Canada’s oldest, most venerable national orchestra and only radio orchestra has been axed by CBC Radio music chief Mark Steinmetz. Since 1938, the CBC Radio Orchestra has been an integral part of Canada’s music scene, and an important part of our cultural heritage. This last radio orchestra in North America has contributed to a deep and broad archive of classical recordings in Canadian music.
Plain ol’ economics is driving this decision and the CBC obviously did not consider more than that. CBC is “reshaping” its radio programming, and that reshaping has been the demise of many beloved classical and non-classical national broadcasts that we Canadians know and love, and now, it may mean the end of this unique Canadian orchestra.
The dismantling of the orchestra, formed in 1938, is the latest in a string of decisions that have seen classical music losing time slots on the public broadcaster’s airwaves. Recent decisions have moved classical music away from morning, afternoon, and evening slots. Popular classical CBC shows including Music & Company, Here’s to You, Studio Sparks, and DiscDrive have all been scheduled for cancellation. Last year, Music for a While, Two New Hours, Symphony Hall, The Singer and the Song, and Northern Lights were cut. The CBC Young Composers Competition was also recently terminated.
Jessica Werb- March 28 - Georgia Straight
The CBC may not have considered that many Canadians care about more than mere dollars and cents when it comes to preserving our cultural institutions. The CBC Radio Orchestra, and CBC’s once rich and diverse programming, are part of that culture. They are as Canadian as back bacon, hockey, maple syrup, and multi-culturalism. CBC Radio Canada and its orchestra are part of what makes Canada, Canada. Why is it that decisions made at the highest levels, affecting all Canadians, are made without consultation? Without consulting tax-payers like me, who pay the bills? Surely, someone should have asked me and the umpteen thousands of Canadians who care more about culture than blind acts of “fiscal responsibility” or “doing the hard thing” or whatever other euphemisms are used to describe rash acts of cultural barbarism.
Many Canadians would agree that the CBC Orchestra and what it brings to the Canadian cultural scene are worth at least the less than 1 million dollar budget. How about this notion? Instead of politicians voting themselves raises this year or next, instead of wasting time studying this or that, or forming working groups or commissioning studies, or studying commissions, let’s ask them to consider what is good for Canada, and not just easier for programming, or good management. These things are not all that matters in decision making that has deeper cultural impact.
Please, my fellow Canadians, fellow culture-hugging, maple syrup slurping siblings of Hockey Night and CBC, lets work together on this. We can do it! Really. Write a letter. Bombard the CBC with good old fashion Canuckian rantings about how you want this orchestra, good homegrown CBC programming and classical music, new music, and live performance. Let the band play on!
Write any or all of the following, and please sign the petition
CBC/Radio-Canada - English Services
Audience Relations
250 Front Street West
P.O. Box 500, Station A
Toronto, Ontario M5W 1E6
1-866-306-INFO (4636) Toll-free
416-205-6688 (TDD)
website: www.cbc.ca/contact/
CBC/Radio-Canada - French Services
Audience Relations
P.O. Box 6000
Montreal, Quebec H3C 3A8
514-597-6000 (General)
1-866-306-INFO (4636) Toll-free
514-597-6013 (TDD)
e-mail: auditoire@radio-canada.ca
CBC/Radio-Canada
Corporate Communications, Head Office
P.O. Box 3220, Station C
Ottawa, ON K1Y 1E4
613-288-6033 (General)
e-mail: liaison@radio-canada.ca
Write or call Jose Verner , Minister of Canadian Heritage (aka Ministry of Culture) at:
Canadian Heritage
15 Eddy Street
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0M5
Telephone
TTY*: 1 888-997-3123
In solidarity with the musicians of the CBC Orchestra, I have designed and posted two printable “Save CBC Orchestra” posters online in PDF format here.
The second of these has a list of officials & organizations I have compiled that people can write to.
Anyone who would like a higher resolution file for printing in larger format (e.g. gigantic
can contact me via http://www.claireart.ca/contact.htm. Available as a PDF or native Illustrator file.
I don’t know if the reasons for disbanding the CBC Radio Orchestra were financial. The InsideTheCBC blog author says: Anyone who has been in business understands that you always have the money if it’s a priority. What the CBC really means is this: “We have the money, but we have chosen to make this decision.”
I think Emily is right. In the CBC interview with George Zuckerman, he says it’s not about the money. And Mary Soderstrom’s blog notes that “the CBC just dropped about $30,000 trying to convince us how cool their new Radio Two programming will be. Saturday’s Globe and Mail included a full page colour ad in the Review section…”
In their bureaucratic sensitivity, they ran this ad a day or so after announcing their plan to axe the orchestra!
CBC Execs have been saying they can spend the orchestra’s money “more efficiently”, so it looks to me like they are reallocating funds, not just cutting back. It’s a political, ideological move more than a financial one. As Emily says, they have chosen this path. Now to watch the public choose a new one for them!
Thanks Emily and Bill for the clarification. I did also hear that it was not a money issue. That, is of course a little confusing. Reallocation of funds from one area to another, does, in a way, make it all come down to dollars and cents again: they want to spend the money elsewhere. Someone, somewhere has decided for some cloudy, murky reason, that the CBC Radio Orchestra is a dinosaur not worthy of expenditures.
This is just the latest step in a process that has been going on for over 15 years: the gradual strangulation of the CBC. Both the Liberals and the Conservatives have carried out this agenda whose obvious goal is to ultimately shut down or privatize our national broadcaster. This is the larger issue that must be addressed as we are now closer than ever to witnessing the end of the CBC itself.