Tweet
** OKLAHOMA. 90.1, KUCO-FM, sent to them Dec 9, times CST = UT -6:
I wonder, what in the world is going on with KUCO programming?
Stardate has been failing to appear at 9:58 am. Today at 10 am Friday,
The Score, instead of 2 pm. Before 3 pm and from 3:07 pm, some unknown
woman announcer with classical, from where? Unseems WCPE.
Kimberly`s recorded top-of-hour KUCO ID. At 3:02, A Day to Remember
instead of 3:06. Then Kent Anderson briefly as if he were live, before
back to the unknown woman. She never gives her name nor hints what
syndicated classical music service this is.
Another try to hear Stardate at previously scheduled repeat 6:58 pm --
instead, `Exploring Music` is ending! Supposed? to start at 7 pm, but
must now be at 6 pm. Then at 7 pm, Symphonycast, also an hour earlier
than had been.
Is the automation all screwed up? Or has the new boss decided to shake
everything up without even telling us on the website schedule and
playlists? As with canceling abruptly Weekend Radio?
Regards, Glenn Hauser, Enid (Glenn Hauser, WOR)
** OKLAHOMA. As if in reply to my complaints, this appears at
http://www.kucofm.com homepage Dec 10 from the new GM:
``What's Happening with KUCO Programming? Many of you have probably
noticed some changes taking place with KUCO's programming.
We recently upgraded our on-air systems (Thursday, December 8) to
better serve our listeners with excellent performing arts programming
and music throughout each day, evening, and overnight period. These
new upgrades also benefit our dedicated staff in so many ways to
assist in collecting and presenting those special programs to you.
And as all good plans go, these new upgrades clearly "advanced" the
need for us to adjust the scheduling of some of our favorite KUCO
programs while adding a few new ones and removing others that have not
been as popular based upon listener feedback and collected research.
We are currently working to connect our website, mobile app, and new
on-air system to provide playlist and program information. A weekly
schedule of program times can be found here.
https://www.kucofm.com/programs/program-schedule-grid/
We are also working quickly to schedule back in our module programs A
Day to Remember, Composer's Datebook, StarDate, and BirdNote.
Additionally, our new website will be launching very soon.
We at KUCO appreciate your patience as we continue to make our
upgrades, prepare to launch our new website, and provide excellent
performing art music and programming to you. I would also like to
thank those who have recently reached out to us by phone and email. As
always, we love to hear from our listeners. Best, Jeff Hagy``
Meanwhile, at the start of one hour of generic classical I heard the
distinctive voice of Peter van de Graaff IDing himself,
https://radionetwork.wfmt.com/people...van-de-graaff/
so we know KUCO has turned over much (all?) of its classical
programming to the WFMT network, as its logo is now at bottom of KUCO
homepage; a.k.a. Beethoven network. It may sound a bit more `polished`
than WCPE, and no longer distract us with Eastern timechex and North
Carolina references.
I`ve sent a note to WCPE about the change, and thanking them for all
the great music they have provided overnight for many years via KUCO.
https://theclassicalstation.org/
Inspecting the new program schedule from KUCO, it looks like WFMT is
now being relayed not only overnight but mornings, middays and
afternoons. Are KUCO`s own announcers being replaced??? That would be
a shame! These blox now bear generic titles. And there is a new 3-hour
jazz block M-F from 9 pm CT = Tue-Sat 03 UT. Goodbye to the 10 pm
strip of syndicated shows such as `Music from the Hearts of Space`,
Fridays. That survives, moved to 11 pm Saturdays. [All times in this
item are CST = UT minus 6; altho half of OK including Enid should be
on UT -7, meridianally. Yet there is talk of imposing UT -5 upon us
permanently!]
`Performance Oklahoma`, KUCO`s own produxion, survives, moved from 8
pm Wednesdays to 7 pm Thursdays, still repeated at 8 am Saturdays.
Various programs from elsewhere occupy most time weekends, and jumbled
around also for a 10-11 am block M-F. `Feminine Fusion` has been moved
from 4:05 pm Sundays to 10 am Tuesdays.
