Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
So, with all this rain falling, Look/Listen had a fairly sedentary, Facebooky sort of weekend. That's OK; because, lo and behold, we saw this very exciting news appear in our newsfeed, posted by former KFUO announcer (and sometimes Look-Listen classical music blogger) Tom Sudholt:
"I am pleased—and somewhat amazed—to report to you this afternoon I officially became an On-Air Announcer an the Program Director for the Radio Arts Foundation of St. Louis (RAF-STL)."
It is shocking to realize that since Classic 99 KFUO-FM signed off in July of 2010 (after 62 years!), the only local classical programming has been on Saturday nights, when St. Louis Public Radio airs its live Symphony broadcasts. The Radio Arts Foundation been working diligently over the last few years to fill that void, but it hasn't always been an easy, smooth process. In February, Sarah Bryan Miller of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch announced that after a few hiccups with the FCC, RAF finally had a place on the dial, 107.3 FM, but no hard launch date. Now they do. As Sudholt announced: "Talk to you April 8." (We should also note that you'll be able to hear Sudholt on the mic between the hours of 2 and 7 p.m.)
The initial coverage area is the 20-mile radius around the intersection of Hanley and Manchester Roads, and RAF will also broadcast on HD (KIHT-HD2 at 96.3 FM), and stream at its website. We are a little late to the party as far as announcing the news—Sarah Bryan Miller broke the story last Thursday—but hey, this is news worth oversharing. Miller notes that KFUO staples like Composer's Datebook will return, and that in additon to its local programming, they'll be broadcasting performances by orchestas like the Chicago Symphony. RAF's website describes its programming like this:
"Not only do we plan to 'bring back Bach,' we’re also devoted to being a community-owned, community-driven asset. With the launch of our new station RAF-STL will become a community asset with an unmatched devotion to growing the arts and cultural community in the St. Louis area by providing:
- Broadcasts of live performances, both in-studio and remotely, from the world’s greatest musicians, including remote broadcasts from Centene Corporation’s acoustical auditorium furnished with a Steinway grand piano
- In-depth, in-studio and remote interviews with performers, conductors and music personalities from around the globe who are charting the path and course of the classical music today
- Diverse, community-driven programming that includes a wide variety of music genres such as orchestral, chamber, jazz, blues, opera, and symphonic music."
And this is pretty inspiring:
"Radio Arts Foundation-Saint Louis was created by people who believe true art and culture must never perish from the airwaves of St. Louis. Champions who responded to the outcry when our community lost its beloved classical station. Through our radio broadcast and this web site, we intend to build a home for the entire fine arts and performing arts community of St. Louis. Tune in to hear Beethoven. Log on to learn about the local arts scene. Listen. Read. Debate. Relish. We are the Sound of Art."
That final KFUO broadcast—it was Beethoven's Ninth, if you were not listening that day—was sadder than heck. But maybe everything turned out for the best. St. Louis now has, it appears, a dynamic and resilient station that's not only dedicated to broadcasting classical music, but supporting St. Louis' entire arts scene. Yes, we've been almost three years without a classical station. But it appears it was totally worth the wait.
