Our 2009 Radiothon runs from 6 November until 15 November: we hope to raise over $30,000 in memberships and donations from our listeners over this period. ArtSound has been running radiothons to raise money for more than 20 years, and provides us not only with funds to help us run the station, but also gives us an idea of our community support.

Our theme for the Radiothon this year is Embrace the Digital Future. The Digital Future is full of opportunities, and challenges as well.

The broadcasting spectrum is licensed because it is a limited resource, regulated by governments to impose order and get the best out of it. Digital broadcasting gives us more services for less spectrum, at better technical quality, but requires us to invest in new facilities and transmission equipment to get the most out of the opportunity.

The internet, when compared with the broadcast spectrum, is a seemingly unlimited resource. Our programs can reach the entire globe, and with our listeners’ support soon will, taking local Canberra talent to the entire internet world. This is a great opportunity to expose Canberra’s talent to the world, to expand our listenership, but it is also a challenge to compete with all the other services coming the other way.

Listen, contribute, and help us embrace our digital future.

The Chief Minister of the ACT, Jon Stanhope, who is also the Minister for the Arts and Heritage, has invited Canberrans to have a say on the future of the arts in the ACT, at least as far as government support is concerned, anyway. He has appointed Peter Loxton and Associates to prepare a review of government support for the arts since Arts Canberra, the ACT Government’s current action statement for the arts, expired at the end of 2008.

To participate, members of the community can fill in an online survey (http://www.arts.act.gov.au/), and also attend Community Forums, to be held at:

• ‘The Link’, Canberra Theatre Centre, Civic: 12 – 2pm, Wednesday 28 October 2009
• Tuggeranong Arts Centre: 5:30 – 7:30pm, Wednesday 28 October 2009
• Belconnen Arts Centre: 12 – 2pm, Wednesday 4 November 2009

If you want to go to any of the sessions, contact Arts.Review@act.gov.au or phone 02 6207 5970.

For more information, call Canberra Connect on 13 22 81 or visit the artsACT website.

On September 21, ArtSound’s Board met for the first time since the 2009 Annual General Meeting. At the meeting, outgoing Vice President James Steele welcomed new Board Members Evol McLeod, Brian Leonard, George Cora and Kathy Syrette. Members returned to the Board at the election were John Mitchell and Richard Scherer, who were co-opted to the Board last year to fill casual vacancies. Eric Harrison, Ian Tidy, Wendy Brazil and James himself are continuing Board Members for another year. There are two casual vacancies as a result of the resignations of Board Members Christine Wallace and David Stephens.

The first order of business was the election of officers. All elected unopposed, the office-bearers for the next twelve months are:

• James Steele, President
• Brian Leonard, Senior Vice President
• George Cora, Vice President
• John Mitchell, Secretary
• Ian Tidy, Treasurer.

Major issues discussed at the meeting included the draft plan for the redevelopment of the Manuka precinct; funding the capital requirements of the organisation over the next twelve months; clarifying procedures relating to ensuring presenters, volunteers and members follow the various Codes of Conduct and station policies; and re-invigorating the Board Committees. ArtSound’s Committees are expected to advise the Board on the operations of the organisation. Members are encouraged to become actively involved in committees where their interests lie.

The present Committees are:

• Program Committee (Wendy Brazil, Chair)
• Fundraising Committee (George Cora, Chair)
• Promotion Committee (James Steele, Chair)
• Resource Planning and Development Committee (Chris Deacon, Chair)
• Training Committee (Eric Harrison, Chair)
• Volunteer Support Committee (Isobel Griffin, Chair)
• Silver Memories Committee (James Steele, Chair)
• ArtSound Fund Committee (Ian Tidy, Chair)

Please contact the chair of any committee you are interested in joining. Each Committee has been asked to review its Terms of Reference; the ArtSound Strategic Plan in relation to its activities; and contribute advice to the Board on what the committee is doing to fulfil its Terms of Reference. Committees are expected to report back to the Board.

