Merrie Melodies - Rhapsody In Rivets
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Charlotte's classical-music station, Davidson College's WDAV-FM (89.9), is looking at adding a Spanish channel.
"Concierto's" programming would focus on Spanish composers and performers. Ben Roe, WDAV's general manager, says that none of the three dozen classical stations in the nation offers such a service.
WDAV already has three staffers fluent in Spanish: announcers Myelita Melton, Lauren Rico and program director Frank Dominguez.
"We have some tremendous assets in-house that other stations would have a hard time duplicating," says Roe, who joined the station in 2008 after a 20-year career at National Public Radio, where he was director of music and music initiatives.
Roe says he doesn't know how big the Charlotte market would be for such a channel, but is eager to see how it would do.
"In all the years I've worked at NPR and in national arenas, everyone has always talked about launching a service to reach the Latin audience but nobody has done much about it ... There's a huge upside and the risk is relatively minimal."
Part of the upside is the possibility of national syndication of the channel, particularly to public radio stations in cities with a high Hispanic population such as Miami, San Antonio or Los Angeles.
South Carolina was No. 1 in the growth of Hispanic population from 2007 to 2008, and North Carolina was No. 2. Hispanic population is estimated at about 7 percent in each state. Nationally, Hispanics comprise about 15 percent of the population.
Launching the channel would be dependent on raising money - likely from foundations or grants - for the project. Roe is working toward an April start.
- Read the entire article from The Charlotte Observer
]]>The programming draws from exhibits at both museums - Changing Places: From Black and White to Technicolor at the Levine Museum, and Loïs Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Color at the Mint Museum of Art - and consists of lectures, exhibits and performances in a variety of venues.
According to CSO Executive Director Jonathan Martin, "It is especially important in these times that cultural organizations work together. It produces richer, multi-layered cultural expressions for the local community."
There's a complete schedule of events at the Charlotte Symphony website.
It turns out this 1954 film is a cult classic titled Hansel and Gretel: Opera Fantasy.
Here are a few more details from a Wikipedia entry :
The puppets used in the film are called "kineman" characters. They took fifteen years to develop. The filmmakers used a secret chemical for "flesh" and "hair", and the characters had magnetized feet. They were also called "exemplary actors," and are able to duplicate natural movements, and they have a variety of facial expressions.
A DVD version of the film was released in 2001. There are some complaints about the quality of the transfer to DVD, but still plenty of raves about this little gem.
]]>Thanks to all of you at WDAV for the unbelievable Silver Prize of tickets to Yo-Yo Ma with the Charlotte Symphony and overnight at the Dunhill Hotel!!
]]> My husband and I had a wonderful time in the "Big City" and the concert was an overwhelming experience. The Charlotte Symphony did an excellent job but Yo-Yo Ma was the real star, what a magician he is! We were mesmerized. And with our wonderful seats we could see every move he made, both in the cello concerto and when he sat in with the orchestra for the Mozart! We also enjoyed meeting the Gold Prize winner and her daughter sitting next to us. In addition, the Dunhill Hotel was delightful in its services and its decor.We remain devoted fans of WDAV and your thoughtful programming, and thank you again for this wonderful gift.
Judy Watson
A WDAV Listener & Member Since 1979
- Learn more about The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
- Learn more about The Historic Dunhill Hotel
The White House said that the concert will include two young performers: cellist Sujari Britt and marimba player Jason Yoder, who will perform with Weilerstein. On the same day, the White House will hold music workshops for 120 middle and high school students from around the country.
- Read the LA Times article
- Listen to Jennifer Foster's chat with Alisa Weilerstein
- Listen to WDAV's Artist Spotlight on Joshua Bell
- Watch WDAV's video of Awadagin Pratt conducting a masterclass at Eastern Music Festival
HOW THEY DID THAT: Part 1
HOW THEY DID THAT, Part 2:
Every season at your local concert hall, the drill is the same: Musicians tune up their instruments, a conductor walks onstage, taps a baton, and works of past compositional masters spring to life.
