YourClassical Performs Staff Enhancements
• YourClassical, a service of Minnesota Public Radio announced two significant personnel moves this week: 1) Jillene Khan has been hired as YourClassical’s new overnight and on-call host, and 2) Audio wizard Elizabeth Lyon, a six-year YourClassical veteran has been promoted to APD and fill-in host.
Khan (left) who most recently did afternoon drive at Mid-West Family Broadcasting AC WMGN (Magic 98)/Madison, WI is now back in her hometown, where she once worked at the former KTTB (B96), followed by stints at WLLR/Quad Cities and WKTI/Milwaukee. She’s now hosting midnight-6am Wednesday through Saturday.
“This is literally a full-circle moment for me,” Khan said. “After touring the Midwest for the last decade, I’m thrilled to come home to the Twin Cities and join Minnesota Public Radio and the YourClassical family! Thank you to Julie Amacher for the opportunity, and for already being an incredible support and Classical music teacher. I can’t wait to get to know the Your Classical audience and share stories about this magical, calming music! It is a dream come true to return home and do what I love. I’m truly grateful!”
Khan was also one of the honorees at the recent 46th Annual Gracie Awards and one of four mentees selected to participate in the 2018 MIW Group Mildred Carter Mentoring Program. “The Gracie Award is the most exciting accomplishment of my career so far,” Khan said. “To be included alongside such incredibly talented and distinguished women is an achievement that I am extremely proud of.” Khan can be congratulated at jkhan@mpr.org.
Lyon (right) grew up in Northfield, MN, where she was deeply entrenched in the choral music community and had aspirations to become a choral director. Things changed, however, when she was given the opportunity to work with a choir when making a recording. “I remember during the recording process just wanting to know everything that was going on on the other side of the glass,” she says. This curiosity led her to a degree in audio production and an internship with KTCZ (Cities 97), where she was able to learn about broadcasting.
Lyon is currently a master control specialist in the International Control Center, she was a part of the team responsible for monitoring on-air operations and responding to technical emergencies. She’s also done voice-tracking and audio production for YourClassical for the past six years, and has served as a board op and producer for live broadcasts from the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra and Metropolitan Opera. Now, as APD, she will coordinate programming, serve as an on-air host and be involved in all aspects of the department. That’s what she loves about working in radio, as Lyons noted, “It’s like a river you flow on and you don’t know where you’ll end up, but you love the ride.” Lyon can be reached at elyon@mpr.org.
