Keeping Cajun

Radio host works to preserve musical tradition

The former Robert E. Lee High School campus was quiet on a Saturday night, except for the faint sound of an accordion.

The fingers of Clarence “the Cajun” Moritz danced across the keyboard as he broadcasted his weekly Cajun radio show.

Sitting at his desk in an old building in the back corner of the campus, he put down the accordion and shuffled through one of seven boxes filled with Cajun music CDs seeking another song to send across the airwaves from WBRH 90.3 FM, the radio station of Baton Rouge Magnet High School, which has relocated to the Lee Drive campus while work continues on its Government Street site.

Moritz is no high school student, but at 51, trying to spark an interest in Cajun music and dance among young people is a top priority for him.

“Many of the younger generation think that Cajun music is not cool and is just for old folks,” Moritz said. “But I don’t want to be the last generation to appreciate the music and culture.”

The radio show, which airs from 7 to 9 every Saturday night, is simply a hobby, and only one of his activities aimed at keeping the Cajun culture alive in Baton Rouge. By day, he is a computer programmer analyst for the state Department of Education.

From organizing events to the Cajun music jam sessions he holds in his home, Moritz has developed a reputation among local Cajun enthusiasts as a proponent for the culture and music.

His mission began early. While a student at LSU in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Moritz said he ran across some studies that showed music listened to in college years shaped the musical inclinations of individuals in their adult lives.

When, after graduating from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1985, he moved to Atlanta for a job, he met the hosts of a bluegrass radio show that aired at a nonprofit public access station. Moritz created his own weekly Cajun radio show there, which ran from 1990 to 1998.

His popularity in Atlanta grew, and, when he was 27, he started a Cajun dance class there as another hobby. More than 2,000 students went through the classes, he said.

When Moritz moved back to Louisiana, he brought his weekly Cajun radio show with him and began broadcasting from the Baton Rouge High station in April 2003.

When he heard in 2010 about LSU students Jacques Boudreaux and Seth Bradley starting their own Cajun radio show on the campus radio station, KLSU, Moritz was eager to help. Boudreaux said they had only five albums before Moritz made a contribution.

“When I heard of Jacques and Seth starting up a Cajun show, I immediately wanted to encourage and support them,” Moritz said.

He promoted the show on his own program and also donated more than 200 of his more than 1,000 Cajun records and CDs to Boudreaux and Bradley.

“Clarence has been a promoter and has totally increased the Cajun cultural awareness for young people in Baton Rouge,” Boudreaux said. “He’s really being a leader where not many other people are.”

Boudreaux has participated in the Cajun festivals Moritz has organized in recent years, including those at BREC’s Magnolia Mound Plantation.

In September, the third annual Cajun Day Music Festival featured bands, music jam sessions, dance lessons, French-speaking areas and Moritz’s own Cajun Music for Kids event.

The Cajun French Music Association has also worked with Moritz on projects, including the Magnolia Mound festivals.

John Pellerin, former president of the CFMA’s Baton Rouge chapter, said Moritz paid for the bands that participated in the plantation’s first festival.

Pellerin described Moritz as tireless and self-sacrificing in the work he has done to increase youth interest in Cajun culture.

“I’ve been blown away by the amount of time and money Clarence has given to pass along the Cajun tradition to others,” Pellerin said. “He’s introduced thousands of kids to the music.”

The frequent Cajun music jam sessions he’s held in his home also have contributed to the increased interest among the younger generations.

“There are about 20 musicians of all levels who bring their accordions, violins and guitars to play Cajun music,” Moritz said.

“There are a good amount of college students who take part in this group.”

The real message behind all his contributions and efforts is much simpler, Moritz said. He cited a quote from fellow Cajun radio host Paul Marx, who is based in Eunice: “Let us, before we die, gather up our heritage and offer it to our children,” Moritz quoted.