Colleen Wheelahan is a classical music omnivore, guiding you through everything the genre has to offer. She connects 800 years of music to the lives we live today, with all of our joys and challenges. A musician herself, Colleen brings insider knowledge to her hosting as well as her interviews, leading guests to surprise the audience with their insight.

 

Join her weekday mornings on WUOL in Louisville Kentucky, where she is also the music director, curating the station’s library and daily playlist. Then, go backstage in her interview series Behind the Playlist, where you can meet the artists who are performing and composing the latest and greatest classical music. And read about the intersection of classical music and popular culture in her blog Notes from the Music Director.

 

Colleen has hosted and written several nationally syndicated radio specials. Most recently her Gracie Award winning special Her Music/Her Story for International Women’s Day. She also co-wrote and produced the radio special Three Castles and the Music City, celebrating the Fisk Jubilee Singers, which won a regional Murrow Award in 2022. 

 

Colleen has produced audio and written stories for PRI’s The World, APM’s Marketplace, YourClassical, and New Music Box.

 

Few classical musicians in Nashville weren’t given a spotlight by Colleen in her previous role at Nashville Public Radio. Guests on her podcast Classically Speaking had their extended interviews woven together with their music. And visitors to Live in Studio C were hosted live on-air for showcase performances and promotion of upcoming events. She also contributed coverage of classical music and ballet for WPLN News.