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Jim Connett. Photographs by Byron Kerman
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The tale has been told many times, and when people hear it, half of them nod their heads in sympathy, and half of them just don’t care all that much.
The tale is the recounting of the last day that KFUO-FM was on the air. It is the story of how the powers that be agreed that the last piece the august, 62-year-old radio station would play would be Beethoven’s Ninth, “Ode to Joy.” It is the description of the scene, when people that flocked to the fields surrounding the Classic 99 studios at Concordia Seminary and listened to a real-life “day the music died.”
It is the impossibility that a metropolis as large and (presumably) as civilized as ours could collectively let Beethoven and Mozart and Bach slip away to the relative obscurity of HD radio, where they were relegated after that day in July of 2010. It is the absurdity of boasting of the superlative charms of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a city that, in the same breath, somehow managed to let all that timeless music fall deeper into the mists of time.
And now, it is the collective smile on the faces of classical-music lovers as RAF STL, the Radio Arts Foundation, has brought classical music back to the mainstream airwaves, at 107.3 FM (and 96.3 on the HD2 dial). The station, which has been broadcasting for about two weeks now, may be heard within a 20-mile radius of Brentwood.
RAF General Manager Jim Connett (a program director at KFUO for 19 years) is one the key players in marshaling the forces and the money to bring back the music.
We spoke with him about why classical music is still vital, why we should all care about its accessibility, and why it’s silly to loathe Albert Pujols, even though his generous fundraising for a religious group allowed it to convert the classical station to a Christian contemporary one.
Hey, classical music is back on the FM dial.
For two years, we've been running this race with the FCC to get the analog signal in town, and with the help of Emmis Communications, the K-SHE people, John Beck in particular, we’re finally there. We're at 107.3 FM, which is the "translator frequency." It’s connected to the “primary station,” which is KIHT 96.3, K-Hits. You can also listen to us at 96.3 on the HD2 dial. I know that sounds confusing. I have to keep explaining it to people. You can also listen live at rafstl.org.
Working with the FCC is a long, laborious process – like standing under a molasses waterfall, just waiting for something to finally happen. It takes years. We also had to build the studios, hire the staff… In the three-year interim, all the software and hardware it takes to run a radio station had changed. Then there’s the issues of traffic, the billing, integrating the web site. We had to jump into everything while running to meet that April 8 start date – and we pulled it off.
How did you feel when KFUO Classic 99 went silent?
July 6, 2010. I know exactly where I was. A lot of kids came over to the KFUO building from Wash. U. to witness the end. I was the one who had to turn the transmitter off – no one else wanted to. Remember the white noise that came out, right after that beautiful Beethoven?
People are already familiar with the experienced DJs at RAF.
Jim Doyle came from KEZK. He’s an excited spirit, who’s alive and awake in the morning. Kathy Lawton-Brown is a mezzo soprano who offers a very different view of classical music from that standpoint. Tom Sudholt is the guy to have on your team at trivia night. He really knows classical music and opera. Kathy and Tom were both on KFUO.
DJs Tom Sudhold and Kathy Lawton-Brown
You’re on the HD radio dial, too. Is that becoming a more popular choice?
More than 25% of all cars being manufactured right now have HD2 radios. And actually, there’s a brand-new device that just came out that’s 35 bucks, and it plugs into your regular radio so you can listen to HD.
I understand you’re only allowed to have 72 minutes of commercials total broadcast on the station each day?
As a 501c3 we can only do 5% of our activities as a commercial entity. Five percent of 24 hours is 72 minutes.
Your mission statement also mentions jazz and the blues—do you play that music, too?
We have four hours of jazz each Saturday night on Live From Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis. Then after that, Calvin Wilson of the Post-Dispatch does a one-hour jazz program. And then after that, Jason Church of Emmis Communications does another two-hour jazz program. Saturday night is all about jazz.
The blues programming is coming. Later we’re going to be working with the new National Blues Museum, too.
What was the first piece of music you played on RAF STL?
The first piece was the same as the last piece at KFUO—Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” We came right back with that. I got a lot of opinions as to what it should be. Some guy suggested the soundtrack from “Back to the Future.” (Laughs)
Do you use voice-tracking, i.e., pre-recorded bits from DJs?
We do. We have six people to run this station 24/7, and at KFUO we had 30. We have to provide a lot of content.
Will you be doing anything collaboratively with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra?
Yes, very much so. And we’ll be working with the St. Louis Chamber Chorus and the St. Louis Classical Guitar Society, too, among other groups. The Arianna String Quartet. Then there’s the Centene Auditorium right next door, where we’ve sponsored concerts.
Do you have any hard feelings towards Albert Pujols for bankrolling the contemporary Christian station that pushed out KFUO?
No. In radio we’ve always believed that people support what they want with their money. We’ll get money from people in just the same way. There’s no animosity; it’s not productive.
Why is it important that classical music have a home on the radio dial?
Classical music is the basis for all of our music today. At one time, it was new, too. If it’s lasted this long, there must be something to it. Some of it was written by a guy who was deaf as a post, and it turns out to be some of the most enduring pieces of music ever. Artists like to listen to this music while painting and sculpting. Students listen to it while studying. Somehow it opens up our minds. Somehow it makes us think better. It takes us places we can’t go with other music. It’s important that we pass this on. When Classic 99 went down we lost a whole “ecosystem for the arts.” People were asking, “when are we going to get our station back?” Well, now it’s back and we need support to make it better. We need seed money and support from the community.
