CHPC Committee Report

Introduction

In March 2008, CBC/Radio-Canada announced that CBC Radio 2 would play less classical music and that the Vancouver-based CBC Radio Orchestra would be disbanded. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, while fully aware that the independence of CBC/Radio-Canada is guaranteed under the Broadcasting Act, 1991,[1] felt that it should hold public hearings on these issues and prepare a summary of evidence. Therefore, on 6 May the Committee unanimously passed a motion that read:

That the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage hold hearings prior to the summer recess on the decision by CBC/Radio-Canada to disband the CBC Radio Orchestra, on CBC/Radio-Canada’s commitment to classical music, and on the changes to CBC Radio 2.

The Committee held public hearings in Ottawa on 27 and 29 May and on 3 and 5 June. The first two hearings consisted of videoconferences with witnesses in Vancouver and Montreal.

The Committee heard from 28 witnesses and received correspondence on the issues being studied from 74 other people. The Committee was also aware of a number of Internet sites devoted to the issues being studied.[2]

Decision by CBC/Radio-Canada to disband the CBC Radio Orchestra

The Vancouver-based CBC Radio Orchestra is the last remaining radio orchestra in North America. Formed in 1938, its mandate includes the commissioning and performance of works by Canadian composers, and the showcasing of Canadian performers and conductors. On 27 March 2008, CBC/Radio-Canada announced that the CBC Radio Orchestra would be disbanded at the end of the fall concert season in November 2008. The reasons given were financial and CBC/Radio-Canada management said the money would be used to record other Canadian orchestras.[3] When Hubert T. Lacroix, president and chief executive officer of CBC/Radio-Canada, appeared before the Committee on 1 May 2008, he said,

For every concert that we put on with our CBC orchestra, we can record three from other symphony orchestras in Canada. There are 46 of these other symphony orchestras that we would like to open to Canadians as they listen to Canadian music.[4]

The vast majority of witnesses and correspondents who discussed the Radio Orchestra opposed the decision that it be dismantled. They stressed the Radio Orchestra’s ability to promote Canadian composers, employ Canadian musicians, and play Canadian music. As a studio orchestra, it can interpret music in ways that are different from concert orchestras. Some said that recording other Canadian orchestras instead would lessen the CBC’s ability to select the repertoire, choose the artists, and determine who the soloists will be.

Witnesses said the Radio Orchestra plays a crucial role in the arts community, particularly in Vancouver, where it works in partnership with other organizations and provides training for young musicians. It is an additional source of income for musicians who also teach music or perform with other orchestras. Witnesses also noted the Radio Orchestra performs a diverse range of musical styles, including Persian music, Inuit music, and rap music. In addition, they pointed out that it traveled to large and small communities, including communities in Canada’s North.

On the other hand, a few witnesses wondered whether the money spent on the Radio Orchestra might not be better spent elsewhere. Correspondent Peter Hannan, a composer and classical musician, said he was “much less categorical than many people in my field about [whether] CBC Orchestra stays or goes. I think it has to be considered in a context.”[5] John Nuttall, chair of the group “Listeners Standing on Guard for Radio 2” — which opposes the changes to CBC Radio 2 — wrote that “CBC may have a reasonable case for transferring the orchestra funding to the cause of improving the overall operation of Radio 2….”[6] Another point of view was expressed by Derek Andrews, president of the Toronto Blues Society, who said that given that the CBC records a wide variety of performers in various musical styles, the Radio Orchestra is redundant.[7]

On the question of financial resources, witnesses who opposed disbanding the Radio Orchestra said it is good value for money and that its budget is a miniscule portion of CBC/Radio-Canada’s allocation. For instance, Colin Miles, the Canadian Music Centre’s Regional Director for British Columbia, estimated the Orchestra’s budget at $500,000 and said the Orchestra can record a one-hour broadcast in six hours and a compact disc in nine hours.

Witnesses who wanted to save the Radio Orchestra had a number of suggestions. To give some examples, William Bruneau, chair of the executive and administrative committee of the Stand on Guard for CBC Coalition, suggested expanding the orchestra’s budget to about $2.5 million per year with 20 or 30 studio broadcasts each year.[8] George Laverock, program director for Festival Vancouver, suggested giving the Radio Orchestra a budget of about $1 million so that it could produce a 90-minute weekly program.[9] Gene Ramsbottom suggested making the Radio Orchestra a subsidiary division of the CBC and giving the Orchestra heritage status.[10] Richard Hornsby said the Radio Orchestra should be re-instated and repositioned as a flagship orchestra reflecting and leading Canadian music culture.[11]

The Committee appreciated that as a predominantly studio-based orchestra, the CBC Radio Orchestra has played a particular role in encouraging new performers and new composers.

