Boston radio personality Ron Della Chiesa will lead us in a discussion of The Great American Songbook, covering jazz, Broadway musicals, and other contemporary music written by Gershwin, Copeland, Bernstein, Berlin, and others. He will talk about the Jewish comedians of the Borscht Belt and his lifelong experiences in radio and as the radio voice of the Boston Pops and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Ron Della Chiesa was born in Quincy, MA, the only child of schoolteacher parents, Florence and Aldo Della Chiesa. Listening to his father’s collection of Caruso records and other legendary tenors, he developed an early passion for opera and classical music, including the broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera and the NBC Symphony. He developed an early love for radio when he appeared at the age of 10 on a children’s show on Quincy’s local radio station, WJDA. Fascinated by this experience, he created a radio station in his bedroom, consisting of a cardboard microphone and record turntable; writing his own commercials and newscasts, he began broadcasting to an imaginary audience.

He graduated from the Boston University School of Communication in 1959. While at BU, he landed his first radio job at WBOS, hosting a series of ethnic radio shows, including the music of Italy, Poland, Greece, Ireland and the near East. After a stint in the Army, he joined the staff of WBCN, at that time an all-classical music station, where he eventually became Program Director. While there, he also began working at Boston’s Public TV and Radio station, WGBH, a relationship that continues to this day. For over 20 years, he has hosted the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops live broadcasts from Symphony Hall and Tanglewood. The popular MusicAmerica show gave him the opportunity to interview and play great artists from the world of opera, Broadway, film, American popular song and jazz. He shared the airwaves with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Eileen Farrell, Robert Merrill, Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Stan Getz, Dave McKenna, Wynton Marsalis, John Williams, Keith Lockhart, Sammy Cahn, Carol Channing, Rosemary Clooney, Harry Connick, Jr., and Frank Sinatra, Jr., just to mention a few.

To celebrate his 50 years in radio, he wrote Radio My Way with co-author Erica Ferencik. The book includes celebrity profiles from jazz, opera and the American songbook. Tony Bennett called it “A fascinating memoir from a beloved friend and one of America’s most popular radio personalities.”

He is a Boston University distinguished alumnus, an honorary member of the Boston Musicians’ Association, Local 9-535, AFM, winner of the 2010 Ovation Award from Opera Boston, the annual Public Action for the Arts Man of the Year award in 2003 and the National Jazz Educators of MA award for his efforts to bring jazz and American music to audiences in New England. In 2013, he was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcast Hall of Fame.

Along with his wife Joyce, a renowned chef in Boston, Ron has hosted numerous trips for both WGBH, and Peter Straus’ “The Grand Tour” throughout Italy and the United States. His annual tribute to Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin Cruise leaves Boston every year, drawing people from all over the world, and features movies, lectures, dances and entertainment by Sinatra- and Martin-like performers.

Ron feels fortunate to still be sharing his love for radio with his many fans and friends. As he likes to say, “Stay tuned, the Best is Yet to Come!”

Talks in this series are sponsored by Brotherhood, and include a delicious buffet breakfast of assorted bagels, smoked salmon, pickled herring, whitefish salad, tabbouleh, desserts and more. Breakfast begins at 9:15 am. The presentation runs from 9:45 am to 10:45 am and is usually followed by a question and answer session. Admission is $10; free to Brotherhood members. For more information, email brotherhood@templeisaiah.net.