CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
New York City's only all-classical music radio station, WQXR, has reached millions of listeners over the past 75 years. The station is under the new leadership of Graham Parker, a gay man who joined the company last year as its first vice president.
By utilizing Internet streaming and FM, Parker is taking the company in a new direction that extends outside of New York City. The London native played the piano and flute prior to his admission at Oxford Brookes University, where he began conducting. After holding many prestigious conducting positions after graduation, he served eight years as the executive director of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, which performs at New York's famed Carnegie Hall.
His professional success motivated him to make some changes on a personal level -- which involved coming out in March 1999.
"I was married to a woman for three and a half years before I came out," he says. "Given that the classical music world is very social, I expected that any significant man in my life would enter this very social world, and I wanted to come out so that I could best manage people's surprise, answer their questions."
Parker says he hopes hopes his ordination as an interfaith minister will
come in handy in the future -- he plans to lend his services to same-sex
weddings, now legally recognized in New York State
However, Parker and his partner of 11 years, whom he married in Canada in 2007, have no immediate plans to wed in New York. "We now are the parents of two amazing kids, so we might well want to wait until the kids are a couple years older so that they can fully appreciate their two dads' wedding and vows to each other," he says.
In addition to many changes in his personal life, Parker is also making
many important directional changes for WQXR. Starting this October, one
of the main highlights of his vision will include the start of the
Carnegie Live series. The station will present live broadcasts and
webcasts of 12 of the season's most exciting concerts from Carnegie
Hall.
Midge Woolsey, a WQXR midday host, is fond and supportive of
the leadership exemplified by Parker. She predicts that with his
guidance, the station will reach new heights. "As a longtime member of
WQXR's hosting staff, it is particularly exciting to see Graham pursuing
all of the digital opportunities that were not available when I first
started in radio," she says.
In addition to his many
contributions to the music industry, he has some advice for LGBT
individuals who are debating whether to reveal their sexuality within
the corporate world. "I have friends in the banking and legal world who
carefully decide who they can be fully out to and for others for whom
disclosure is a more limited option. I think it needs to be a personal
decision at all times," he says. "WQXR and our parent company, New York
Public Radio, is a completely welcoming environment for all, so I would
hope that colleagues of mine who may decide that they want to disclose
their sexuality, they would find other sympathetic and supportive
colleagues."
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: The Daily
Trending stories from our video partner Advocate Channel.
For more videos and shows go to advocatechannel.com.
Trending stories from our video partner Advocate Channel.
For more videos and shows go to advocatechannel.com.
Latest Stories
Serial killer of gay men in New Orleans released after 46 years in prison
April 24 2024 2:16 PM
The 'largest bi+ event in the world' is happening this year. Here's when and where
April 24 2024 12:42 PM
What happens if Donald Trump is jailed for criminal contempt?
April 24 2024 12:22 PM
Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, and more urge NCAA to stand up for trans inclusion
April 24 2024 8:00 AM
Over 90% of trans youth live in states pushing anti-trans legislation: report
April 23 2024 10:08 PM
George Santos pulls out of New York congressional race
April 23 2024 7:04 PM