Vince Tillona: Mining a Treasury of Vinyl

By Mark Schreiner

Vince Tillona thought he had died and gone to heaven.

Before him, were tens of thousands of 78s, LP’s, opera box sets—each containing Great Classical Music (and more).

The place was The Classical Station’s archive of vinyl recordings. In spring 2025, Tillona was interviewing for the station’s announcer training program. While leaving the interview, Vince saw a room full of vinyl records in storage boxes, so he asked what they were all doing out.

The station’s program director explained that the station was considering launching a new program that would play only vinyl records. They had taken a large sample of records and were organizing them, but they didn’t have anyone around anymore who really knew about records.

So he volunteered to help organize the records. He explained that he had been an avid vinyl collector for 50 years and had amassed a large collection. In addition, he had owned, sold, traded and listened to many of the recordings he was seeing in that large sample. After a couple of days of classifying and sorting records, they all realized how much he knew about them. They offered him, as a new announcer, the opportunity to host the show.

 

And so, with the electronic swipe through an ever-vigilant security system, he was given entrance to an Aladdin’s cave of musical treasure. From floor to ceiling, shelves and shelves and shelves of librarified recorded music.

Vince ran his fingers along the thin, vertical ends of hundreds of albums and began to browse. They were all there, and more:

• Performers—Murray Perahia. Cho-Liang Lin. Arleen Auger
• Conductors—Toscanini. Monteux. Fiedler
• Labels—RCA Victor. London Records. Musical Heritage Society (as well as some so obscure few have heard them)

Vince reviewed the entire collection — estimated at more than 25,000 records — and worked with the station’s Music Department to create a new program for our listeners.

About a year ago, station engineers tested turntables for the first time more than 35 years. Music Director Emily Moss opened a slot at 7:00 pm Eastern on Mondays. Vince assembled the music into programs. “Drop the Needle with Vince Tillona” was born.

In the 1980s, The Classical Station was among the first to broadcast from compact disks

The Classical Station has been at the forefront of technological progress since its founding nearly 50 years ago. In the 1970s, music was played from stereo records and reel-to-reel magnetic tape. Through purchases and donations, the record collection grew. The last vinyl was played in the late 1980s.

At that time, The Classical Station was among the very first stations anywhere to embrace the compact disc and its dazzling digital clarity. Later, it was an early adopter of digital music storage and Internet streaming.

The WCPE vinyl archive represents a legacy rediscovered. It’s a nationwide trend. Since 2022, vinyl records have outsold CDs. In 2024, US sales of vinyl topped $1.4 billion – the most in 40 years. Again, The Classical Station is in the vanguard.

Listeners tell us they like to hear a few scratches and pops

Since the warm, vital sound that only analog can offer returned to The Classical Station on Monday evenings, listener response has been immediate and overwhelmingly positive.

Listeners tell him they like it when they hear a few scratches and pops. This confirms that they are indeed hearing a spinning record.

To honor Enrico Caruso on the anniversary of his birthday in February, Vince brought his restored Victor Talking Machine into the studio. No electricity required. He wound the crank and dropped the needle on a vintage 1902 recording of Caruso singing “Vesti la giubba” from Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci — the first to sell over a million copies.

Vince recorded a video of that special program:

On a recent trip back into the vinyl archive, Vince told guests that he had looked at every album, but looked forward to going through them again since he’s sure he put a couple of things back up on the shelf that he should have taken.

While browsing a section, he was drawn to a recording of Maurice Ravel’s music by the Hamilton Philharmonic Virtuosi conducted by Boris Brott, recorded in Ontario in 1976. That went into the pile he was taking home to review for possible inclusion in the show.

Then his eye caught sight of a 1977 album by instrumentalists Roy Christensen and Otto Eifert – Music For Bassoon & Cello.

That too went into the growing preview pile. But time was growing short. This visit would have to end. But it ended with a promise to return and dig up more treasure for the listeners of The Classical Station.