CBC/Radio Canada’s commitment to classical music

The majority of witnesses and correspondents who took part in the study decried what they saw as CBC/Radio Canada’s lessened commitment to classical music. They raised a number of issues that made them question CBC/Radio-Canada’s commitment to classical music. For example, Janet Danielson, newsletter editor for the Canadian League of Composers, listed the following:

• A stagnant 1993-level budget for commissioning new Canadian compositions, which is being ciphered off into other musical genres,
• The cancellation of the CBC young composers competition,
• The end of the classical CBC Records label,
• The planned removal of classical music from prime listening hours,
• The demise of Two New Hours, which was a program devoted to recent compositions,
• A great reduction in live-to-air broadcasting, and more recorded broadcasts, and
• The dismantling of the CBC Radio Orchestra, the only Canadian orchestra specialized in the virtuoso performance of Canadian new music.[12]

A number of witnesses criticized the suspension of the CBC young composers competition and the young performers competition. They said the competitions were ways of developing new talent, and wondered what would take their place. Peter McGillivray, who won first prize in the last CBC National Competition for Young Performers in 2003, testified that winning the competition provided him with a great deal of exposure. He also said the CBC Radio Orchestra held a concert featuring the winners of the different prizes.[13] Witnesses such as Colin Miles saw the suspension of the competitions as a loss for classical music:

The CBC developed a young composers competition and a young performers competition to identify and recognize the finest talent in the nation in an open, public, transparent, and accountable manner, and now that’s gone, and there’s no system for choosing performers and composers.[14]

Many witnesses and correspondents argued that these changes amounted to a silencing of a crucial part of Canada’s cultural heritage. They said that classical music is the basis of all other styles of music, and that future generations need to be exposed to it. Consequently, they argued classical music should be protected like works of art are protected in a museum. Calvin Dyck said he saw “classical music as a national treasure that needs to be nurtured and preserved and presented.”[15] Richard Kurth, professor and director of the School of Music at the University of British Columbia, commented: “I believe that Canadian heritage extends back into the past and forward into the future and that the CBC has a duty to present music with that view, and not concentrate only on the music of the present; that being an important part of its mandate, but not the only part of its mandate.”[16] Some witnesses questioned whether the members of the board of directors CBC/Radio-Canada had the expertise necessary to safeguard classical music. William Bruneau suggested that knowledge of the arts and a commitment to classical music should be criteria for appointment to the board.[17]

On the other hand, some witnesses, particularly those involved with other musical genres — such as jazz, folk, world, and roots music — applauded the decision to pay more attention to other kinds of music. While they agreed the CBC should continue to support classical music, some questioned what is meant by the term “classical music,” pointing out it is a very broad term that can be applied to many different styles of music from many different cultures and traditions.

The Committee also heard suggestions that Radio 2 should be reserved for classical music and that other genres of music should be broadcast on a third radio network. When Hubert T. Lacroix, president and chief executive officer of CBC/Radio-Canada, appeared before the Committee, he discussed the financial constraints in expanding radio services, and said “we can't expand this without making serious indents into what we have as services.”[18] At the same hearing, Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president of English Services for the CBC, pointed to the problems associated with obtaining additional FM radio licences, saying: “…whether we could build another FM radio network, the answer is probably not. The struggle just to get FM licences right now in the country is enormous.”[19] Other witnesses also pointed out there was a shortage of bandwidth on the radio spectrum to support expanding services, but some suggested the CBC could still find ways of developing a third network. To quote Ian Menzies, “My guess is if there was sufficient extra money perhaps some of the bandwidth issues could be resolved.”[20]

Although witnesses debated how the CBC could balance the interests of various musical communities, there was general consensus that the CBC plays an important role in preserving Canada’s classical music heritage. Some of the witnesses who opposed what they saw as a lessened commitment to classical music said they recognized this is a time of social and technological change, and offered to work with CBC/Radio-Canada to find ways to adapt to these changes. For instance, Katherine Carleton, executive director of Orchestras Canada, asked for recognition of the CBC’s historical role in musical research and development and in making possible for musicians in a range of genres to earn a living.[21] Micheline McKay, senior advisor to Opera.ca, said, “We are not necessarily advocates for the status quo. Rather, we would welcome the opportunity to work with the CBC to better and more fully understand how we can work together to more fully celebrate the broad spectrum of Canadian culture together.”[22]

The Changes to CBC Radio 2

In March 2008, the CBC announced that, beginning in September 2008, Radio 2 would play less classical music weekday mornings and late afternoons. Instead, it would play a wider variety of Canadian music aimed at a broader audience. The majority of witnesses and correspondents who took part in the study opposed these changes to CBC Radio 2. A significant minority, however, applauded the changes, saying they would allow greater access to the radio for other genres of music that do not get played regularly on commercial radio stations.