The last twelve months were as always busy for the organisation. Among many other things we saw the development of the ArtSound Strategic Plan, the submission of the Licence Renewal Application to the ACMA, and building work completed on Studio 5. The next twelve months offer further challenges: ensuring the future of the studios within the Manuka Arts Centre; funding the operations and the capital expenditure required to keep the service going and to continue to improve it; and provide better communication between the membership of ArtSound, its volunteers, management, the Board, and the wider community ArtSound seeks to serve.

ArtSound’s General Manager Isobel Griffin spoke with Neale Guthrie – General Manager Territory Venues and Events at the community consultation meeting at the Manuka Oval – Wednesday 10 June. Isobel took the opportunity to present ArtSounds position in the proposed development and Mr Gutherie said he hoped ArtSound would present a submission to him before the end of June. He also indicated his enthusiasm to visit the studios in early July.

It is important that we see this as an opportunity to be a part of a vibrant precinct. To combine the Arts and Sport in a partnership that will benefit the whole community. It must also be made clear to those concerned with the development, of the thousands of volunteer hours and the many hundreds of thousands of Government, corporate and membership dollars invested in the studios. A vital part of that process will be inviting affected parties to visit the studios and see for themselves what that investment is and realising the implications of any relocation option.

The ArtSound Board and Management are monitoring the progress of the discussions and will be keeping a close eye on movements. We will be making a submission to Mr Gutherie by the end of the month.

Please watch this page for updates as they become available.

Gillian Freeman spoke to some of ArtSound FM’s passionate volunteers about what drives them.

Chris Deacon’s soothing radio voice speaks about the trials and tribulations of ArtSound FM (92.7 & 90.3), which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. He is renowned as the first presenter to go to air on Radio ANU, 2XX,  ArtSound FM (and its  predecessor, Canberra Stereo Public Radio) and also has extensive experience of public broadcasting in the US and Canada. But it is the 25 plus years he has devoted to ArtSound FM that’s earned him his guru-like status.

As we talk over the phone, I can picture this pioneer of Australian community radio in his element, working from ArtSound’s (former) tiny Curtin studios or conducting outside broadcasts from their funky van (donated to the station in the late-1990s by the Southern Cross Club). Back in the early-1980s, he explains, when there were few FM radio stations in Canberra, a group of writers, musicians and artists (including himself) identified a need for a voice to speak on the arts in Canberra. And so, in 1983, the alternative radio station opened as a place designed by and for musicians, with volunteer artists and musicians providing the fundamental link between the programs and station. In particular, it focused on jazz, folk, blues, classical, world and related music and cultural affairs to encourage an interest in and appreciation of local arts and cultural happenings. ‘Our aim was to establish a distinctive new FM radio station catering particularly to listeners with an interest in local music and arts that had been neglected, or was not often heard, on other radio stations because of restrictive music formats.’

Today ArtSound FM has changed very little in its core mission. Despite a plethora of new radio stations, Deacon believes there is still the same need for the station. ‘ArtSound has become a highly respected member of the local arts community … Because we rely on listeners for a good part of our income, ArtSound has permitted a dramatic expansion in radio arts programming financed by those who want it most,’ he says.

For a non-profit station that is run by volunteers and for over two decades worked out of a shoebox-sized space, the broad and vital range of technical and musical support it has provided to the local Canberra arts community over the years is quite incredible. It undertakes studio recordings, audio restoration and preservation (often linking with national cultural institutions such as the National Archives, the War Memorial and the National Library), CD production, LP and tape digitisation, is a mobile service to the arts community by regularly airing concerts recorded or broadcast live from events such as jazz festivals or from the lawns of the Botanical Gardens, and provides quality music from national and international sources. It also seeks out and promotes new artists by giving them the opportunity to record or air their music live from ArtSound’s studios in Manuka and to distribute it nationally, via its own shared digital satellite distribution network. For its efforts, ArtSound has received numerous national awards for its technical and program excellence.

