Any weekend that begins with Friday the 13th and ends with the Ides of March is bound to bring bad news.

Last night, I received notification that, because of Coronavirus concerns, Mercer County Community College will shift to remote operations beginning on Monday. The move will coincide with spring break and will span an initial period of two weeks, with extensions, obviously, as necessary.

WWFM, which makes its home on the MCCC campus, will continue its operations, but with a skeletal staff, so you may notice a temporary increase in syndicated and remote programming. Also during the period, it is possible that only the most urgent phone calls, messages, and email will receive immediate responses. Communication with our listeners is important to us, and we always try to get back to you as soon as we can, but under the circumstances we appreciate your patience and understanding.

Over the past two weeks, it became increasingly evident that our community was at risk for a health emergency. I was asked to pull together five weeks’ worth of recorded shows for “Picture Perfect” and “The Lost Chord,” to be aired in the event of an extended shut-down and to be sent out into syndication. The first of these shows will air on Friday, March 20 (Picture Perfect), and Sunday, March 22 (The Lost Chord). Should the state of emergency continue, there is enough fresh material to last through April 20. It is unclear whether these shows will be posted as webcasts, or if that will have to wait until my return. “Music from Marlboro” will be suspended for the duration of my absence.

These actions should come as little surprise, as schools and places of gathering have been shut down all across the United States in an attempt to stem the spread of Coronavirus.

It would be vain of me to expect that my absence from the air waves will cause panic in the streets. You’ll still get your classical music, albeit in other forms. I just wanted to let you know that, for now, I remain healthy, and I am an inveterate handwasher.

Though I will certainly miss our time together, I will use the break to work on another long-term project, for which I’ve been accumulating information over the past several months, and which I will announce here eventually.

In terms of the newspaper, I’ve already had one article go to print with a disclaimer that the subject, a concert, had been cancelled, and a second article consigned to the Phantom Zone, to be resurrected when another event is rescheduled, hopefully, for a future season.

It’s probably not the best time to ask for money, but I do want to point out that WWFM’s Bach 500 campaign is still ongoing. I’m not sure at this point what we can promise in terms of wall-to-wall Bach on Bach’s birthday (March 21), but your contribution will still help us to achieve financial success. Best now to make that donation online at wwfm.org. As of Saturday morning, we are halfway to our goal of 500 contributions. Remember, you can make that donation in any amount. It doesn’t matter how much you give. We make our goal when 500 of you step up.

For now, stay healthy, everyone. Enjoy what you can. Hopefully we’ll meet up again in a few weeks, and I’ll be back to sharing my usual blend of music and unintentional comedy.

Thank you for your understanding, thank you in advance for your concern, and thank you for your support of WWFM – The Classical Network.