Lost in the shuffle is `Wind & Rhythm`, ex 3:05 pm Sundays, ``for
those who love band music``. We can still access the latest and
hundreds of previous shows at:
http://www.windandrhythm.com/
Where that originates physically has been kept secret, but in past
there have been clues as to: Tulsa.
The new season of Saturday matinées from The Metropolitan Opera has
just begun at 1800 UT Dec 10, still on KUCO, with a brand-new/unknown
opera, ``The Hours``, Still unheralded on the websked but we hope
still extant, is Lane Whitesell`s vocal-oriented anonymous fill music
from the extremely variable ending of live Mets until 5 pm Saturdays
(Glenn Hauser, Enid, WOR)
** OKLAHOMA [and non]. 90.1, continued from my last report about KUCO,
Edmond/OKC. Normal Met Opera time is 18 UT Saturdays, not 17, as I
slipped into CDT mode despite my best efforts. However, with
extra-long opera = plural of opus, Met will advance start to 1730 or
even 1700, a really annoying practice pre-empting other programming;
instead of just lasting late as necessary.
I am glad however to confirm that Lane Whitesell`s anonymous
vocal-music-filler hours post-Met still exist. This week, over to him
at 2125.5 UT. He starts with something by César Franck since Dec 10 is
his birthday, and then two other b-day composers of atonal modern
music. Relying on bdays as a programming method might seem a crutch,
tho I myself have done it on WUOT. However, if one consult an
exhaustive calendar, it`s a good way not to overlook composers,
performers, perhaps premières, at least once every septayear, except
for leap-year confusions --- if applied to a weekly program.
New slightly modified branding is ``Oklahoma`s voice for the
performing arts``. Unusually this Saturday afternoon, direct KUCO 90.1
signal was completely blotted by KHCC Radio Kansas, Hutchinson with
tropo up. QRM from this is frequently a problem on various portable
radios around here - they are also classical but also with
considerable newstalk such as BBCWS overnight; currently in a pledge
drive.
A new one on the KUCO sked is `The Third Floor`, Sunday 9 am-noon CT.
10-11 am used to be occupied by quarterly series such as Santa Fe
Chamber Music Festival - I sure hope KUCO finds some place for that
when it come around again, likely Q2 2023, as lead-in for next year`s
live fest July-August!
What an odd name. Listening Sun Dec 11 at 1637 UT, it`s Bill Cromwell
introducing Mahler`s 8th, so I search him out, finding him extremely
bald:
https://classicalthirdfloor.org/
``The show is called The Third Floor because I imagine a third floor
in some grand home, an upper level above the domestic, where you'd
find a study, a library, a studio, and a music room, It's a place for
contemplation, learning, exploration, reading, thought ... and
attentive listening``. This two-sesquihour show comes from PRX, not
WFMT.
The long Mahler 8 is rudely interrupted at 1700 for KUCO ID, and then
the *second* hour of Third Floor again, instead of third, as he says
the Mahler will start in about half an hour; meanwhile, some
Hovhannes! I listen to his Mahler intro the second time, and cringe
again when he mispronounces ``Singverein`` as ``-reen``(Glenn Hauser,
Enid, WOR)
** OKLAHOMA. 90.1, KUCO-FM: just as I feared, now that we are into
weekday programming, Monday Dec 12, before 16 UT and after 18 UT
whenever checked, we are no longer hearing the once-familiar voices of
local classical announcers. The ``upgrade`` means outsourcing the
DJing and most of the classical music programming. Don`t get me wrong:
I have no complaints about the quality of music programming and
announcing from elsewhere, but it`s a shame KUCO is giving up its
identity.
At a 1902-1904 UT break, however, Curt Timmons is still to be heard
with local weather for OKC as well as the satellites in McAlester,
Woodward. But then it`s back to ``Classical 24`` rather than his own
presentation. His title is ``Announcement Coord``. He does the same at
2002-2004 UT. But at 2004.5, `Birdnotes` appears, upcut. These may be
the spots for more modules now. No module in the 21 UT ToH newshole,
but at 2103 local Kent Anderson introduces some Chopin --- so at least
this hour it`s back to KUCO origination? All very confusing. No, that
was a brief interlude. By 2107 it`s back to C24 with something else.
