Announcer
When you hear Susan Mulligan on the air, one of the first things you notice is a genuine love of music and learning. It comes through in her voice because it's an authentic part of her life.
"One of the things I love most about my work at KBAQ is the ongoing learning experience it provides. Immersing myself in classical music and sharing that process of discovery with the listener is rewarding because there's so much to know," she says.
Listeners respond when Mulligan hosts classical music on Wednesday and Saturday nights because she makes the listening experience personal. She came to KBAQ with a communications background and experience as a Sun Sounds volunteer. Having grown up in Central Phoenix as a third generation Phoenician, she's sensitive to KBAQ's mission to be a localized arts resource.
Mulligan graduated from Arizona State University with a marketing degree and did some graduate course work in mass communications. Outside KBAQ, she does communications-related work for Cox and cares for two young daughters. She's also an avid fitness enthusiast, so you might see her in a 5K or on your favorite hiking trail.
She's on the board of the Caitlin Robb Foundation and her natural optimism shines through when she talks about how commitment to a simple idea can lead to ongoing benefits in children's cancer research.
It's the same kind of optimism that drives her enthusiasm for the classics on KBAQ. Music is linked to many of Mulligan's favorite childhood memories. Her mother watched "Masterpiece Theater" every Sunday night after the family's bedtime rituals and Susan recalls falling asleep to the sound of Mouret's First Suite in D, known to PBS fans as "The Masterpiece Theater Theme." At 17 she attended one of her first Phoenix Symphony performances and remembers being so moved by the music that she almost lost awareness of her surroundings. She believes that the classics enhance her family's quality of life.
"Since I've been working at KBAQ they've taken an interest in classical music and we actually discuss pieces we've heard when we're together at home. As I expand my own musical knowledge it's exciting to be able to pass it along to my kids,"Mulligan says.