Those opposed to the changes said that CBC Radio 2 was the only classical music station in much of Canada, particularly in rural areas and isolated communities where CBC/Radio-Canada is Canadians’ only point of contact with classical music. Many said that because classical music would be limited on weekdays to the mid-day slot, children would not have a chance to hear it. A number of witnesses said that the attempt to gain new, younger audiences was unlikely to attract many new listeners while alienating the present audience. Several witnesses felt that other genres of music were already well represented on commercial radio.

The idea of playing more genres of music on CBC Radio 2 was criticized by Janet Danielson, who questioned why classical music was considered to be one genre, when it includes many different styles of music, such as Renaissance polyphony, 19^th century art song, and French serial music.[23] Richard Kurth said, “Radio 2 should not take a supermarket approach, and try to appeal to a variety of demographic groups by slotting each one somewhere in the schedule.”[24] Howard Knopf said “it is not the CBC’s job to give every self-proclaimed songwriter three minutes of fame.”[25]

Those who approved the changes to CBC Radio 2 welcomed the playing of a variety of musical genres. Bob D’Eith, executive director of Music BC said, “... this may lead to a greater appreciation of new works and classical music.” He also noted that commercial radio plays a limited number of artists and that independent artists find it difficult to get any radio play whatsoever. He thought the changes at CBC Radio 2 will allow many more independent and emerging artists to be played and said: “I think the whole idea that CBC should fill in the gaps the market won’t provide, I think that’s a perfect case for contemporary music.”[26] Derek Andrews said, “I hope that the heritage committee can support CBC Radio management’s well-thought-out position that the CBC belongs to all Canadians and all Canadian artists will enjoy fair play and even-handed exposure to the airwaves.”[27] Ian Menzies said CBC Radio 2 has the ability to reflect what it means to be Canadian — one of the goals of the CBC — and that playing diverse musicians will bring it more in line with this goal.[28]

Several witnesses who supported the changes to CBC Radio 2 contested the claim that the changes will make Radio 2 indistinguishable from commercial radio. Dominic Lloyd, artistic director of the West End Cultural Centre, said it was unfortunate the debate was pitting one music community against another because, “We’re all interested in the presentation and preservation of important non-commercial music.” He went on to say, “… people are saying that, by adding a wider variety of programming to Radio 2 that the CBC is somehow going commercial, and I think that this is completely wrong.”[29]

Regarding the CBC’s introduction of new classical online music streams and greater number of podcasts, several witnesses said that while this was a good thing, it should not replace classical music programming on Radio 2. They pointed out that you cannot listen to music on the Internet in the car and that high-speed connections are still unavailable in many areas of the country. Furthermore, they said that internet streaming and podcasts are not broadcasting, and that older people in particular would be unlikely to listen to them.

A number of witnesses said that programming decisions made by CBC/Radio-Canada can have wide-ranging impacts not only on audiences, but also on musicians, composers, musical organizations, as well as the wider artistic community. Some witness made the point that the future of the CBC Radio Orchestra and the changes to Radio 2 were linked, because the Orchestra performs works that are broadcast on Radio 2. To quote Jon Washburn, artistic and executive director, Vancouver Chamber Choir, “We need to reverse course on the gutting of classical programming on Radio 2, and we need to persuade the CBC leadership that destroying Canada's classical infrastructure is no way to build our country's artistic or cultural strengths.”[30]

Several witnesses complained about what they saw as insufficient public consultation around the changes to Radio 2, as well as around the wider changes to classical music. Bramwell Tovey, music director with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, called on the CBC to listen to the public. In particular, he criticised the CBC for editing comments on its blog sites, saying, “I've no idea why CBC should be afraid of open and critical debate. The lack of public discussion has caused pointless friction between Radio 2 and its customarily loyal audience.”[31]

However, a few witnesses said they had been consulted or surveyed. Bramwell Tovey said he had been consulted by management consultants, while Derek Andrews and Dominic Lloyd had participated in CBC consultations with festival organizers. Katherine Carleton mentioned a meeting with Mark Steinmetz, director of CBC Radio Music, and both she and Micheline McKay had participated in an environmental scan.

