LSM Newswire: Raise a Ruckus for Radio Two

April 7^TH, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

On Friday, April 11^th, 2008 at 12:00pm Eastern Time, the 12,500 strong members of a hastily arranged Facebook group entitled ��Save Classical Music at the CBC�� will be holding a NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION called ��RAISE A RUCKUS FOR RADIO TWO!�� in over a dozen cities across Canada.

In response to recently announced programming changes at CBC Radio Two and the planned axing of the famed CBC Vancouver Radio Orchestra, classical music fans, musicians and Radio Two listeners are planning to take to the streets in front of their local CBC installations in every province simultaneously. Demonstrations are to be held at CBC facilities in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, London, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Charlottetown and St. John��s; with possible demonstrations to be held in Regina, Kingston, ON, and Saint John, NB as well.

Disappointment with the planned changes has been swiftly building and increasingly vocal since the CBC��s announcement of March 4^th, where top executives including Richard Stursberg - head of CBC English services, Jennifer McGuire �� head of CBC radio, and Mark Steinmetz �� director of radio programming divulged that CBC Radio Two��s 40 year tradition as a primarily classical music broadcaster would be coming to a close. Weekday classical music programming is to be cut from 12 hours daily to 5 off-peak hours leading to the cancellation of many popular shows. Though listeners realize that shows and hosts come and go, most of the quality programming is to be replaced with pop music with sprinklings of light jazz and world music. Classical music fans and musicians feel as though they have lost a trusted and beloved member of the family �� they feel like they are being punished for CBC��s inability to stay true to its historical mandate and CBC��s unwillingness to expand conventional broadcast services to include more diverse genres and programming.

Since coming into power, the current team of Programming Executives have been responsible for the fact that:

They have failed to transform the innovative Radio 3 into a national broadcast network, thereby necessitating, in their eyes, the gutting of Radio Two��s classical programming in order to satisfy their self-perceived mandate to be all things to all people.
The CBC Young Composers Competition and the CBC Young Performers Competition, have been suspended for the past four years. These two important domestic competitions had been instrumental in the development of some of Canada��s best musical talent including: Angela Hewitt, Ben Heppner, Jon Kimura Parker. The Canada Council provided the funding for the $10,000.00 grand prizes.
The CBC has, as of February, erased the classical music budget for CBC Records, precisely on the eve of their first Grammy win by Canadian violinist James Ehnes and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Bramwell Tovey on the CBC Records label. Many artists, such as Measha Brueggergosman, launched their careers on a CBC Records label recording.
The commissioning budget previously devoted to commissioning new works from composers is now spread out to cover jazz, pop musicians, and some unspecified amount of contemporary music. CBC says they will spend the same amount on classical commissions �� but their track record is not looking good.
The proposed cuts for the Fall of 2008 represents further reductions in classical music content, eliminating classical music 6am to 10am and 3pm to 6pm - reducing by over half the overall classical weekday programming from 12 hours to 5 hours, and shifting all weekday classical programming to inconvenient, off-peak times of the day when no one who works or goes to school can tune in.
The axing of the 70 year old CBC Radio Orchestra: North America's last remaining radio orchestra and platform for countless premieres of new Canadian compositions. And then, one day after citing lack of resources as the reason for cutting the orchestra, buying an expensive full-page ad in a national newspaper to convince Canadians about how wonderful the evisceration of their national radio music network is - signed and supported by wealthy pop music recording industry executives and artists, the people who stand to gain monetarily from the demise of CBC��s classical programming

All existing and long-standing weekday classical shows on Radio Two are to be cut, including:

Music & Company - Tom Allen's morning wake up show
Here's to You - Catherine Belyea's all-request show
Studio Sparks - due to the venerable Eric Friesen's "retirement"
Disc Drive - Jurgen Gothe's popular, 30 year old drive-home show
Sound Advice �� Rick Philips�� extraordinarily informative and unique classical recording showcase and review

These changes come on the heels of last years round of cuts to vital programs such as:

Danielle Charbonneau's much-loved Music for a While;
Larry Lake's new composer showcase Two New Hours;
Symphony Hall - Canada's live orchestra recording showcase;
The Singer and the Song - Catherine Belyea's excellent Classical vocal program;
Northern Lights - the overnight Classical program beloved by Night Owls everywhere;
The reformatting of In Performance- a primarily classical live performance show into the unfocused Canada Live - a uniformly non-classical and confusing mix of various genres

The CBC claims financial constraints drive these cuts, yet spending in other areas, and support from the commercial recording industry suggest otherwise.

Canadian classical music fans and musicians and Radio Two listeners have had enough of this ��concerted�� and unprecedented campaign against classical and art music programming and infrastructure. Though their numbers may be relatively small compared to commercial radio, Radio Two listeners are among the most engaged and loyal in the world. They feel the have been betrayed and belittled by the current management team entrenched at the nation��s public broadcaster.

We are expecting a large and lively turnout at CBC installations across Canada, in every province where Radio Two is heard and loved. These demonstrations will occur simultaneously at 1200hrs Eastern Time (9am in Vancouver, 1:30pm in St. John��s, etc.). We are inviting all lovers of classical music and public support for the non-commercial arts scene in this country to join with us in calling for the restoration of Radio Two��s vital classical music programming and the reversal of the decision to axe the CBC Radio Orchestra. Let our voices ring out and be heard! We welcome and encourage all members of the print, radio, electronic and television media to cover this important story and join us on this important day for Canada��s classical music community.

**********************************

The following is a list of local CBC facilities addresses across Canada where demonstrations are being planned, including local times and local contact information:

9am Pacific: Victoria: 1025 Pandora Avenue

Contact: Cecilia Porter - ceciliap@uvic.ca

9am Pacific: Vancouver: 775 Cambie Street

Contacts: David Taylor Gill - dtg1@sfu.ca

Jocelyn Morlock �� jocelynmorlock@yahoo.ca

John Oliver �� joliver1@earsay.com

Michael Vincent �� info@michaelvincent.ca

Tanya Battaglia - savecbc@hotmail.com

10am Mountain: Calgary: 1724 Westmount Blvd. NW

Contact - Andrew Nowry Andrewnowry@gmail.com

Darren Young - silentearth66@hotmail.com

10am Mountain: Edmonton: 23 Edmonton City Centre, 10062-102nd Avenue