A key factor in achieving this has been the numerous volunteers who have supported the station over the years. There are currently at least 100 volunteer presenters and behind the scenes workers drawn from a variety of professions. ‘Over the years hundreds of volunteers … have come forward to offer help and advice to ArtSound and be trained in radio presentation. They are not just radio enthusiasts but many are professionals in their own right,’ Deacon says. Indeed, Deacon is not only a skilled  jazz pianist, radio presenter and Engineering and Development Manager at ArtSound, but also runs a successful global satellite communications consultancy and was formerly a senior space and communications policy specialist with the Federal Government.

Presenter Jim Mooney has been volunteering for ArtSound for the last seven years. He came to the station with no first-hand experience in presenting but with a great passion for music developed in his younger days while travelling the world as a buyer for David Jones. Often his trips would coincide with the European winter when the arts scene would come alive with concerts, opera and recitals. This sparked an understanding that music played a vital part in being human, which, he says, is apparent if you study the history of some of our older cultures. For example, he says, at the end of the Second World War when Austria was, like many other countries, coming to terms with the destruction of its cities, the Opera House was the first building to be reconstructed. ‘Music occupies a pivotal point in mankind’s ability to become civilised. It enhances the quality of our life,’ Mooney says.

Deacon, too, is motivated by the love of art and the opportunity to reside and work in a city that excels in it. ‘Canberra is a centre for the arts,’ he says. ‘The Australian Bureau of Statistics and other studies … have found that Canberrans spend significantly more on arts activities and products than average Australians. ArtSound believes that … this interest and activity should be reflected on radio.’

Deacon is also passionate about radio as the ideal medium for stimulating the imagination and the human need to be creative. ‘Radio has become an extensive personal and portable information system. It can react well to local needs. Good radio talks about its local community, reflecting the personality of its own people … It is a medium in which one person can write, produce, engineer, act as talent, and come up with the finished product exactly as they want it done, and be hampered only by their own limitations. Few opportunities exist for that kind of expression anywhere else in the media..’

Another key to Artsound’s success is that because the station is a non-profit organisation largely run by volunteers, it is not restricted by advertising or the need to measure its success by listener numbers alone, which often stifles innovation. ‘We don’t just judge success in terms of audience share but maximising individual listener satisfaction is important …and we have a growing list of devotees.  If we can activate radio listeners’ homing instinct by appealing to a significant aggregate over the course of a week and they tell us they wouldn’t dare to miss something special on ArtSound FM, then we are reaching the mark,’ Deacon says.

There have, however, been some significant changes to ArtSound over the years. After 17 years of lobbying, the then Australian Broadcasting Authority granted it a new high-powered broadcasting licence in 2000, enabling ArtSound to expand to 24 hour programming seven days a week, with many new programs and presenters. Prior to this, the station was restricted to weekends. ArtSound narrowly missed out on a broadcasting licence in 1985 to a TAB-backed group, 1SSS-FM, following a partially successful appeal to the Federal Court. Ironically, that station went off the air due to lack of support. ArtSound, on the other hand, has kept developing and in 2006, moved to bigger and better premises in Manuka.  The ACT Government, through artsACT,  refurbished two buildings at the former School of  Music Jazz Campus.  Other generous sponsorship has come from The Canberra Labor Club. the Canberra Southern Cross Club and ACTEW Corporation.  These organisations, and a growing number of corporate sponsors, have demonstrated their confidence in ArtSound’s future by part funding its operations.  ArtSound is keen to identify others who share its vision for ‘an arts media centre that many can share and that Canberra can boast about.’

ArtSound is much more than just radio.  Since the 1980s it has successfully tendered for a number of prestigious government contracts for activities as diverse as managing the National Carillon, and undertaking digital copying of important parts of the nation’s spoken word heritage, including assignments for the National Film and Sound Archive, the National Library, the National Archives, and recently the Australian War Memorial.   Revenues are reinvested back into the organisation to support activities such as the high costs of running its FM service from the best broadcasting sites in the region – Black Mountain Tower and Mt Taylor.

