Bliss Michelson, classical-music radio host and double bass player, dies at 71

Bliss Michelson, 71, of Trenton, a popular classical-music radio host and an accomplished double bass player, died Sunday, March 14, of COVID-19 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton, N.J.

Mr. Michelson’s wife, oboist Peggy Wiltrout, also died of COVID-19, on Feb. 26 in New York.

Known for his warm voice, conversational explanations of the pieces he aired, and ebullient personality, Mr. Michelson had been a part-time host at WRTI-FM (90.1) since 2014. He was also an interviewer for the station’s Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcasts and regularly performed on the bass.

Nicknamed the “Blissman,” Mr. Michelson was on the air at WRTI every Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and filled in frequently for other hosts. He spent 13 years in the double bass section of the San Antonio Symphony and more recently performed with, among others, the Buffalo Philharmonic, New Jersey Capital Philharmonic, Staten Island Philharmonic, and Newtown Chamber Orchestra.

Respected for his general knowledge of orchestral music and conductors, Mr. Michelson was proficient as a radio host and interviewer. Sitting in his swivel chair at the studio’s microphone and control board, he put nervous on-air guests at ease with his friendly ways and explained sophisticated selections to his listeners in what he called his “average guy” voice.

“I learned a great deal from Bliss about the music and composers,” a listener wrote on WRTI’s online tribute. “His smooth, calming voice made some of the worst days a little better.”

Mr. Michelson was born June 13, 1949, in West Chicago, Ill. He started playing double bass in eighth grade, and got a bachelor’s degree in music and performance at the Chicago Musical College at Roosevelt University in 1971.

He kicked off his radio career at Trinity University’s KRTU-FM (91.7) in San Antonio in 1981 as a summer replacement announcer and went on to work at KPAC-FM (88.3), San Antonio’s all-classical station. He became an announcer and producer at Buffalo’s WNED-FM (94.5) in 1987, and appeared on camera for its PBS TV affiliate.

He was production manager at WWFM-FM (89.1) in West Windsor, N.J., from 1992 to 2011 before going to WRTI in 2014. He played with the San Antonio Symphony from 1974 to 1987.

Mr. Michelson married singer Linda Diane Moore in 1976. They divorced, and he married Peggy Wiltrout in 2013. They played music together often around the region and were favorites at the MostArts Festival in Alfred, N.Y. He liked to tell the story of how they met at the New Jersey Shore at a rehearsal with the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea.

He told a friend he saw her and thought, “That’s an interesting-looking lady.” After they married, she would see him off in the mornings when he left home for the radio station, and he would phone her to say he had arrived safely.

“Bliss was the kindest, sweetest, most generous colleague I have ever worked with,” said Debra Lew Harder, a classical host and producer of WRTI’s Saturday Morning Classical Coffeehouse.

Off the clock, Mr. Michelson liked to tend sheep and other animals near Hightstown, N.J. He watched videos of historic trains, doted on his cat Janet, and liked Texas grapefruit and Tate’s cookies. He also did voice-over work.

Listeners wrote hundreds of tributes to Mr. Michelson on Facebook. One wrote that he was like a “friend greeting us through the radio.”

“There was something about his voice that just got me excited for every piece that he announced,” a listener wrote on the WRTI tribute. “With a name like Bliss, what else would you expect?”

“I will miss his gentle voice in a world awash with so much cacophony,” another wrote.

Mr. Michelson is survived by a niece, a nephew, and other relatives. His former wife died in 2015.

A service is to be held later.