About halfway through a taping of the classical music radio show "Saint Paul Sunday," host Bill McGlaughlin became particularly intrigued by what the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet was performing.
"I want to know where you guys heard that piece, because it's not very commonly played," McGlaughlin asked, as "Farewell to Stromness" by Peter Maxwell Davies came to a close.
"Well, Bill, I'm the guilty party. I arranged it after hearing it on your show," said quartet member Scott Tennant, revealing himself to be not only one of the show's prestigious performers but also one of its devoted fans.
This month, "Saint Paul Sunday" celebrates 20 years of collecting devotees such as Tennant, nearly half a million of them.
"Saint Paul Sunday" has a history of this kind of loyalty, from the performers who turn up for a second and sometimes fifth visit, to members of the staff who have been with the show since its 1981 debut.
For these people, the show is not simply a high-caliber classical program. It is how a Sunday morning is supposed to sound. Listeners and station managers have noticed.
What inspires their devotion? They say the show achieves an inside look at world-class music-making that is intimate, welcoming and ultimately addictive.
"The producer, the engineer, the host, all listen to and love music. They're great as the proxy audience. We don't feel like were just singing for a microphone," said Joseph Jennings, Chanticleer's music director. The group has appeared on the show five times.
The affection that performers feel for the show is matched by McGlaughlin's fascination for his guests.
"It's been something of a love affair the whole time," said the host, a former trombonist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as a conductor and a music director, most recently for the Kansas City Symphony.
"It's not something anybody ever made me do," he said.
"With the show, you're always learning something finding a phrase in the cello you've never looked at that way. It's the greatest music lesson in the world."
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