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For many in New Hampshire. Fritz Wetherbee’s is the voice of choice.Mister Microphone■ New Hampshire icon Fritz Wetherbee moves from radio to television to public readings with the greatest of ease.By SALLY BASHALANY Telegraph CorrespondentRegular viewers of New Hampshire Public Television would know that voice anywhere.Even during a Nashua Choral Society concert.“That voice” belongs to Fritz Wetherbee, host of Channel 1 I s “New Hampshire Crossroads” magazine program.Wetherbee narrated the story of the first Christmas as written in the Gospel of St. Luke last year for the Choral Society, and received rave reviews, according to Nancy Wall, general manager of the Nashua Symphony and C horal Society.“He has the perfect resonant voice, said Wall, who added that the organization has decided to make the program an annual event. The group hoped Wetherbee would agree to a return performance this year.But public appearances are few and far between. Wetherbee says he turns down two to three requests each week.“I am a very shy person,” he said from his Hancock home.Asked why he believed he was invited back a second time, Wetherbee joked,Damned if I know. TheyHoliday concert plannedThe Family Holiday Concert, at which Wetherbee will narrate “The Christmas Story, is scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Edmund Keefe Auditorium in Nashua. Tickets are $10 and $N for open seating and can be purchased through the Ticketline at 595-9156. In addition to the Choral Society, the Chamber Brass of Boston will appear, along with the choruses of Hollis-Brookline High School and Birch Hill Elementary School of Nashuacalled me.“Maybe they thought ‘he’d be all right.’ The fact that Wetherbee was born in Nashua and raised in Milford infuses a sense of community that the symphonic organization tries to bring to its concert programs. Wetherbee said hewas impressed with the professionalism of the Nashua group.The chorus itself has wonderful people and they made me feel very welcome,” Wetherbee said.But it was also “The Christmas Story” itself that drew Wetherbee’s attention.Those words are so powerful,” he said. “They’re in everyone's subconscious.Several aspects of broadcasting have been a way of life for Wetherbee during much of his career. He began as a film cameraman, and his first association with New Hampshire Public Television was in 1969. Two years later, he produced a program for Channel 11 through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.A stint in radio, and a few years in advertising came before Wetherbee eventually returned to Channel 11 and became host of New Hampshire Crossroads.”Whether he’s standing against a pasture fence or walking down a town lane, Wetherbee communicates a sense of kinship to his viewers.But producing a television show isn’t as easy as some might think. It often takes 14-hour days to film the half-hour show.It takes two days to do the stand-ups,” said Wetherbee of the introductions and wrap-ups to a segment.Occasional problems beset the film crew when they arrive on location, such as a lawnmower buzzing in the background.You can’t get that in the audio,” explained Wetherbee.A self-described hard taskmaster,” Wetherbee edits his own material and writes some of the dialogue.He admits to a fondness for the latter.If I had my druthers, I would be a writer, he said.Although “Crossroads” is currently his major focus, Wetherbee also produces videos for industry, such as the corporate video he recently worked on for Lockheed Sanders.He also occasionally contributes to National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.”
Newspaper Details
Nashua Telegraph
Nashua, New Hampshire, US
Thu, Dec 17, 1992
Page 41
Full Page
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NA, 07 Mar 2025
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