Nothing better illustrates the length and breadth of Lois Reitzes’s radio tenure than the concert ad that ran next to an early newspaper profile of her in 1982. Opening up for the J. Geils Band at the Atlanta Civic Center, the ad announced, were “special guest stars”: the band U2.
The ensuing years have treated both the Irish pop rockers and the legendary WABE broadcaster well. For 45 years, Reitzes has dedicated her career to public radio and coverage of the Atlanta arts community. For the past decade, she’s hosted the weekday one-hour arts program City Lights with Lois Reitzes. But this month marks the end of the Reitzes radio era: On June 25, the veteran voice of Atlanta’s airwaves will depart her daily hosting duties on WABE (the station has extended an open invitation for Reitzes to do guest interviews).
Reitzes joined WABE in 1979 after relocating to Atlanta with her husband, Don Reitzes, a sociology professor at Georgia State University who retired in 2020. She originally hosted the one-hour Early Morning Music program, where she “gently roused” listeners from slumber with Schubert and Mozart. She’s been a beloved fixture at WABE ever since, most notably as the host of the long-running classical music program Second Cup Concert.
As she prepares for her new off-air role as a full-time arts patron, Atlanta magazine asked Reitzes to reflect on her legendary career.
Atlanta: Why does now feel like the right time to sign off?
Lois Reitzes: I don’t know if it was crossing the threshold into my 70s, but I found the number of hours it takes to make this show, and make it really good, was taking a lot of energy. I’m in front of a microphone at 6:30 a.m. I’d stop for breakfast around 8. I would sometimes have lunch with my husband, but more often at my desk. And then after dinner, I’d put in another hour or so. It was not an easy decision because I love this place. But I’m tired. It was the depletion of energy that finally got to me.
Atlanta: Despite your extensive musical background, your Atlanta Symphony Orchestra intermission interviews were always driven by what a novice listener might want to know. Why did you make that distinction early on?
Reitzes: I love not only sharing this music but also demystifying classical music. It’s very sad that classical music and opera have been identified as elitist in our country. I wanted people to feel excited and moved and thrilled by what they were hearing, but never intimidated. I always wanted to take away that negative association, that you have to be uptight and dressed to the nines to be able to sit in a concert hall. No, no, no. Just share the joy.
Atlanta: You’ve interviewed everyone over the years, from cellist Yo-Yo Ma to actor Colman Domingo and even President Jimmy Carter, whom you interviewed about his poetry. Have you ever been starstruck or intimidated?
Reitzes: I was a little bit with Jimmy Carter. I was so in awe of him. I was used to interviewing the likes of Van Cliburn, the rock stars of the classical world. But when a president of the United States opens the door to his office, it’s pretty awesome. And I mean that in the not-overused use of the word. When he offered me a seat in his rocking chair, a chair he had made, I felt like I was in Wayne’s World. I may have even said out loud, “I’m not worthy.” But once we started talking, it was a marvelous conversation.
Atlanta: During a WABE fundraising drive, a listener once said, “Every word
over the air from Lois Reitzes is a gift to Atlanta.” As you click off your microphone now, what would you like to say to those dedicated listeners?
Reitzes: I cherish that, and all of the relationships that I’ve developed with listeners. How lucky am I? Who else has the privilege of going to work, doing something they love, and having strangers thank them for doing it? It’s astonishing. I’m heartened and grateful. And please know—I will still be supporting the arts, and this station, with a vengeance.
This article appears in our June 2025 issue.
