Obituary
WVTF Music Director
Seth Williamson, 62
Seth Williamson, the longest-serving employee of WVTF-FM in Roanoke, Va., died Oct. 6 at Montgomery Regional Hospital of unexpected complications from hernia surgery. He was 62.
Williamson, who had been with the station since 1983, was music director and hosted the daily Morning Classics program as well as the weekly Back to the Blue Ridge, focusing on the traditional acoustic music of the Blue Ridge Mountains. “Williamson was perhaps best known as the baritone voice that announced classical music — interrupted by his musings on nature and the seasons,” reported the Roanoke Times.
The broadcaster also wrote a monthly birding column for the Times, as well as classical music reviews, op-ed pieces and feature news stories.
“On the air, Seth was never simply an announcer,” said WVTF General Manager Glenn Gleixner in a statement. “Rather, he was really talking with his friends — about music, life and nature. He was deeply connected with his audience, and that’s how he saw radio — as a personal connection with listeners.”
Williamson was an accomplished musician who played trumpet, euphonium, trombone and bluegrass banjo. At the time of his death he was in five bands, the newspaper noted. The weekend before he died, Williamson performed with the Sauerkraut Band, a German group known for local Oktoberfest celebrations.
WVTF announcer and composer Steve Brown frequently wrote music for Seth. “It was such a delight to compose for his euphonium, knowing how happy he would be to play it,” Brown said. “He always knew how to have fun with each piece.”
Brown hosted a daylong, on-air tribute Oct. 12, featuring the music that Williamson enjoyed sharing with his thousands of listeners throughout the years.
A Texas native, Williamson attended Texas A&M and later transferred to Virginia Tech, where he graduated in 1978.
He is survived by his longtime girlfriend and fellow musician, Susan Mullins Sanders, of Blacksburg, Va.; two grown daughters, Emily and Deidre; granddaughter Indigo, 6 years old; brothers Matt Williamson and David Williamson; and a sister, Kathy Fuller.
The day after his death, a wreath was laid in his honor in front of the chapel at the War Memorial at licensee Virginia Tech, “a gesture reserved for employees who die while in service to the university and to students,” the newspaper said.
A public memorial took place Oct. 12 at Oakey’s South Chapel in Roanoke.
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