Live and Uncensored

WCLV broadcasts so many live concerts, it's difficult for we Radioquarians to keep track. Last Thursday, we featured guitarist Jason Vieaux in the KeyBank Studio here at the Idea Center at Playhouse Square. On April 25th, we offered a day of live music at the Music Settlement on the occasion of its centennial. This summer is the Cleveland International Piano Competition, which you will hear from beginning to end on 104.9 beginning in July. And also in July, from Oberlin, the annual Cooper International Competition, which alternates between piano and violin, is in its violin year. We will bring you live coverage of the semi-final round from Oberlin's Warner Concert Hall. The final rounds of both competitions will be at Severance Hall with the Cleveland Orchestra. Do tune in to hear these exceptional young performers on 104.9 & wclv.org. Check back for more live concerts coming up on WCLV.

De-Cluttering, then Re-Cluttering the Radioquarium

Radio studios, like pockets, briefcases and cars, attract papers, pens, paperclips and random notes that made sense once but now do not. Since 4 people use the control room in the course of a day, something lost can linger undisturbed. Announcers see something lying on the counter, figure it belongs to someone who will claim it, then a week later, it's still there, in the same position, untouched. After a week, I pitch it, unrepentant. The announcer taketh away, and the announcer giveth. In cleaning my desk, I recently discovered what remained of large, rolled-up sheets of peel-and-stick aquatic decor, sent to me by WCLV listeners in 2011 shortly after the station moved to the Idea Center in Cleveland's Playhouse Square district. Since our new control room was 50% glass, I called it the "Radioquarium." People in the hallway passed the control room, stopped, backed up, and did a double-take at the red, blue and green fish, seaweed, starfish, octopus, tiny goldfish and rocks on the glass, through which they saw the announcer at work. They shook their heads, laughed and went on their way. I reluctantly removed the decor when I got wind that some humorless colleagues were unenthusiastic about it. Yesterday, I discovered I hadn't put up ALL of it in the first place. So fish, dolphins, and starfish are back in business, in the depths of the Radioquarium. It pays to be a pack rat.

Perched on a Rock in the Radioquarium

Thanks to all of you who have pledged online at wclv.org or on the phone at 1-877-676-1049 to become charter members of WCLV. Your pledges are as important to us as WCLV's 24/7 music is to you. Keep listening and remember that the gifts at each dollar level are our way of thanking you for pledging and for keeping WCLV on in your home, car, office, or anywhere else you can't do without us. Your extraordinary devotion to this station is matchless. Before the week is out, the "Quack of Support" may make its debut.

Pledging at the Improv

Public stations' pledge drives are frequently like improv on the radio. The "talent" persuades listeners to become members, and none of it is scripted. We also review some of the thank-you gifts and challenges. In the case of WCLV, 50 years in the same classical format in Cleveland, many listeners call to tell us how devoted they are to the station. New listeners remark on the surprising blend of classical music and humor. Friday, February 8th, WCLV will begin its first fundraiser as the nation's newest public radio station. Will we hear from you at 1-877-696-1049? Online, feel free to browse the thank-you gifts when you click on the blue box that you'll see on wclv.org. You can also pledge securely there. From Oberlin to Strongsville to Willoughby, your financial support is essential to keep WCLV a unique radio station in the sea of frequencies.

It's Just Like Riding a Bicycle

Monday night at midnight, amid champagne, snacks, and thoughts of Dick Clark and Guy Lombardo, WCLV became the nation's newest public radio station. The most noticeable change is the absence of commercials as we have known them in WCLV's first 50 years. In public radio, they're called underwriting announcements. They're either 15 or 30 seconds. Like Jack Webb in "Dragnet," they're limited to "just the facts." The "First Program" is still on 104.9. So are the Pet News, the Movie Quiz, news, traffic, and the other items you hear on WCLV between 6 and 10 a.m. Our first pledge drive will be in February. Before I came to WCLV in 2001, my checkered radio career included stints at three public radio stations. How to host a pledge drive will come back to me. It's just like riding a bicycle.

WCLV 50th Anniversary Performance Rundown - Part 2

From 2-3, Apollo's Fire performs Baroque madrigals. The Cleveland State Jazz Ensemble is featured from 3 to 4. Two ensembles from the Baldwin-Wallace University Conservatory will be hosted by yours truly from 4 to 5, and I'll also host the Oberlin Trio from 5 to 6. Quire Cleveland offers Baroque and Classical vocal selections between 6 and 7. The Music Settlement's Almeda Trio will present a recital from 7 to 8, and the Big Finale is the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra in the Westfield Theater from 8 to 9. You're welcome to attend at the Idea Center at Playhouse Square, at 14th and Euclid in downtown Cleveland. Seating for some concerts is outside the studio, during which time you can chat with WCLV announcers, take tours of the Radioquarium and WCLV's office, have coffee and a cupcake, and just hang out with the DJs. That's Thursday, Nov. 1 -- be there or be square.

WCLV 50th Anniversary Performance Rundown - Part 1

WCLV's "First Program" will air as usual Thursday, Nov. 1 from 6-10 a.m. Beginning at 10, WCLV will present live recitals from the three Idea Center studios. At 10, an ensemble from CIM, plus a pre-recorded performance by students in the Rainey Institute's "El Sistema" program. At 11, the Cavani String Quaret, and at noon, Bill Rudman and the Musical Theater Project. The Big Work at One is a digitized recording of the first Cleveland Orchestra broadcast on Oct. 12, 1965. All day, you'll hear interviews with performers and local musical luminaries on 104.9 & wclv.com. Part 2 of the day's broadcasts will be posted soon.