“I think it’s just as important of a public service as everything else we do here,” she said.
Fromholt, 40, can be heard on air hosting Alpha Rhythms – a show she listened to growing up in Kettering – as well as Kaleidoscope, which features musicians and other artists from Southwest Ohio.
Dayton has an “incredible local music scene” for its size, she said. In addition to well-known artists, there are younger, emerging musicians who are doing unconventional things.
On Kaleidoscope, she often gets to feature live bands on the radio – something that wasn’t widely available when she launched the show 15 years ago. Now the show is at times a band’s first radio interview, said Fromholt, who was nominated a Dayton Daily News Community Gem.
Local bands also are spotlighted through the Tiny Stacks Music Series that she helps to spearhead, in which musicians are invited to perform in the stacks at various locations of the Dayton Metro Library. The performances are free, open to the public and provide exposure in new spaces and neighborhoods, Fromholt said.
The Tiny Stacks series is just one example of how Fromholt views music as a public service, said Jackie Winfree, WYSO’s director of membership. The series also introduces WYSO to new audiences.
“She’s always been super passionate about music, in particular local music, as long as I’ve known her,” she said.
Fromholt and the station’s music staff particularly work to highlight local artists throughout all genres, as well as up-and-coming musicians, Winfree said.
“She is one of Dayton’s biggest cheerleaders,” Winfree said.
Fromholt’s tenure began when she was a student at Wright State University, simultaneously working at the student radio station while volunteering at WYSO. She joined the staff in 2009, working as the deputy operations director, a Clark County reporter and the station’s first webmaster. She was named music director in 2021.
Away from the station, Fromholt can be heard on Attack of the Final Girls, a horror film review podcast that she hosts with a friend. She also volunteers her audio skills by recording and producing shows for community events.
“For so many people and organizations, sometimes all they need is someone to show them how to do it or get them started,” she said.
Fromholt, who lives in Dayton, expressed gratitude for the volunteer music hosts at the station. Some have been on the air for a few months, and others for several decades.
“I am so grateful to them because nothing that my team is doing now would matter if those people weren’t here making great programming and setting the standard for what great programming could be,” she said.
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