This scenario has not been tampered with for centuries, a fact that many cherish and others lament about the symphonic experience. Now, threatened by the high costs of producing orchestral concerts, shrinking endowments, an aging subscriber base, and the slashing of music curriculums across the country, which diminishes the role of music in young people's lives, classical music has arrived kicking and screaming into the Digital Age. Computers are helping change the way people make, perform, and listen to symphonic music. Read on...
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(Photo: Oleg Kuznetsov)
WDAV On-Air Fund Drives On The Rise? I have only been with WDAV for a year, but in checking with WDAV's veterans (who have been with the station 10 years or more), none can remember a time when we held only one on-air campaign per year. Our "normal" fundraising efforts over the last ten years have involved two on-air campaigns annually, and there have been several times in the past when WDAV had three on-air campaigns (although the less frequent end-of-year campaigns are really more of a "half-campaign" of only 3-4 days).
Have WDAV's costs gone up over what was raised in earlier campaigns? In FY2009, we spent a little more than $7,000 more than what we spent in FY2008 - and much more of that year's expense was dedicated to programming and technical endeavors than in the previous year. For FY2010, we cut our budget by approximately $128,000 (from FY2009 actual) - in a clear-eyed understanding of the challenge of raising funds and garnering support in the business and philanthropic community in the current economic climate.
Here's what our FY2010 budget looks like:
$308,376 - General & Administrative
$463,365 - Programs
$93,500 - New Media
$112,330 - Technical
$304,059 - Development & Members
$125,329 - Marketing
$1,406,959 - TOTAL
You may have been listening recently when we hit our 100% goal for the Fall 2009 On-Air Membership Campaign. We had pledges of $187,210 from 1,307 individuals who listen both regionally via 89.9 FM and online at wdav.org. As you can see, this is only a portion of what we need to raise in FY2010, but it is always encouraging to meet our goals! And just for comparison's sake, in the Spring 2009 On-Air Membership Campaign, we raised $155,000 during the same number of days on the air.
Does the cost of certain programs such as online streaming justify having them? Absolutely! Our online stream reaches listeners in the radio-bereft "skyscraper canyons" of Uptown Charlotte, as well as listeners in Japan (and with no additional cost). At a time when fewer and fewer people are listening to music via traditional radio waves, WDAV must provide a multitude of delivery methods to stay competitive in audience development, underwriting and fundraising. You can see from the breakdown above that only $93,500 is dedicated to New Media this year (most of that expense is human resources - producers who are developing content for on-air and online distribution). To be sure, there are also some technical expenses that relate to online only - but they are nominal, compared to the cost of maintaining our much more costly radio operation.
Do contributions from Japan and other places pay for their costs? The vast majority of our current online listenership comes from right here within the Carolinas. And given the way the Internet functions, there is really no additional cost to serve listeners from other parts of the country or world. Our hope is that WDAV will continue to attract new over-the-air listeners throughout our region, but that is far better achieved via partnerships (such as teaming up with ETV Radio of South Carolina for our Spoleto Festival coverage - effectively bringing WDAV voices and talent to Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, and beyond), and via internet and mobile wireless technologies. It is highly unlikely that WDAV will invest more funds in the exorbitant expense of new transmitters or towers when we can so much more cost-effectively reach listeners via these methods.
Thank you to Mr. Frank Burns of Mint Hill, NC for these great questions!
]]>- Read the story in the NY Times
- Read more about the study from the Center for Arts Education
Founded in 1985, the American Chamber Players has toured throughout North America, and its performances are heard frequently on National Public Radio's Performance Today. The group features Sara Stern on flute, Joanna Maurer on violin, Miles Hoffman on viola, Alberto Parrini on cello, and Anna Stoytcheva on piano.
The American Chamber Players were in town to perform at Davidson College on Tuesday evening, October 20 and at Queens University of Charlotte on Saturday evening, October 24.