Meet the KMFA Music Hosts
Dianne Donovan (Weekdays, 10am – 2pm)
Montreal-born Dianne Donovan lives and breathes music, whether she is behind the microphone announcing or singing. One of Dianne's earliest memories is of marching around the living room to Ravel's Bolero. Having studied music with an emphasis on vocal jazz performance, she has been a radio announcer/programmer for twenty years - producing classical, jazz and eclectic programs.
When she's not "on the air" or producing KMFA's Classical Austin, you might catch Dianne singing with the Beat Divas or with the Austin Jazz Workshop. Her motto, "So little time, so much music."
Jeffrey Blair (Weekdays, 6am – 10am)
Jeffrey has always known that music was in his blood. He eagerly began developing his affinity for audio production from a tender young age spending countless hours creating 'radio shows' on an old cassette recorder. Jeffrey brings over 20 years of radio expertise to KMFA, and as Production Manager he has produced, recorded and engineered countless live and in-studio performances of local, regional, national and well known talents. In this way he can best deliver his passion for the many sounds of music.
Jeffrey's other interests include the artistry of baseball, organic gardening, exercising his culinary muscle and working on his 1971 VW bus affectionately known as Grateful Phred.
Jules Brandon (Weekdays, 2pm – 6pm)
Jules Brandon is a successful voiceover artist, active in projects ranging from radio and TV commercials to industrial narrations. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College and spent several years working as a consultant, coach and public speaker. She began her relationship with classical music at the age of four when her parents gave in to piano lessons after they could no longer endure her relentless banging on the keys. But, after 10 years of study, she had to face the reality that her love for the piano far outweighed her talent, so she appreciates the masterful performances here on KMFA that much more.
Sara Hessel
Michigan native Sara Hessel earned her master’s degree in historical musicology from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 1999. She has been employed as Music Director of KMFA, Classical 89.5 in Austin, Texas since 2005. As producer and host of KMFA’s Ancient Voices, she has interviewed numerous early music superstars, including Dame Emma Kirkby, Ton Koopman, Gustav Leonhardt, Jordi Savall and Anonymous 4. Ancient Voices was named a Critics Pick in the Austin Chronicle’s ‘Best of Austin’ issue in 2010. In 2011, she received a Gracie Award® from the Alliance for Women in Media for her program Michael Nyman: Motion and Emotion.
David Crews (Saturday afternoons, 12 noon – 5pm)
David Crews energized his life-long enthusiasm for classical music when he became Classical Music Director and announcer for his college radio station in Odessa, Texas, where he grew up. David also played percussion, including tympani, where he was once conducted by Frederick Fennell. Since that time, he has pursued a successful career in broadcast and cable television production. He is also a composer, recording artist, voice talent (including the Austin Symphony’s television and radio spots), author, and world traveler with a special interest in Amazonian shamanism. In his spare time, he owns his own video post-production and music company, CrewsCreative.
Judlyne Lilly Gibson
Judlyne Gibson has worked in broadcast journalism for more than 20 years, first in her hometown of Houston, Texas, then on to San Antonio, Washington and New York. Under the name Judlyne Lilly, she won several broadcast news awards and earned a M.F.A. in Playwriting from the Catholic University of America. In addition to hosting Saturday Matinee, Judlyne also works for the Texas State (Radio) Networks and for KERA in Dallas. In addition, she produces Staccato, a 90-second feature covering classical music news all over the world. Click here for more information.
Carmel O’Donovan (Sunday afternoons, 12pm – 4pm)
A relatively recent émigré from London, Carmel’s roots are Irish through and through. Gifted with the “Blarney,” she has always sought to engage people and consequently, although trained as a doctor, she spent much of her career in the UK lecturing and training healthcare professionals about risk management in medical practice. While her radio experience has previously been as an avid listener rather than a presenter, Carmel’s longstanding love of both radio and classical music meant that discovering KMFA gave her an immediate “home from home” when she moved to Austin three years ago with her husband and four children.
Whit Martin-Whitaker (Saturday mornings, 7am - 11am)
Whit’s uninterrupted love for classical music began in the third grade, with a school filmstrip of Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre. Living much of his life near Austin, over the years he spent a lot of time listening to KMFA. So, when (after nearly three decades of full-time work in law enforcement) his wife suggested he pursue his suppressed dream of working in radio, Whit went back to school with the specific goal of someday working on-air at KMFA — earning a M.A. in Mass Communication and building experience by writing/producing/hosting a popular vintage jazz radio show. When not at work, Whit's interests include antique/classic cars, baseball, travel, German student songs, and playing with the family’s three rescue dogs.
