Sefton Wiggs

Aside from a college course in Music Appreciation, Sefton Wigg's musical education has mostly been acquired through reading about music and composers, as well as simply listening intently to great music. His recommendation for the best book about classical music is The Lives of the Great Composers by the late Harold Schoenberg, the long-time music critic for the New York Times. His taste runs the gamut from Baroque, to Classical, to Romantic, and contemporary music. "I particularly like Beethoven and Brahms," he said. "I'm also quiet fond of such 20th Century composers as Copland and Shostakovich. Going back earlier, I don't see how anyone can listen to Haydn without smiling, or listen to Bach without becoming a little more contemplative." "I hope, however," he continued, "that I program music on Public Radio East so that every great composer is represented and so that some of the lesser known lights also get a fair airing." Sefton on-air duties at PRE include hosting the Classical Afternoon Concert, The Three O'Clock Mix, Adagio on weeknights, and New Directions, the Saturday afternoon program that explores music from the 20th and 21st centuries. Sefton is a native of Selma, N.C. and a graduate of Campbell University, where he majored in English. Prior work experience includes the 1973 session of the North Carolina General Assembly, where he helped proofread bills, delivered material to legislators' offices, and got to see the legislative process in action. Soon after that he went to work as a reporter with the Weekly Gazette in LaGrange. He came to New Bern in 1974 and worked at The Sun-Journal before coming to work full-time at Public Radio East. Sefton's wife, Cheryl Dudasik-Wiggs teaches English at East Carolina University in Greenville, where she is also director of the Women's Studies Program. Their daughter, Matisha, is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and recently received a Master's Degree in History at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.