Classical Music Rising’s August update
Dear Friends of Classical Music Rising:
Nothing beats face to face, and it was terrific to meet old friends and new among the nearly three-dozen attendees at the first meeting of partner stations for Classical Music Rising in Phoenix on August 3 and 4. [See list of partner stations below.] Capital Public Radio’s Paul Conley said, “Making contact with other Classical radio folks from around the country was absolutely invaluable to me.” WXXI’s Jeanne Fisher said she came back with lots of ideas, and KMFA’s Ann Wilson wrote, “I’ve been bubbling over with enthusiasm back at the station, and it’ll be great to be able to share the slides from the presentations.”
Yes! You are welcome to download the Presentation materials from the Phoenix sessions, which are available on SRG’s Website.
Next steps? This fall we are setting goals for the initial working groups in Digital, Marketing, and Community Engagement, and doing groundwork in the project areas of Revenue and Talent Development. I am working on a Classical radio fact sheet and list of Classical stations to share with you soon.
For those going to PRPD next month, I look forward to seeing you at the Classical format session!
Wende
Wende Persons, Managing Director
Classical Music Rising | www.classicalmusic.wpengine.com
[email protected] | cell: 917-691-1282
Classical Music Rising Project Partners
The Station Resource Group thanks our 23 active partners (to date) for supporting Classical Music Rising. Better together.
- Capital Public Radio – Sacramento, CA
- Colorado Public Radio – Denver, CO
- Hawaii Public Radio – Honolulu, HI
- Illinois Public Media/WILL – Urbana, IL
- KDFC – San Francisco, CA
- KING – Seattle, WA
- KBAQ/KJZZ – Phoenix, AZ
- KCME – Colorado Springs, CO
- KMFA – Austin, TX
- KUSC – Los Angeles, CA
- Louisville Public Media/WUOL – Louisville, KY
- Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media – St. Paul, MN
- Nashville Public Radio/WFCL – Nashville, TN
- New York Public Radio/WQXR – New York, NY
- Vermont Public Radio – Burlington, VT
- WCRB/WGBH – Boston, MA
- WDAV – Charlotte, NC
- WDPR – Discover Classical – Dayton, OH
- WETA – Washington, D.C.
- WFMT – Chicago, IL
- WQED – Pittsburgh, PA
- WRTI – Philadelphia, PA
- WXXI – Rochester, NY
WFMT’s Steve Robinson is On the Move
After 16 years at the helm of Chicago’s WFMT and the WFMT Radio Network, Steve Robinson is stepping down on September 30. With boundless energy and enthusiasm for classical music, Steve has provided countless radio showcases for top talent around the world. In 2003 he created Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin, a daily series heard by more than 400,000 listeners a week. The Chicago Tribune named Steve “Chicagoan of the Year” in the arts in 2003, and he continues his life’s work with new ideas and projects.
KDFC Hosts Enter Radio Hall of Fame
San Francisco program hosts Hoyt Smith and Dianne Nicolini are the newest additions to the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. KDFC President Bill Lueth believes this is the first time two hosts from the same station have been inducted in the same year. “While there are some members who have dabbled in classical at some point in their careers, ours are the first ‘classical stars’ in the Hall of Fame.” Congratulations to Dianne and Hoyt!
Air & Share: WQXR’s “Florence Foster Jenkins”
Don’t expect to hear the soundtrack of a movie about a famously bad singer in hot rotation on Classical stations across the country, but Florence Foster Jenkins is generating a lot of traction for WQXR online. The New York station creates short “air & share” content for its Website, promotes it on air, sends listeners to social media to share, and then measures the clicks to the page online to gauge the impact of the content. Watch (and share) WQXR’s interviews with the movie’s co-stars Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. And what are other pubradio stations doing to tie in with this classical music-themed movie? Digital Music News reports that Justin Timberlake was spotted at KCRW’s film premiere in Sacramento…
Eight Things to Consider When Pledging Classical Radio This Fall
Fundraising expert Barry Nelson penned an invaluable piece recently for Current. Topping his list of things to consider to help shape the messaging during on-air pledge drives are:
- Consider a theme of Peace, Calm & Quiet
- Make a listener-focused case
- Classical music and giving are matters of the heart.
“Classical radio is playing an especially important role in the lives of Americans as a haven from the noise, rancor and tumult inflaming the country in 2016,” writes Barry. He cites a listener who described Classical WQED-FM in Pittsburgh as “my oxygen.” Read more.