Association of Music Personnel in Public Radio 
Fall 2001 

        After reading Dave Bunker’s column last month in Music Notes, my thoughts turned to this business we are in and what it’s about. Although I have no clear-cut method for ensuring the success of classical music as a format in public radio, there is one thing I do know—our formats, like music, should be ever-evolving. Listeners have changed. There have been major societal shifts since public radio first began broadcasting. These shifts have affected the way things work and will continue to do so for many years to come. That’s what makes our job so challenging and, in my opinion, downright fun. 
        I think the most amazing change is that in the world, though still separated by the barriers of language, social structure, and culture, music (along with everything else) is becoming more accessible for all of us. These changes have come through the development of various forms of media. There is no type of music one cannot hear now, on compact disc, radio, television, and the internet. A person’s personal playlist can jump from Mozart to Tom Waits to Dwight Yokam to Bo Diddley to REM to Yanni to Charlotte Church. . .this sentence could be infinitely long—you get the point.
        Musicians have already figured this out. Janet Jackson’s new hit single samples Satie’s “Gymnopedies.”  Yo-Yo Ma has recorded tango, Appalachian, baroque, and 20th-century solo music on the cello. Joshua Bell made a record with Mike Marshall and Sam Bush a few years ago. Dig back a few more years and think about the string quartet in “Eleanor Rigby,” or Miles Davis and Gil Evans riding the line between cool jazz and classical music in “Sketches of Spain” and Porgy and Bess. Other examples might include Copland and the American sound in classical music, Dvorak and the rise of nationalism, and Beethoven writing arrangements of Irish and Scottish folk tunes. 
        Okay, now that I’m thinking about it and the juices are beginning to flow, this is not new—and that’s my point. Music has always absorbed what is around it socially and culturally, reflecting its surroundings with amazing flexibility and beauty. I don’t know about you, but that is why I do this every day. 
        I believe it is unfair to put classical music in a little box with edges that cannot be crossed. To do this would deny the evolution this music has undergone thus far. What would have happened if there had never been polyphony, or if Mozart hadn’t written his “Turkish March”? What if Dvorak hadn’t urged America to look to her own folk tradition when writing music? What if Beethoven had never been inspired, then angered, by Napoleon? I for one am thankful that societal upheavals and cultural shifts have inspired music.
        The biggest difference between now and then is how fast we learn of the inevitable changes in society—in America and the world. The civil rights movement, the Vietnam war, the cold war, and the women’s movement are just a few examples of how society directly affected music. These events were available within hours, and now within seconds, of their occurrence on television, radio, the internet. Composers and popular artists began to write music that reflected these events, just as they have throughout history, only now the musical palette is bigger and all around them.
        If there’s one thing that this does create in us, it may be overstimulation. There is just so much to absorb—so many different types of culture and music that bombard us every day. It’s a great deal of information to sort out. But you know what? Our listeners are already doing it. They can hear any type of music in the world whenever they want, thanks to the internet and satellite. Our audience is probably the best educated in terms of exposure to different styles of music in the world. So now public radio must work harder to find the best of the best and present it in a way that sets it apart from the genericism of the internet and satellite radio. 
        Does this mean that the classics should not be on our playlists? Of course not. I love classical music, and I am proud of my education and the fact that I appreciate it. My playlists will always reflect that heritage. But I also know that my audience wants something different once in awhile—maybe Mahalia Jackson singing “Come Sunday” from Ellington’s Black, Brown, and Beige, or the Concierto de Aranjuez, Miles Davis style. When I listen to both of these pieces, I hear great, innovative American classical music. Obviously, there are many more pieces that I could mention here, as I’m sure many of you could. The possibilities right now are infinite.
        And exciting. What a time to be in public radio. The rise of shows like Sounds Eclectic, Rock and Roots, and World Café are giving our listeners and us new ideas, making our palettes bigger. Classical music is not dead as a format, it is simply evolving and absorbing the inevitable changes in our world.  The challenge to us: to present the music in a context that is refreshing, stimulating, and accessible. A tall order, for sure, but fun. So I hope you’ll excuse me as I go to work on today’s playlist.