Afternoon Delights host Wayla Chambo settled into her new role at WHRO-FM with ease over the last several months. Though she never expected to work in radio, she has found it to be a natural fit.


The professional flutist and music educator moved to Hampton Roads after finishing coursework for her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas. She was looking for part-time work while finishing up her dissertation when she saw an ad for an announcer with WHRO. Given her extensive musical background – she holds previous degrees in music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and California Institute of the Arts – the job intrigued her.


“Everything I do is about sharing music with people in one way or another, whether that’s performing as a flutist or teaching music,” Chambo said. “The position seemed like another avenue for doing that.”
 


Wayla began playing the flute at age 9.


She was already well acquainted with Hampton Roads’ classical music community. She performs locally with ensembles such as the Norfolk Chamber Consort, the Virginia Symphony, and the Virginia Children’s Chorus, and she teaches at Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton. She was also recently named Associate Artistic Director of the Norfolk Chamber Consort and will be performing with them this season.


Chambo joined WHRO-FM in summer 2014 as announcer for the Sunday Musical Brunch. When announcer Anthony McSpadden, host of Afternoon Delights, accepted a position out of state in May 2016, he recommended Chambo take his place.


“He was very generous with his time and knowledge,” she recalled. “I appreciate the trust that he had in me with me still being fairly new.”


She said she enjoys curating music for this important time slot when many listeners are navigating heavy traffic on their commutes home, or starting to unwind from a busy work day. “I try to offer something that is going to make that experience more pleasant for them,” she said.


When she isn’t working at WHRO or teaching, Chambo enjoys performing and collaborating with composers. In addition to performing the traditional repertoire, she has an interest in contemporary and experimental flute music. Several of her performances have included dancing along with playing the flute.


She is currently in the process of commissioning a project she calls The TranScript Project, in which she has asked composers to write flute pieces for her based on poems she has written. At UNC she minored in creative writing, and she has published poems and articles in The Greensboro Review, Artizen, Cellar Door and Harmonia.


She sees her position at WHRO as another creative outlet to share her love of music with the community. “There’s something about doing a live radio program that’s a bit similar to doing a performance,” she explained. “Radio isn’t necessarily what I expected to be doing, but I’m very happy.”

 

Watch Wayla's video "As One" where she performed as flutist, dancer and choreographer alongside dancer Penny Chang.

Learn more about Wayla on her Facebook page.

Watch more of her videos on YouTube.