Younger listeners and classical; new home for CBC Orchestra?

A writer in Oklahoma State University’s student newspaper gives a thumbs-up to the format change at KOSU-FM in Stillwater, Okla., which recently cut back on classical and added more news and talk. The author writes, “The new music programming is also exciting. On Friday and Saturday nights, instead of tuning in to hear classical music, listeners may find jazz, blues, bluegrass and Celtic music greeting them.”

Though just one voice, this editorial does point to another concern among station programmers in public radio — appealing to younger listeners. At public radio conferences I’ve attended, getting younger listeners to tune in (and in public radio, “younger” means “under 40”) is generally talked about as a Good Thing. Some argue that if public radio doesn’t start cultivating a younger audience, its current listeners will keep aging with no one lined up to replace them. But no one quite knows how to go about doing it, and there’s no tried-and-true approach. Some shows such as This American Life have succeeded in generating buzz among young folks, but no one’s suggesting that stations switch to host line-ups of Ira Glass clones 24/7.

The classical audience generally does skew older. But programming an island of one or two hours of alt-rock in a sea of classical music and NPR News is not likely to make much difference — a station’s personality is defined by its bread-and-butter programming, not what airs on the fringes.

I’ve read that classical music performers and promoters face similar challenges in getting younger people to perk up and pay attention. So it seems to me that there’s an opportunity afoot. How could classical radio and performers of the music work hand in hand to find new audiences?

A glimmer of hope, perhaps: a program director at classical KXTR in Kansas City, Mo., says that “classical music is the rebellious thing these days.” “It’s not what the corporations are telling kids to listen to,” Patrick Neas says. “Classical music inspires passion in them. It enriches their entire lives.”

A CBC footnote: a politician in Surrey, British Columbia, hopes to bring the now-defunct CBC Radio Orchestra to her town to claim as its own. The orchestra got final word last week of its imminent disbanding.