Harte to sign off from 'Caffe Concerto'

KRCU radio personality Tom Harte will be signing off the air as host of "Caffe Concerto" on Friday, April 28.

Retiring after 23 years from the National Public Radio affiliate's fine dining-themed, classical music program is bittersweet, Harte said.

"I love this job," he said. "It's just been a real pleasure, and the people that I work with are just wonderful."

Harte said he and his wife are moving to St. Louis to be closer to family and it isn't possible for him to do "Caffe Concerto" long distance. He will, however, continue with his "A Harte Appetite" short radio program that runs Tuesdays. He said those are easier to record and send electronically.

Harte was not the first host of "Caffe Concerto" — which airs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays — but when he started in 2000, it was his idea to give it a "foodie" theme.

"When they asked me to do the show, of course, I jumped at the chance." Harte said. "I thought to myself, 'Let's make it a cafe.'"

Rather than introducing himself as the host of the show, Harte told listeners he would be their "server" and presented musical selections to be appetizers, hors d'oeuvres or desserts.

"That was my shtick, it was a cafe that serves music instead of food," Harte said. "It wasn't just Mozart, it was a 'morsel of Mozart' or a 'bite of Beethoven', and a lot of other schlocky things like that."

Harte said it was natural for him to do the show that way because of his history with cooking and writing about food. Harte was one of the original founders of the restaurant My Daddy's Cheesecake, and has written a cookbook, "Stirring Words: Reflections and Recipes from A Harte Appetite". He also writes, and will continue to do so, A Harte Appetite, a monthly column in the Southeast Missourian, where he introduces recipes he's cooked.

This will be Harte's second retirement from Southeast Missouri State University. He left his position as a professor in SEMO's Speech and Communication Department in 2000.

One of Harte's former students, Dan Woods, is now the general manger of KRCU Radio.

"Tom's kind of iconic," Woods said. "Everybody knows his voice. He has a passion for music, he has a passion for food and for cooking. He's a 'foodie,' for sure, and people resonate with him paring food with music."

Woods said listeners can hear in Harte's voice how much he enjoys the music he shares on the radio. On a personal note, Woods said one thing he and the KRCU staff will miss is when Harte would bring them in a dessert he made.

"We were sort of his guinea pigs," Woods said. "He would say it was a new recipe, but they were always good."

In the fall of 2021, Mary Mims began sharing hosting duties of "Caffe Concerto", to accommodate Harte's trips to St. Louis. She will be taking over full time after Harte's last day, and is also the host of "Afternoon Classics" on KRCU.

"I won't even pretend to say I can fill his shoes," Mims said. "He has such a unique and immediately identifiable voice. That can't be replaced."

Mims said she admired Harte's breadth of knowledge and vocabulary of classical music literature. She said he puts listeners at ease when he gives the history of a composer or a particular piece of music. Mims said she will miss their friendly repartee over the merits of their favorite composers.

"He's very gracious in offering advice," Mims said. "He gives it with this droll wit that he's known for. Not sarcastic and never hurtful. You know he likes you when he kids around with you."

Harte said he is delighted Mims is taking over the show, and hopes "Caffe Concerto" will continue on for many more years.

Harte said he hates giving up his hosting duties, which will be the thing he misses most from Cape Girardeau. He said he counts himself fortunate he has been able to make a living doing what he loves.

"There's never been a day when I have not looked forward to coming in to work at this radio station," Harte said.