Era of Perpetual Bachelordom, Day 624- Sounds of Silence: The Great Radio Catastrophe of 2010
KFUO is no more.
At least for all practical purposes- tomorrow there will still be something there, but what's there now doesn't exactly get me anywhere any more. The Synod (probably actually a very small subset of the Synod, my theory is nine guys in a smoke-filled room) finally got their deal through and as such classical radio in St. Louis came to an end at 10:00 this evening. Needless to say, the way the LCMS (read, guys in smoke-filled room) carried the deal out is a source of considerable personal embarrassment, which I'm probably going to have to make excuses for to anyone with an opinion at rehearsals for the foreseeable future. The current staff went out with all the dignity that I'd expect, ending with the Hornpipe from Water Music (now the postlude for Saturday) and Beethoven's 9th (now the postlude for Sunday). There was a vigil outside the station as they closed out which I found out about through a friend of mine who apparently knows famous people, so I went to that. I got interviewed and everything. So that was precisely where I needed to be.
The million dollar question is what to do now. I've re-evaluated my approach to services and concluded that a strike or quality reduction would accomplish nothing. Instead, I'll try to fill the gap, as loudly as I can. This will mean fewer hymn arrangements and more orchestral reductions. Actually, I've already been doing that for the past month or so, including a low-key protest a few Sundays ago: the prelude was the finale of Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony, and the offertory was from Schubert "Tragic" Symphony. It doesn't appear anyone noticed, although they were thoroughly impressed by the fugue I played for the postlude. Radio-wise, the new car has satellite radio, so I have comparatively little reason to complain.
Then there's orchestra. Orchestra is key. It's definitely still going, but we've lost a big chunk of our advertising capability, as far as I know. Doubtless the boards of arts organizations all over have been discussing this very situation for a while now, and I hope they've come up with something. So maybe we'll all pull through. If various groups start dropping right and left and attendance starts dwindling, that would be a sign of a bigger problem, in which case it might be time to skip town. Only time will tell. We might get a new station too, no way of knowing.
The show must go on, such as it can.
At least for all practical purposes- tomorrow there will still be something there, but what's there now doesn't exactly get me anywhere any more. The Synod (probably actually a very small subset of the Synod, my theory is nine guys in a smoke-filled room) finally got their deal through and as such classical radio in St. Louis came to an end at 10:00 this evening. Needless to say, the way the LCMS (read, guys in smoke-filled room) carried the deal out is a source of considerable personal embarrassment, which I'm probably going to have to make excuses for to anyone with an opinion at rehearsals for the foreseeable future. The current staff went out with all the dignity that I'd expect, ending with the Hornpipe from Water Music (now the postlude for Saturday) and Beethoven's 9th (now the postlude for Sunday). There was a vigil outside the station as they closed out which I found out about through a friend of mine who apparently knows famous people, so I went to that. I got interviewed and everything. So that was precisely where I needed to be.
The million dollar question is what to do now. I've re-evaluated my approach to services and concluded that a strike or quality reduction would accomplish nothing. Instead, I'll try to fill the gap, as loudly as I can. This will mean fewer hymn arrangements and more orchestral reductions. Actually, I've already been doing that for the past month or so, including a low-key protest a few Sundays ago: the prelude was the finale of Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony, and the offertory was from Schubert "Tragic" Symphony. It doesn't appear anyone noticed, although they were thoroughly impressed by the fugue I played for the postlude. Radio-wise, the new car has satellite radio, so I have comparatively little reason to complain.
Then there's orchestra. Orchestra is key. It's definitely still going, but we've lost a big chunk of our advertising capability, as far as I know. Doubtless the boards of arts organizations all over have been discussing this very situation for a while now, and I hope they've come up with something. So maybe we'll all pull through. If various groups start dropping right and left and attendance starts dwindling, that would be a sign of a bigger problem, in which case it might be time to skip town. Only time will tell. We might get a new station too, no way of knowing.
The show must go on, such as it can.
posted by Kevin H | 11:53 PM
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