David Fender

David Fender is an audio producer at Colorado Public Radio.

Education:

Bachelor’s degree in radio, TV and film, University of North Texas (UNT); graduate work at UNT and University of Florida.

Professional background:

David has been involved in public radio since 1987, first signing on the air as a morning DJ for KNTU in Denton, Texas. He went on to fill many different roles at that station, from positions in production, news, and engineering to working as the assistant program director. He later served as the Morning Edition host for WUFT in Gainesville, Florida.Along the way, David has worked a number of other outside jobs to support his love of working for public radio stations, including managing parking facilities, driving school buses, freelance book editing, and directing liturgical readings for a Catholic parish.

In his own words …Why I got into radio:

Growing up, I loved radio’s ability to bring voices and music from all over the world into my bedroom in small-town Iowa. On cold, winter days we would listen to KMA in the mornings hoping for that rare occasion when our school would be on the list of closings, and in the springtime we’d tune in to find out whether the thunderstorms and tornadoes would blow through or pass us by.The mixture of the local and the world fascinated me. I remember getting a Mr. Microphone for Christmas one year and spending hours pretending to be a DJ over my transistor radio.I discovered public radio in high school by accidentally stumbling across one of the early episodes of “A Prairie Home Companion” one Saturday night. That lead me to “All Things Considered,” which led me to some of the specials NPR used to produce, like their versions of War of the Worlds and Star Wars. I was hooked.Later, I started college as a music major, but when it became clear that path wasn’t going to work for me, I didn’t want to give up my love of sound and music – so radio was the natural choice for me.

How I ended up at CPR:

My wife’s career brought us to the Denver area. When one of our vehicles died and we had to get rid of it, we decided to donate it to CPR. While I was on the website to find out more information about how to do that, I stumbled across the job openings, found this position, and jumped at the chance to apply and get back into public radio.

  • Photo credit: Courtesy of the Center of the American West, by Honey Lindburg The Fourmile Canyon Fire tore through Boulder County six months ago. People touched by the fire gathered at the University of Colorado campus in Boulder recently to share their stories, including Andi O’Connor.
  • Photo credit: Courtesy of the Center of the American West, by Honey Lindburg It’s been six months since the Fourmile Canyon Fire tore through the hills west of Boulder. It destroyed nearly 170 homes, including the one Marisha Evans was born in and lived in until her family was evacuated last September.
  • (Photo: Tammy Newman, Northern Exposures Photography) Kaia Lagoni is a senior at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins. Last fall, she auditioned to become a part of the GRAMMY Foundation Jazz Choir. Every year, the foundation auditions hundreds of high school singers and musicians from around the country.
  • Musicians often say they “feel” the music. But that has a whole different meaning when jazz singer Mandy Harvey says it: “I’ll feel and concentrate the drums through the floor, through my feet and then the bass through your chest.
  • Cliff Seigneur in his new apartment in Golden. (Joe Mahoney, I-News photo) Yesterday we reported on how the state is struggling to help people with disabilities live independently, even though Colorado is the state that led the nation on that score three decades ago.
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  • Boulder author and historian Buzzy Jackson calls herself “an accidental genealogist.” She had questions about her family, including a few based on some wacky stories she’d heard, but wasn’t sure were true. She never intended to get as obsessed with the topic as she did. Jackson’s new book is called “Shaking the Family Tree.”
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  • Story Originally aired:July 7, 2010 Loveland singer-songwriter Danielle Anderson plays the ukulele and performs under the name Danielle Ate the Sandwich. That might not sound like a recipe for serious songs about love and loss, but that’s exactly what it is.
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  • Air Dubai’s lead vocalists, Julian Thomas and Jon Shockness met as students at a Denver middle school. They performed together as a duo for a couple of years. Then last year, they added five musicians to their lineup. Their energetic live shows have garnered rave reviews ever since.
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  • The Denver band, Boulder Acoustic Society is a study in evolution.  As members have left over the last seven years, new band mates have brought different instruments and tastes in music. And the band’s sound changes as a result.
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  • Daniel Schoor died at the age of 93 on July 23rd, surrounded by his family and friends. He never retired from a broadcast career that spanned over 60 years. From his early days working for Edward R.
  • When you hear the words “science fair,” you might think of clocks connected to potatoes or baking soda volcanoes. But they get a whole lot more sophisticated than that. Ryan Warner speaks with some teens who are exploring some cutting edge research. Jesse Ellison is a senior at Bayfield High School near Durango.
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  • A festival is taking place in Castle Rock tomorrow that celebrates the classical “Carnatic” music of Southern India. The 3rd Annual Rocky Mountain Thyagaraja Utsavam will feature over 150 performers at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
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  • We mark the passing of a man who had a huge impact on the lives of people all across the Front Range — even though most did not know who he was.
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  • Television stations across the United States have until midnight tonight to turn off their analog transmitters and complete the switchover to digital broadcasting. Broadcasters have been preparing for years to help their viewers make the switch.
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