The afternoon announcer with the warm voice and the calm, gentle demeanor 鈥� on and off the air 鈥� will be signing off from Classical 101 for good at the end of December.
Classical 101 afternoon host is retiring after more than 30 years at 星空无限传媒. The friendly voice you鈥檝e heard at the end of your workday, during your evening commutes and while you settle into your evening at home has been a steady companion for thousands of listeners through the years.
As much as listeners will notice the absence of Rittmeyer鈥檚 assured golden tones from the airwaves, his colleagues will also feel the absence of his composed and friendly presence behind the scenes.
鈥淛ohn was always that solid influence and soft-spoken and gentle soul who was fully committed to what he was doing and the music that he was providing to the public,鈥� said , director of planning and initiatives for 星空无限传媒. Carwile previously served as program director for 星空无限传媒鈥檚 classical music station during some of Rittmeyer鈥檚 earlier years as a broadcaster.
Classical 101 morning host was already on staff at 星空无限传媒 when Rittmeyer was hired as a part-time announcer in 1986. Even today, he finds himself listening to Rittmeyer鈥檚 program on Classical 101 as an antidote to evening rush-hour traffic.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 drive much in rush hour anymore,鈥� Lancaster said. 鈥淚 come in before people really get in to work. And so the few times in the afternoon that I鈥檝e had to drive through Columbus traffic, I needed every ounce of John I could get, because it was mad. John is just always this wonderful, calm surface on the water, even though everything underneath, like the duck鈥檚 feet, may be going like crazy.鈥�
Classical 101 host echoes that sentiment.
鈥淗e was an island of calm in the middle of the chaos that often is the day when you work in public broadcasting,鈥� Purdy said of Rittmeyer. 鈥淚f you want to really kind of center yourself, it鈥檚 nice to kind of look in John鈥檚 door and see him writing a blog post or just doing what he does. And it brings you back to the necessity and the real beauty of the day-to-day work that doesn鈥檛 involve a lot of flailing about.鈥�
鈥淚 would hear all this great music that I loved.鈥�
A native of Schwerin, then in East Germany, and a rock 'n' roll guitarist from age 16, Rittmeyer鈥檚 journey with classical music began in 1974. He moved from Cleveland, where his family had settled when he was 2 years old, to Columbus and started school at Ohio State University.
He discovered 星空无限传媒's classical music station 鈥� then called Classical 89.7 鈥� and listened to the music as a study aid.
鈥淎nd what started to happen was, I would stop because I would hear all this great music that I loved, and say, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 beautiful. What is that? I have to find out about that,鈥� 鈥� Rittmeyer said.
As his passion for classical music grew, listening to 星空无限传媒, attending concerts and learning about instruments, composers and performers became an avocation. The music itself also broadened Rittmeyer鈥檚 perspective on the world around him.
鈥淲hen I would hear the music, it would kind of bring the past to life,鈥� Rittmeyer said. 鈥淚 felt like it was a time machine. It would sort of take me back to that time period, and it was present. Because no matter what century you performed it in, it was coming alive in the present. So it made it really present and alive to me.鈥�
鈥淭hat bright spark鈥�
After completing a master鈥檚 degree in English at Ohio State, Rittmeyer, by then a committed 星空无限传媒 listener, was looking for work and saw a vacancy announcement for a part-time position as Saturday overnight classical music announcer for 星空无限传媒. He applied for the job and interviewed with , then program director of 星空无限传媒 Classical 89.7.
鈥淚 knew that coming from the English Department, as he did, that he was going to bring a love of language and a knowledge about how to use it,鈥� Hoffman said. 鈥淚 knew he was a musician and that he loved the classics and he was available for those overnight hours.鈥�
Hoffman hired Rittmeyer in December 1986 to work from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturdays, hosting the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, then introducing pieces of music he added to fill time gaps between programs on the overnight syndicated music service.
As the station鈥檚 program director, Hoffman was Rittmeyer鈥檚 first mentor on the journey that would lead him to his trademark golden voice and soothing delivery.
鈥淗e developed his gentle voice and his personal style that 鈥� you know, it鈥檚 John Rittmeyer,鈥� Hoffman said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so pleased that he responded to the advertisement needing someone for the overnight hours and that I had the chance to see that bright spark in him and hire him.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 like sharing your love of a hobby with someone.鈥�
Rittmeyer鈥檚 broadcasting career has taken him from the overnight shift to afternoon drive time, from the days of editing analog tape with X-acto knives to editing digital audio files with computers.
It has taken him into the depths of the symphonic repertoire as host of and through the range of repertoire for classical guitar as host of . It has taken him, by way of the airwaves, into listeners鈥� cars, homes and offices and, by way of public appearances, into concert halls, bookstores and other venues throughout the community.
But bringing the music he loves to other people, Rittmeyer says, has been the best part of his job.
鈥淚t鈥檚 sharing the music,鈥� Rittmeyer said. 鈥淭he fact that you could sort of present it to other people, that seemed special to me. It鈥檚 like sharing your love of a hobby with someone.
Classical 101 program director says Rittmeyer's passion shows in his work.
"John came to classical music late, so he brings that excitement and freshness of somebody who didn鈥檛 grow up with the music, but who discovered it and has pursued it strictly out of a love for it," Dring said.
And even the friendly on-air delivery that listeners have come to know and love, Rittmeyer says, he cultivated to showcase nothing but the music itself.
鈥淚 always felt it was in the service of the music,鈥� Rittmeyer said. 鈥淎nd maybe at times I could have done better, could have been more eloquent, could have done more. But the music, I think, speaks for itself primarily. I try to add just a little bit and not get in the way too much.鈥�
