Dear Listener,
I started Wizard Waves because I was looking for internet radio that would take me to my “happy place” … the magical, musical worlds of Harry Potter, Star Wars, and the like. I’ve loved film scores (particularly scores by John Williams) since I was around age 12. I must have played my E.T. and Dark Crystal soundtrack albums, on actual 33 rpm vinyl, hundreds of times, listening to the otherworldly orchestrations with my headphones while with the lights out on my bedroom floor. Ever since, I’ve adored otherworldly music – particularly the entire set of music composed for the Harry Potter film series.
Part of the reason is because such music is set-apart from other popular music that is so easy to come by. Even more, it is tied in my memory to some of my happiest times with my family. We read the Harry Potter books together by flashlight and candlelight as our children were growing … and yes, I did my best attempt at doing all of the voices. We had backyard movie nights together under the stars. We went to Hogsmeade (in California) together when my wife surprised us with tickets to Universal Studios and its Wizarding World of Harry Potter. All it takes is hearing the first notes of “Hedwig’s Theme” or the crescendoed strains of the theme to the Ministry of Magic, and I’m yanked back to other times and places – and I feel warm and wonderful inside and out.
Having looked high and low for a station specializing in “magical music,” and finding none, I committed to starting one so that those like me (and I know they are out there) can enjoy their love for magical stories and music anytime they like. I hope you are one of them!
Happy listening!
Quin Swallow
