Serving the classics

Tom Harte does this every weekday.

Monday through Friday he arrives at Southeast Public Radio KRCU, Cape Girardeau's National Public Radio affiliate, just before 11 a.m. and prepares for his lunch-time spot on local public radio, Caffe Concerto.

Tom Harte, the host of Caffe Concerto, a program that features classical music on radio station KRCU, sat in front of the station's music library. KRCU is the only radio station in Southeast Missouri that plays classical music. (Aaron Eisenhauer)

"We have a reservation for you and your table is now ready," Harte tells his listeners before reciting today's menu, two hours of classical music, which includes "a little scoop of Schubert."

He doesn't know how many are listening, but he knows some people are.

And Harte knows he's giving them something they can't get anywhere else. Harte's food-themed classical music show is one of the few classical music programs on local radio.

In Southeast Missouri, there's nowhere else to turn for classical music radio -- literally.

Harte and others who love classical music are watching their art vanish from the airwaves, and it's worrisome. "People who are in classical music are concerned about this," Harte says between musical courses.

Across the United States, classical music continues to lose its spot on radio, if a recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts is to be believed, a troublesome situation considering research has shown most classical music listeners come to love the art form through radio. The 2006 NEA study found that the amount of commercial classical music stations dropped 30 percent from 1998 to 2005. Among public radio stations, the same study found them increasing their hours of news/talk programming by more than double. Now news/talk has replaced classical music as the primary format on public radio.

But Andi Sporkin, vice president of communications for National Public Radio, said the NEA study leaves an important part of the picture out of the equation -- new media.

Sporkin said many NPR stations did increase their news and information programming starting after the 2000 presidential election.

"There have been some stories that say stations are getting out of music, others say they're getting into it in a bigger way," Sporkin said. "The truth is somewhere in between."

Sporkin said even as broadcast stations change formats, they're fulfilling listeners' music needs using new technologies like podcasting and digital radio stations that allow them to provide niche programming. In October NPR will launch an online music database with programming from several NPR member stations around the country.

Tom Harte announced the next song Tuesday during his show Caffe Concerto on KRCU. KRCU is the only radio station in Southeast Missouri that plays classical music. (Aaron Eisenhauer)

But in Southeast Missouri, classical music on the airwaves is rather uncommon.

Driving from the Arkansas border north to St. Louis along Interstate 55, listeners will only find one classical station before St. Louis: Southeast Public Radio and its broadcasts on 90.9 FM in Cape Girardeau and 88.9 FM in Farmington, Mo. Once in St. Louis, listeners can tune to renowned commercial classical station KFUO.

Public and commercial stations are both taking a hit, even though they get revenue in much different ways -- commercial radio through advertising, public radio through listeners pledges and corporate underwriting.

Southeast Public Radio general manager Dan Woods said the station doesn't have a way to track how many listeners are tuning in to what -- news programs like NPR's "Morning Edition" or classical music programs. But national news/talk programming is costly, while classical music seems to have plenty of local listeners, if the anecdotal evidence is correct.

"We still hear from our classical music fans ... because they understand it's becoming harder and harder to find on the radio," Woods said.

Classical music programming makes up about 40 percent of KRCU's broadcast time, Woods estimates. He sees the 16-year-old station's continued commitment to classical music as a part of the KRCU mission -- to provide programming that culturally enriches Southeast Missouri.

"No one else around here is doing classical music," Woods said. "It's the same reason we do a folk program and an opera program, or programming about Kwanzaa or Jewish traditions around the holidays."

Barb Herbert, host of KRCU's "Sunday Night at the Opera," understands the situation all too well. Herbert is a devotee of an art form that enjoys little mass appeal -- opera -- but she gets listeners from all over the country on the Internet. One Sunday so many users were streaming "Sunday Night at the Opera" the station's Web site crashed.

"I've had people tell me 'I didn't really like opera and I listened to your program and it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be,'" Herbert said with a chuckle.

Every week Herbert gives listeners a little education about the art form, providing them with facts about composers or "if there's something bizarre or gruesome -- in opera there often is -- I like that."

But Herbert doesn't see her role as some enlightened expert bringing culture to the masses through opera -- just as another host with a passion for music.

"What I'm doing is really not anything unique," Herbert said. "People around the world have local opera hosts. It is a little strange to do in Southeast Missouri."

But Woods said KRCU has no plan to change its format, for now, at least.

Even with a format change local listeners could still get their fix through the growing medium of satellite radio. But Harte says it wouldn't be the same, here or anywhere else.

"Satellite radio doesn't have that local angle. To me it's fun to hear what they're doing in different places around the country."

Less and less, what they're doing are shows like Harte's.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182