So where to from here? ‘ArtSound can contribute immeasurably to the esteem with which Canberra ought to be held in other parts of Australia and the appreciation of our Canberra artists, which is so greatly deserved,’ Deacon says. ‘The technology and economics of communications offer the possibility of making the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, the jazz students of the Canberra School of Music, or the poets at ‘The Gods’ café as readily available in Broome or Braidwood as in Canberra, and hence multiply existing audiences for arts and cultural events.  We have already done this with several programs distributed nationally by satellite each week. 
As for programming innovation, ArtSound plans to extend arts coverage into the region by establishing arts correspondents in the various population centres within its adjacent NSW reception area.  It also has ambitious plans to move into internet-based non-broadcast services such as multicasting to audiences in hospitals, nursing homes and retirement villages with targeted content for older Australians.    

We have only just begun to scratch the surface and to explore more fully the artistic possibilities of the medium.’ Mooney adds: ‘The sky’s the limit. The station has the potential to be the nation’s finest community radio service.’
Based on an original article written in 2003 for the Canberra Times Muse Magazine by Gillian Freeman,  a freelance writer who also works at the Australian War Memorial.  Updated by ArtSound FM in May 2009.

Chris Deacon, Vice President of Canberra’s lively arts radio station ArtSound FM, has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). Announced by the Governor-General yesterday in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, the award is “for service to community radio through the ArtSound organisation”.

Mr Deacon’s passion for radio broadcasting commenced in primary school, and he played a major role in establishing some of the earliest licensed non-profit community radio stations in the early 1970s. However, his most significant contribution began as co-founder of ArtSound FM in the early 1980s, through licensing in 2000, to expansion of coverage, design and construction of its new studios, fundraising, training and present development of new digital media services. He has personally recorded and broadcast hundreds of concerts featuring mostly local musicians, for which ArtSound has received a number of national broadcasting industry awards.

“ArtSound FM is a prime example of what can be achieved by dedicated volunteerism – it has an enviable reputation for its broadcasting service in the ACT region, involving thousands of members and supporters in its local music, arts and cultural service, mirroring happenings in the local community. It provides an important training ground for other media and has forged program affiliations with respected broadcasting organisations in Europe and North America. It’s a unique station of which Canberra citizens should rightfully be proud” Mr Deacon commented.

“I’m delighted to be recognised by the nation for helping to create one of the fastest growing and most vibrant community broadcasting sectors in the world. It’s been a very satisfying experience to see community radio grow from such small beginnings in the early 1970s to the 350-station network it is today” said Mr Deacon.

Community radio boasts an average monthly listenership of over 9 million Australians, and 20,000 volunteers are now regularly involved in towns and cities throughout Australia.

Say the name of composer George Gershwin and instantly your head fills with memorable tunes.  Who doesn’t know ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, ‘An American In Paris’, ‘S’Wonderful’, ‘I Got Rhythm’ and ‘Fascinatin’ Rhythm’?  But have you heard “Boy Wanted”, “The Half of It, Dearie Blues” or “Tee Oodle Um Bum Bo”? If not, don’t despair, you’re not alone. A brand new program, “The Gershwin Project”, which is about to air on Artsound from 24th May 2009, will remedy that.

In his short, driven life, George Gershwin wrote hundreds of songs and some of the world’s most popular orchestral pieces, as well as a glorious opera which continues to be performed around the world.

Gershwin was the first – and perhaps the greatest – “crossover” artist.  His vibrant, diverse music combines great melodies and classical stylings with the syncopated rhythms and forceful energy of jazz. His songs have been recorded by countless singers and musicians.

Canberra collector, Bert Whelan, amassed a vast archive of rare Gershwin material over many years, including sheet music, correspondence and recorded music. Bert  generously granted Artsound access to his archive, and for many months now, Len Power and Bill Stephens, with Bert’s guidance, have sifted through hours of rare Gershwin recordings and archival material to produce a fascinating new radio documentary series called “The Gershwin Project”.

Over 26 weekly half-hour programs “The Gershwin Project” explores the man behind a virtual torrent of fabulous music.

The programs feature not only George Gershwin’s most popular songs, but also  songs from his lesser known musicals sung by luminaries like Michael Feinstein, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Al Jolson, Gertrude Lawrence and Kiri Te Kanawa. The programs also feature rare songs often sung by the person for whom they were written.

