People say they listen to classical music for the emotional connection — the feelings stirred by a beautiful performance. Perhaps more than any other fare on public radio, classical aims for the heart. This makes classical stations natural participants in a new public-awareness campaign for public broadcasting, “My Source.”
Audience
Diversity is Everywhere, Except Classical Radio
What a crazy time we’re in, with global economics on everybody’s mind. Whew. If you need a break from crisis mode, there’s been an interesting conversation going on in the comments of this blog, and I’d like to move some of it up front and possibly get some input. I read an interesting article in the Seattle Times on Sunday on Defining Mixed-Race Identity. The changing face of the American population is a legitimate reason we classical types need to respond to what’s going on around us and not just hang on to our old — very old — traditions. But one of our readers pointed out that to him diversity means attracting new people to classical music, whereas I think it also means classical music reaching out by broadening its playlist to appeal to diverse listeners. Can it be both? What do you think?
Australia’s 4MBS: community engagement to the utmost
Some U.S. classical radio stations promote live performances, sponsor occasional talks or find other ways to get out in their communities, promoting local arts while elevating their profiles in the process. But I’m willing to wager that even the most active station would look like a hopeless underachiever next to Australia’s 4MBS Classic FM.
4MBS stages a dizzying array of musical and cultural events in its hometown of Brisbane, throughout Australia and even on the high seas — concerts, plays, contests, cruises, lectures, classes and more. These activities make 4MBS much more than just a radio station. In fact, General Manager Gary Thorpe credits 4MBS’s growth over the past 15 years to its efforts to engage audiences in so many different ways. The station boasts an annual income on par with that of classical stations in Sydney and Melbourne, homes to many more people than Brisbane.
“We want to show people that the radio station is just the start of the process of connecting with the community,” he wrote in an e-mail. “There are so many other relevant and meaningful things we can do to enhance their lives and the 4MBS experience — broaden their horizons within the classics.”
Martin Perlich, KCSN, Ben Rosen on the Met, and Sean MacLean
Some notes about happenings in the classical radio world on a midsummer Friday. Dailynews.com reports than longtime radio personality Martin Perlich resigned on Tuesday from his job as Program Director at KCSN in Northridge, CA. Perlich is very well respected for his award-winning interviews with musicians. He’s retiring at age 70 with his legendary energy unabated. His retirement leaves a big hole in the radio landscape and raises even more questions about the fate of KCSN, where there have been rumblings of changes, but no hard news yet. To quote the article … Continue Reading