Canadians Rally to Save Their CBC Radio 2!

May 14, 2008, Toronto, ON - Canadians of all ages are coming together on Saturday May 24 to save their CBC Radio 2. The Toronto Committee of Stand on Guard for CBC Radio, a nationwide coalition protesting the impending evisceration of our nation’Äôs public broadcaster, is meeting at 1 pm in Simcoe Park, adjacent to the CBC Broadcast Centre in downtown Toronto. Similar demonstrations will take place in Vancouver and Calgary.

CBC Radio, throughout its existence, has acted as a partner to the classical music community through nurturing, developing and broadcasting emerging and established talent throughout this country and abroad. This is how classical music artists have been able to establish their profile and to distribute their music. Suddenly without serious and meaningful consultation (aside from an extremely limited stakeholder study) CBC management has pulled the plug on this well-established partnership. Sadly, no mutual and collective solution-based discussion of how the classical music community could continue successfully in a partnership with CBC Radio took place.

The new CBC Radio 2 will no longer provide quality classical programming during morning or evening prime time. The new CBC Radio 2 plans to eliminate vital longstanding initiatives, including the Young Performers’Äô and Young Composers’Äô Competitions, and the CBC Radio Orchestra. Many of the service’Äôs most important and popular programmes are being cancelled. Money for commissioning and performance of new works is being severely curtailed. CBC Records will cease to produce classical recordings.

CBC is aspiring to target its new Radio 2 to the 35 to 49 year old demographic and has made an assumption that classical programming cannot be geared to this age group. Instead of creating innovative classical programming that is appropriate for this age group, CBC has decided to reduce classical music programming from 120 to 25 hours per week. Canadians of all ages will be affected by this decision.

With the assumption that classical music programming cannot be geared to working Canadians driving to and from their work place, CBC has cancelled classical programming from 7 am to 10 am and during the afternoon rush hour. Many working Canadians will no longer have weekday access to classical programming.

With the assumption that classical music programming cannot be geared to parents and children driving to and from school, CBC has scheduled classical music when Canada’Äôs children and youth are at school. CBC Radio’Äôs classical programming, broadcasts of live Canadian orchestras, ensembles and soloists, and broadcasts of original Canadian classical compositions will no longer be regularly heard by an entire generation of listeners.

Many Canadian commercial broadcasters play a wide variety of genres. However, there currently is no other radio broadcaster dedicated to reaching all regions of Canada to champion the music and originality of Canada’Äôs contemporary classical composers. There is no other broadcaster that reaches all regions of Canada that champions classical music and the music-making of Canada’Äôs orchestras and classical musicians. This is the unique function of our national public broadcaster ’Äì to bring music not played on other commercial stations to people in all regions of Canada.

The purpose of a publicly funded broadcaster is to enlighten, educate and inspire.

Its purpose must be different than a commercial broadcaster. CBC Radio 2 has the opportunity to be fuelled by the greatest accomplishments civilization has and is producing, and to differentiate itself from its commercial counterparts. It is not an appropriate paradigm for a public broadcaster to be almost singularly focused on ratings and specific audience demographics.

CBC, with its plans for the new CBC Radio 2, will be negligent in the fulfillment of its mandate as a public broadcaster.

Composers, conductors, singers, instrumentalists, arts administrators, colleagues from other artistic disciplines and concerned citizens of every description will convene at the Broadcast Centre on May 24 in a concerted effort to defend and protect our national legacy.

Come and join us to help save our CBC Radio 2!

What: Save Our CBC Radio 2 Rally

When: Saturday, May 24 ’Äì 1:00pm

Where: Simcoe Park, Toronto (adjacent to the CBC Broadcast Centre)

For more information view our website, www.standonguardforcbcradio.ca.

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TIME	SPEAKER
MUSIC: Brass Fanfares
1:00	*Walter Pitman
	*Alain Trudel
	*Jean Ashworth Bartle
	Michael Saunders
	Wayne Strongman
	Chan Ka Nin
MUSIC: Bach Chorale
1:30	*Victor Feldbrill
	Albert Greer
	Chris Thornborrow
	*William Littler
	Larry Beckwith
	*Lawrence Cherney
	*RH Thomson
MUSIC: Ode to Joy
2:00	*Mario Bernardi
	* James Somerville
	Eugene Astapov
	*Carl Morey
	Lydia Adams
	Ruth Watson Henderson
MUSIC: TBA
2:30	Francine Shutzman (Kathleen)
	*Dr. Richard Wells (Olena)
	*Jamie Parker (Lydia)
	Ezra Schabas (Jessie)
	*John Oliver (Ivars)
	*Catherine Robbin (Ivars)
MUSIC: Missen’Äôs Round
3:00	*James Rolfe (Neil Gardiner)
	Mary Willan Mason (Olena)
	Robert Anderson (Olena)
	Zimfira Poloz (Lydia)
	*Ivars Taurins
	*Rosario Marchese (Ivars)
MUSIC:Hallelujah Chorus
3:30	Theresa Rudolph Koczo (Kathleen)
	Glen James (Robert)
	Heidi Mackenzie (Robert)
	*Sam Bulte (Ann La Plante)
	*Russell Smith (Kathleen)
MUSIC: O Canada