Margaret Juntwait

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Margaret Juntwait
Born(1957-03-18)March 18, 1957
Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedJune 3, 2015(2015-06-03) (aged 58)
Saddle River, New Jersey, U.S.
OccupationRadio broadcaster
Years active1991–2015
Employers
SpouseJamie Katz
Children3

Margaret Ann Juntwait (March 18, 1957 – June 3, 2015) was an American radio broadcaster, best known as the announcer of the

Sirius XM Satellite Radio
from 2006, and remained in both jobs until her death in 2015.

Early years

Raised in Ridgewood and Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Juntwait attended Northern Highlands Regional High School, where she first developed an interest in choral music.[1] Later, she studied to be an opera singer – she was a lyric soprano – and earned a degree in voice from the Manhattan School of Music in 1980. After marrying, she withdrew from an operatic career in favor of raising her three children.

Broadcasting career

Juntwait began her career as a classical music radio announcer in 1991 at WNYC-FM radio in New York City.

In 2000, while continuing at WNYC, she began her

Peter Allen, who retired from the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts in May 2004. With the 2004–2005 broadcast season, Juntwait took to the air on her own, introducing a performance of Verdi's I Vespri Sicilani. She became only the third regular announcer for the broadcasts, following Milton Cross and Allen.[2][3]

On September 20, 2006, the Met announced that Juntwait would become a full-time Met employee, having been appointed as announcer of all programs on Sirius Satellite Radio's new Metropolitan Opera Radio channel.[4] On Sirius, Juntwait hosted three or four live broadcasts a week during the opera season, and recorded introductions for hundreds of archive performances aired on the channel.

Juntwait also performed in radio theater plays produced by

XM Satellite Radio
's Sonic Theater Channel.

Juntwait died of ovarian cancer at a hospice facility in Saddle River, New Jersey on June 3, 2015, aged 58.[6][7] According to a memorial published on the Metropolitan Opera website, Juntwait had been diagnosed with cancer over ten years prior to her death, but continued working with the Metropolitan Opera, missing only one Saturday matinee broadcast before January 2015. Her final live broadcast was on SiriusXM Radio on December 31, 2014. She recorded material for future broadcasts just a few weeks before she died.[8]

References

  1. The Record, Bergen County, New Jersey, July 28, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2008. Archived October 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Non-regular announcers have included Robert Woldrop, who replaced Cross for unknown reasons for the April 3, 1937, broadcast of Das Rheingold and the May 15, 1937, broadcast of Mignon; and Lloyd Moss, who replaced Cross for two broadcasts in 1973 following the death of Cross's wife. [1] , [2]
  3. ^ Wakin, Daniel J. "Met Picks New Voice for Opera Broadcasts", The New York Times, September 29, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
  4. ^ "The Metropolitan Opera and SIRIUS Satellite Radio to Create Historic New Radio Channel" Archived October 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Sirius Satellite Radio press release, September 20, 2006. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
  5. ^ The Comedy-O-Rama Hour
  6. ^ Barron, James (June 5, 2015). "Margaret Juntwait, the Voice of the Met on Radio, Dies at 58". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Margaret Juntwait, Former WNYC Host, Voice of Metropolitan Opera, Dies at 58". WQXR-FM. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  8. ^ "Remembering Margaret Juntwait". Metopera.org. The Metropolitan Opera House. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2015.

Further reading

  • Jones, Marguerite. "Consider yourself at home with Oliver". Bronxville Review Press-Reporter. July 20, 1989.
  • Jones, Marguerite. "Oliver: At the Asbury Summer Theatre". Bronxville Review Press-Reporter. August 3, 1989.
  • Choi, Janet. A New Voice. Opera News. December 2004.
  • Callahan, Sheila. "The Third's a Charm; Profile: Margaret Juntwait". The New York Sun. December 7, 2004.
  • Browner, Chris. "The Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcasts; Arias and airwaves: Weekly operas continue as 82nd season begins". Columbia Daily Spectator. December 7, 2012.
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