Many witnesses said that CBC Radio 2 should concentrate on its core listeners and reverse the programming changes. For instance, William Bruneau said “concert and classical music should come to occupy about half of all Radio 2 broadcast time, offered in an all classical format and at prime listening hours.”[32] Some witnesses said that other types of music belong elsewhere, such as on a third radio network.

Conclusion

Given the independence guaranteed to CBC/Radio-Canada by the Broadcasting Act, the Committee asked witnesses what they would recommend the Committee suggest to CBC/Radio-Canada about the disbanding of the CBC Radio Orchestra, the changes to Radio 2, and its commitment to classical music. Also, given the diversity of opinions it heard on these issues, the Committee asked witnesses how they would reconcile the various positions.

A number of witnesses called for the government to increase funding for the CBC. Indeed, this was recommended by the Committee in its February 2008 report entitled CBC/Radio-Canada: Defining Distinctiveness in the Changing Media Landscape.[33] Beyond that, witnesses were divided on whether the Committee or the government should intervene on issue of orchestra and programming. Several called for intervention, and their proposals were summarized by members of the committee as follows:

• that the CBC be accountable to the public,
• that the CBC have a clear commitment to excellence,
• that the Committee withdraw the CBC mandate review it recently issued and revise it to address specifically the issue of CBC radio,
• that the government fire the board of CBC/Radio-Canada,
• that a separate entity be established with respect to the CBC Radio Orchestra,
• that the CBC be asked to explain why its blogs are being censored,
• that a mechanism be put in place that ensures broad public consultation on these kinds of issues, and
• that there be improved transparency, especially with respect to the CBC decisions.[34]

Some witnesses, on the other hand, expressed the view that CBC/Radio-Canada should be left to manage its own affairs. For example, Richard Flohil said, “The CBC is meant to be at arms-length from government – in my view, this government, with the support of the opposition, should decide on an increased annual budget for the CBC, guarantee it for a foreseeable future, then get out of the way and let our national broadcaster fulfill its mandate.”[35]

Several witnesses recognized that the rapid changes in Canadian society and in technology create challenges for programmers and decision makers. They regretted that competition for scarce resources and airtime sometimes pits one musical group against another, and expressed a desire to be consulted and to work with CBC/Radio-Canada management to find solutions that take the needs of various musical genres and interests into account.

Recommendation 1

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage reaffirms its recommendation that the Government of Canada commit to stable, multi-year funding for CBC/Radio-Canada, indexed to the cost of living. Funding should be for a period of not less than seven years and be established by means of a proposed memorandum of understanding.

Conclusion 1

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recognizes that under the Broadcasting Act, 1991, CBC/Radio-Canada enjoys journalistic, creative, and programming independence.

Conclusion 2

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is encouraged that CBC/Radio-Canada has reaffirmed its commitment that classical music will continue to have a central place in CBC Radio 2 programming.

Conclusion 3

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is encouraged that CBC/Radio-Canada has reaffirmed the development of other genres of music in order to reflect the diversity of Canada.

Conclusion 4

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage concludes that CBC/Radio Canada should explore creative ways to acquire a third over-the-air CBC/Radio-Canada network to allow greater opportunities to better focus the broadcast of all genres of Canadian music, including classical, jazz, folk, world, and roots music.

Conclusion 5

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is convinced that CBC/Radio-Canada’s stated commitment to the continuation of classical music as a central part of CBC radio programming is intricately linked with the continuation of the CBC Radio Orchestra as a vehicle for emerging Canadian talent.

Conclusion 6

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recognizes with appreciation the long and illustrious history of the CBC Radio Orchestra and its role in the promotion of Canadian classical music and the development of Canadian composers, musicians and conductors. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage further recognizes the specific contribution of the CBC Radio Orchestra to the cultural life of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia where it has been based.

Conclusion 7

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage notes the particular role of a radio orchestra and, while not directing any specific outcome or action, concludes that the board of directors of CBC/Radio-Canada and CBC/Radio-Canada management should review the decision to disband the CBC Radio Orchestra.

Conclusion 8

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is convinced that meaningful consultation with Canadians, musicians, music organizations, and communities representing various musical genres would improve CBC’s decision making with regard to changes in radio programming.

Conclusion 9

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage concludes that the cancellation of the young composers and young performers competitions has negatively impacted the ability of young emerging Canadian classical musicians and composers from showcasing their music to the public.

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