Meet Debra Lew Harder, New Host of Met Opera Broadcasts

As the Metropolitan Opera celebrates 90 years of radio broadcasts, this season welcomes only the fifth radio host in that time, Debra Lew Harder.  Ms. Lew Harder follows in the footsteps of former legendary voices of the Met, Milton Cross (1931–1975), Peter Allen (1975-2004), Margaret Juntwait (2004–2015), and, most recently, Mary Jo Heath (2016–2021).

Ms. Lew Harder joined the on-air staff of WRTI in 2016. She hosted and produced a range of programming across WRTI on-air and digital platforms, such as  Midday Classics and  Saturday Morning Classical Coffeehouse, in addition to serving as an artist interviewer for the  Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcasts. She is a concert pianist who has performed with orchestras and in recitals, including at Wigmore Hall in London, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, and Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. She has also recorded two solo piano albums. 

Ms. Lew Harder holds Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees from Kent State University and Northeast Ohio Medical University. She practiced as an emergency room physician before earning a second doctorate in music from the Ohio State University, where she studied piano with the American virtuoso Earl Wild.

Click here to read an interview with Debra Lew Harder and the Met's Associate Editor Christopher Browner.  Read the Met's full press release here.