I’m one of the people in this industry that still believes radio is a tool with the greatest amount of potential for orchestras to reach a new audience. Awhile back, I even presented the idea of an orchestra owning a radio station (which exists – to a degree in Seattle already). During one of my drives back and forth from Baltimore to Richmond, I came up with an idea based on a combination of some of my favorite programs syndicated by NPR, which include: Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, Whad’ya Know?, and Says You!. These programs are all funny (most of the time), casual, educational, and most importantly they involve the studio and listening audience.
Artistic Administration
More on Orchestra Radio
It’s truly a small business. Just last week I wrote a blog about orchestras owning radio stations, in turn a reader pointed me in the direction of KING-fm classical radio in Seattle . After getting in touch with the radio station for information, I was contacted by Bob Goldfarb the KING-fm program director, and another ArtsJournal blogger…
Reader Response: Orchestra Radio
I have to say that I can always count on my readers to help further my education. Many thanks to reader Herb in Texas for writing in with a pointer to the situation at Seattle’s KING-FM. Herb believes that the radio station is collectively run by the Seattle Symphony and Seattle Opera. I have not been able to discover any further details yet. As of Wednesday morning the URL to KING-fm was unavailable and it was too early in Seattle for the Symphony to pick up their phones. However, I’m anxious to learn more about the situation…
Orchestra Radio
Here’s another idea out of left field: how about an orchestra "owning" a classical music radio station? There’s been much discussion over the past two years about the viability of classical music radio stations in general. In my opinion, I think that’s right on the ball. This is just another situation where a true partnership can become a wonderful symbiotic relationship. The small staff required to run a classical radio station could be easily combined with some of the existing orchestra administration structure…