There are lots of sessions going on at the Public Radio Program Director’s meeting, but of course on this blog I’m just reporting on the classical music ones. This morning was a session on fundraising, and I’m pretty sure the stations don’t want me to give away the secrets of how they’re planning to persuade you to donate. Let’s just say they sincerely want classical radio to be a partnership with their listeners, and the advice they gave us is to focus on how valuable classical music is to our lives, and that radio stations are the ones providing that value — basically for free. I think we sometimes forget that fundamental truth and we get caught up in the minutiae.
Programming
Programming conference kicks off in Hollywood today
Hundreds of public radio staffers are in Hollywood today for the Public Radio Program Directors Conference, which begins today and ends Saturday. Our very own Marty is there as well, while I, sadly, am not. I wish I were. I went to many PRPDs for Current and always had a great time drinking at dive bars learning about the latest thinking in public radio.
KCSN Adds Triple A to Mix
From Kathy Gronau in L.A…
KCSN Adjusts Format. “In an effort to bring greater consistency and a higher profile to our Arts and Roots programming format, KCSN has made the decision that its weekday evening programming, effective immediately, now will feature the acoustic music of poets and social commentators spanning the late 20th Century into the present,” emailed Fred Johnson, general manager of California State University, Northridge radio station.
Can classical stations take cues from Wordless Music?
Critics, bloggers and other media have lavished praise on Wordless Music, a concert series based primarily in New York that mines the considerable overlap among the realms of indie, experimental, classical and new music. This series popped up again in my radar because it staged its first concert in San Francisco last week. On the evening’s program was “Popcorn Superhet Receiver,” a work by Jonny Greenwood, lead guitarist for Radiohead. Also featured were pieces by Arvo Part and John Adams, among others.
These concerts, which began in New York last year, are not just attracting critical praise, but eager audiences as well. Many have sold out. Impresario Ronen Givony told Gramophone that often “more than 90 percent” of the audience shows up for the rock, but after the performances they pepper him with questions about the classical works, wanting to know and hear more. And many of these concertgoers are on the younger end of the spectrum.