Peter Mecoles, Volunteer
When I was working as a solicitor I kept listening to classical music and 3MBS, and I became one of the original patrons in the early 1990s, which required you to donate $100. The names of the patrons were listed in Libretto [the station’s subscriber magazine for a time] with the original number being about 34. So, I had a strong passion for the station.
I thought when I retired, I’d go and do something for them. I applied to be a volunteer, and they rang and said they needed someone for the library on Thursday. It was the time when CDs were being ripped into the computer. I was one of the rippers. It was really boring work, but I enjoyed the conversation with the other volunteers.
After 12 months my job in the library was coming to an end and someone said 'Why don’t you do presenting?'. I said 'I don’t do presenting' and Marjorie Hall said 'You could do the presenter’s course and see how you go'.
I took on the Daybreak program every second Monday and now I present Wednesday Morning Recital as well as A Time to Remember. I was getting a bit tired of getting up at 4.45am every second Monday for Daybreak.
An example of how things have changed since when I first started in 2015 is the rostering. There were times when no one would turn up for Morning Recital or Divertimento for example. There were people in the library, and someone would come in and say 'No one has turned up for the program'. They’d say to me ‘You go on I’ll put the first CD on, just put the headphones on and do this.’ This happened to me several times. The show had been programmed but there was no script, and I was flat-out googling before the next item.
I oversee the roster now, the new ones I ask them to fill in for someone, maybe 10 days in advance, and they say oh does that give me enough time to prepare? I tell them I used to do Morning Recital on a moment’s notice, and they just about have a heart attack on the spot.
Author: Nick Sharman: What keeps you coming back?
I really enjoy presenting my programs. I enjoy scripting because I am learning things, but I also really enjoy the writing. Scripting gives me a chance to write. I also enjoy the atmosphere of the station on Wednesdays when I come in—that is the only day when it has an atmosphere. It doesn’t so much on the other days because since COVID-19 most people program at home.
Author: Nick Sharman: What are you most proud of during your time at the station?
Professor Ridley from the History Department at Melbourne University sent me a letter thanking me for my Illuminations program on Jewish composers and musicians who were removed during the Nazi Period.