Classical 24 originates with Minnesota Public Radio, not WFMT Chicago,
tho I am sure I heard Peter van de Graaff, an announcer on WFMT`s
Beethoven Satellite Network last week. Maybe KUCO is using both, or
experimenting with both at the outset? Both of these try to sound
``local`` by being generic without ever mentioning their network! It
appears that KUCO`s multi-thousand CD library is now largely
redundant. See Wikipedia for more about Classical 24, including
dismissing its only Black announcer for what he did after George
Floyd`s murder by Minneapolis police.
My initial impression of C24 is that it tends to play more shorter
pieces, which allows plenty of breaks for `underwriting` commercials
and promos. The weekday 3-5 pm bloc on KUCO used to accommodate some
longer symphonies, etc. by not taking a break for anything at 4 pm.
Not any more: after weather, Kent again gets to play only a snippet of
Chopin fill music before back to net. KUCO DJs have plenty of
experience with back-timing: fade up some music in progress so it will
end just before a net join, as that is less jarring than starting at
the beginning and having to fade it out. But some of the transitions
are still abrupt.
We are still awaiting info on resumption/rescheduling of several
``modular`` few-minute programs on KUCO which no longer fit into the
clock, such as `StarDate`. Its own website provides free transcripts,
but there is a price for hearing them unless a day later:
https://stardate.org/radio/listen
No doubt we could track down some other webcasting stations with
StarDate at regular times. Own list shows 7 AM & PM daily on one other
Okie, KGOU/KROU. KUCO never ran it on Sat/Sun, as if the Universe
grind to a halt on American human weekends.
For `A Day to Remember` we have to go to disgraced FB for update, also
transcripts and illos not on the radio:
https://www.facebook.com/ADayToRememberRadio/
``A Day To Remember - Radio 2h · Greetings ADTR friends and fans! If
you listen to the broadcast over the air on KUCO, there are a couple
of schedule changes to note: the morning broadcast moves up five
minutes, from 8:06 to 8:01 am. The afternoon show will now air at 5:01
pm rather than 3:01 [sic: it was 3:06]. Thanks for listening!`` It`s
sort of like Paul Harvey`s TROTS = The Rest of the Story, leading up
to a big reveal at the end. Heard more like 2302 UT Dec 12; spoiler
alert: the first mo/tël! KUCO also used to air BBC news at certain
hours, but no longer? (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)
** OKLAHOMA [and non]. Don`t you believe that `StarDate` is on KGOU
Norman and its satellites, daily at 7 AM & PM CST = 13 & 01 UT. Still
not having located it on the `upgraded` KUCO, if at all, I bring up
the KGOU stream at 0100 Dec 14. Instead, after the `Fresh Air` opening
teaser, this news hole is filled by `National Native News` as on KGOU
sked, with nothing specified for 7 AM. Looking again at the website,
somewhat obscure is link to affiliates:
https://stardate.org/radio/affiliates
upon which is a USA map where you have to click on a state.
Considering that all OK entries are wrong, I would not believe any
without confirming. Guess what: publicradiofan.com doesn`t know of
any, just as a podcast. Furthermore, StarDate website credits for show
does not even mention the only voice we always hear, Billy Henry,
ex-Sandy Wood. It does name several people behind the scenes in
scripting and produxion. He is elsewhere on the site or search on his
name.
Next I try KUNM Albuquerque NM as it and all its relays are on the
affiliate list: 7 pm [MST] except Sundays 6:30 pm - CONFIRMED, UT Wed
Dec 14 at 0200 on KUNM webcast, even tho it is too insignificant to
appear on KUNM`s own skeds, as if `Espejos de Aztlán` start at 7 pm
sharp, lunes a viernes. Music after StarDate is certainly nothing
Hispanic. O, on Tuesdays, `Home of Happy Feet` starts at 7 altho the
title is `centered` as if it start an hour later (Glenn Hauser, OK,
WOR)
Comment