a kid.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
From even before I was the star of my Kindergarten class play, I wanted to be an actress. Later on, when I discovered I liked to sing, I wanted to do that, too. I studied voice (got a master's degree in it), and I still love to sing and act, when I get a chance.

How were you introduced to classical music?
My father was a composer, so I grew up with music all around me. In fact, I credit my father with initiating my love of radio, too—when I was very young, he sat me down to listen to the "story lady" who came on the radio Saturday mornings. It's wonderful to be able to pass along that gift of radio to another generation as WGUC's Saturday morning Classics for Kids "story lady."

Other than classical, favorite music and why?
Folk music, from many different countries.

Activities/interests:
Theater, opera.

Any fun anecdotes?
My favorite story remains the interview I did back in Bowling Green with Marcel Marceau. When he was scheduled to perform in Bowling Green, I arranged a telephone interview with the world's most famous mime, who was one of my childhood idols. I threaded up the tape (yes, on a reel), and asked the first question. Half an hour later, when I tried to ask another question, he said, "No! I am not feeneeshed!" and kept right on talking. Somehow, I managed to cut 45 minutes of Marcel Marceau into the allotted 5 minute interview time.

Naomi is also a frequent contributor of cultural stories to National Public Radio and Public Radio International programs. Listen as she reports on the The Underground Railroad at Ripley, Ohio for The Tavis Smiley Show; Contemporary Arts Center, Findlay Market and the Cincinnati May Festival for All Things Considered; Infestations of Raccoons and Cicadas for Weekend Edition. Her feature for The Savvy Traveler on her trip to Silesia to retrace her family roots, In the Footsteps of David Tockuss, won a 2004 Clarion Award Honorable Mention for Public Radio Feature Story.