Announcer
Photo Credit: Scott Morrow - Phosphor
Jane Hilton’s twin passions for music and travel are a perfect complement to her work as an announcer on KBAQ. Each time she’s on the air, she serves as a virtual tour guide on a worldwide journey through six centuries of classics. The Arizona native’s dedication to the violin won her a full Regent’s Orchestra Scholarship to Arizona State University. After graduating from ASU with a BA in music, Jane won a full scholarship to pursue graduate studies with violinist Aaron Berofsky at Indiana University-South Bend.
As a violinist, Jane has performed with the South Bend Symphony, the Southwest Michigan Symphony, the Kokomo Symphony, Symphony of the West Valley, The Adriatic Chamber Music Festival (Italy) and the Alpenkammermusik Festival (Austria). In addition to her symphony and chamber work, Jane is also passionate about fiddling, and currently leads the celtic fiddle classes at the Arizona Irish Cultural Center.
One of her favorite musical memories happened on a backpacking trip through the UK. Exploring the town on her way to the annual folk festival in Cambridge, violin in hand, she heard music coming from the side door of a beautiful church. Taking a chance to peek inside, she found a community chamber orchestra rehearsal underway. A man approached and asked if she was there to play the violin. Jane smiled and, half joking, replied “only if you need me.” The man turned out to be the conductor and replied, “we need violins. Okay!” After stumbling onto the rehearsal completely by chance, Jane ended up performing with them that evening and spending the night at the home of a delightful husband and wife pair of musicians.
Outside of the music and radio world, Jane loves to travel, run 5k races and work on her expanding epicurean skills. She hopes to run a marathon, visit Macchu Picchu and become a certified story teller.