Rarities in “The Gershwin Project” include excerpts from a series of radio programs compered by George Gershwin, and recordings of George Gershwin playing his own compositions. There’s even a snippet of George Gershwin playing portion of his famous “Rhapsody in Blue”, and recordings of songs from his opera “Porgy and Bess” performed by members the original cast. .

The series includes rare interviews with many Gershwin contemporaries, including his brother, Ira, his sister, Frances, choreographer Hermes Pan, associate and close friend, Kay Swift and songwriters, Richard Rodgers and Irving Caesar.

Written and produced by Len Power in the Artsound studios, and narrated by Bill Stephens, “The Gershwin Project” promises compelling listening when it begins broadcasting on Artsound at 9am on Sunday, May 24th.

Jazz Uncovered (Sunday April 5) is a one day festival showcasing the best of modern jazz in Canberra. Twenty four bands, four stages, 10am – 10pm, at the Folkus Room, Italo-Australian Club in Forrest, with Wanderlust finishing off the night in style.

Join Canberra’s best bands for a top class, cutting edge jazz event. Funds raised will support the work of Wellwishers, a charity that digs freshwater wells for villagers in Ethiopia. Cost: $30 and $20 conc. The Club is a great performance venue, and has food and drink available.

Details at www.jazzuncovered.net

Womadelaide is one of the world’s premier world music festivals – Bringing diverse cultures and music to the beautiful surrounds of Adelaide’s Botanical Park.

Womadelaide is the highlight of Adelaide’s festival season. Each year the best of Australia’s community broadcasting sector come together and unite at Womadelaide to present a huge live radio broadcast. Just a few years ago, this broadcast was available only to Australian community radio listeners, but now world music lovers all around the world can enjoy our Womadelaide LIVE! broadcast, podcasts and blogs thanks to this website – www.womadelaide2009live.com

Womadelaide 2009 LIVE will be broadcasting all across Australian over 14 radio community radio stations including Canberra’s own ArtSound FM 92.7 & 90.3 (Tuggeranong).

Tune in Saturday March 7th, 6pm-midnight to hear the highlights of Womadelaide 2009.

Artists featuring in 2009 include:

Aaron Choulai, Vada and the Tatana Village Choir, The Andi and George Band, The Audreys, The Cat Empire, Dimi mint Abba, Geoffrey Gurrumul yunupingu, King Tide, Rachel Unthank & the Winterset, Neil Finn, Ska Cubano, Tony Allen, UShrinivas & U Rajesh, Bombay Picutre Palace, Tony Allen and many more.

This week on Friday Night  Live enjoy two sets of contrasting international and local artists. In the first set we bring you an amazing performance from the young and award winning jazz group The Ilmiliekki Quartet. The Finnish Group performed in Canberra at the Finnish Embassy to a select group of jazz lovers and now you have the opportunity to hear their cutting edge style and innovative compositions on 92.7 or 90.3 (Tuggeranong).

The second set features local jazz enthusiast and poet, Geoff Page, reciting his compositions at the Gods Cafe, ANU accompanied by renowned local bassist Eric Ajaye.

A night of intriging compositions and artistic energy not to be missed!

Friday Night Live features live performances from the ArtSound recording studios and pre-recorded concerts from venues around the Canberra region including the God’s Café, Canberra Southern Cross Club, the Street Theatre as well as some of the world’s top festivals.

Friday Night Live will be co-hosted by long-standing jazz enthusiast and broadcaster Chris Deacon and local Jazz singer Lauren Black.

ArtSound FM is supplying the two hours of free production and broadcast time to musicians in order to add to Canberra’s already vibrant jazz community. ArtSound FM is a member of the Fine Music Network and the European Broadcasting Union. Each band will receive a recording of their concert and there will be opportunities for distribution of the concerts internationally.

If you would like to perform on Friday Night Live please contact Lauren Black at the ArtSound Studios on 02 6295 7444 or email onair@artsound.com.au