Radio Programs

On the next broadcast of the Santa Rosa Symphony, coming Sunday May 24 at 3 pm, we'll return to 2018, with a November concert featuring works that should get you dancing.

• Zoltán Kodály, Dances of Galánta
• Heitor Villa Lobos, Guitar Concerto, with soloist Sharon Isbin
• Franz Liszt, Mephisto Waltz No. 1
• Leonard Bernstein, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

KRCB is saddened to report that longtime volunteer Jim Laveroni, after a valiant 16-month battle with multiple myeloma, passed away peacefully at his home on March 28, 2018. 

Jim was the founder and host of Percussion Discussion, the KRCB-FM show on Thursday nights which "celebrates drummers, percussionists, and other instruments of rhythm that move every genre of music along". During his nine years of hosting the show, he treated his audience to various types of music, both live-in-studio and recorded. 

He always loved music - he had been a drummer since he was 13 - and while earning a degree in communications, he was a disc jockey at the college radio station. After a long and satisfying career as a police officer, he retired to begin a "new career" as a videographer for weddings and other events, a drummer for a number of different bands, and a programmer/board operator for KRCB-FM. 
 

His volunteer service to the station spanned many different areas: in addition to programming and hosting Percussion Discussion, he served as a Sunday morning board operator for a couple of years, and he was always willing to help out with fundraising drives and other events for the station (he even volunteered as an auctioneer for the KRCB-TV auction). Drawing on his experience in law enforcement, he offered his services to the station management in their ongoing proactive security measures.   

He participated in a number of other activities as well. For years, he was the resident drummer and percussionist for the Rohnert Park "Kut-Ups", providing the rhythmic background in the orchestra during performances every July. He was active in the Trad Jazz Society and played in many different bands, as well as serving on their board. He also lent his drumming services to youth camps and church choirs, and one of his great delights was being able to be both the drummer and the "front man" for his jazz band, the Flying Eagles, during a live broadcast from KRCB on Percussion Discussion. 

Even after he became ill, Jim was always willing to help whenever he could. His cheerful smile, warm hugs and lively sense of humor brightened the lives of many who came in contact with him, either in person or listening to him on the air. He was diligent in enlisting new and one-of-a-kind thank-you gifts from his drummer friends to be used for fundraising drives, and he always made a point of telling people how much he loved KRCB and how he truly enjoyed being able to participate in the activities. 

Jim is survived by his wife, Carol; his four older brothers; and his new puppy, Jake. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends, including the members of all the groups who were privileged to know him: the different bands he played in, his fellow police officers and alumni, the Trad Jazz Society, the students at the police academies where he volunteered as a trainer, and those of us at KRCB who will always remember the sage advice with which he ended every Percussion Discussion show: "If you've got something important you want to say, you're never going to find a superior way: you've got to say it with percussion - end of discussion!"