I was in Grant Park Tuesday night for the big event, and it was the most thrilling experience you can imagine. Besides the electricity and unbridled joy of the occasion, it was about 90% young people. All races, all nationalities, all income levels. They were powered by hope, and their energy was infectious. I couldn’t help but think that this was an entire generation of computer-savvy kids, who are looking for answers and who want something our generation hasn’t given them.
People
Update on KHFM
My email is humming with messages from Albuquerque about KHFM. I listened online for a couple of hours today, and though two hours in a week are not necessarily representative of a 24/7 station, I did hear some things worth commenting on.
Classical MPR’s top programmer explains all those awards
Each year the Public Radio Program Directors Association hands out its Awards for Creative Excellence, recognizing stations for outstanding programming in public radio’s primary formats. Count on this: next year Classical Minnesota Public Radio will not be winning an ACE Award. That’s because MPR won its third consecutive ACE Award for classical programming this year, which disqualifies it from winning a fourth time.
Classical Music: The Trickle-Down Effect?
You may have seen the article by Leon Botstein October 3rd in the Wall Street Journal Online: The Unsung Success of Classical Music. Botstein writes:
The heralding of the demise of classical music is based on flimsy evidence. The number of concert venues, summer festivals, performing ensembles and overall performances in classical music and opera has increased exponentially over the last four decades. There are currently nearly 400 professional orchestras in America, according to the League of American Orchestras,