NEWS

Following a celebratory concert event held Thursday evening, May 23, 2024, WDAV Classical Public Radio is pleased to announce that our first three Recording Inclusivity Initiative recordings were released into a national database accessible to public radio stations across the country Friday, May 24. The new recordings (Damien Geter’s String Quartet No. 1, “Neo Soul”, B.E. Boykin’s Moments in Sonder, and Xinyan Li’s Mongolian Impressions) are now available to peer stations for download and broadcast, allowing the works to reach a much broader audience.

Public radio stations who are interested in programming these works and other RII recordings can request access to the database by contacting [email protected].

Originated by All Classical Radio in Portland, OR, the Recording Inclusivity Initiative seeks to actively confront systemic inequities in classical music through the production of new high-quality recordings of works by composers from underrepresented communities. WDAV is proud to be among the first classical radio stations to record additional works.

With a goal to complete three recordings in 2023, WDAV assembled a diverse panel of musical leaders from the community to nominate and select pieces for the first phase of WDAV’s RII project. After the works were identified, each composer traveled to Davidson during the summer of 2023 to participate in recording sessions with distinguished local classical musicians, WDAV Production Manager and GRAMMY Award-winning producer Bruce Scott, and recording engineer Josh Sacco. A series of short films documenting the recording process and spotlighting each composer (Geter, Boykin, and Li) was simultaneously produced by Ben Allison of Benco Productions. The completed recordings began airing in portions on WDAV earlier this spring in anticipation of their official release.

As a key member of Charlotte’s arts community, WDAV’s involvement in the Recording Inclusivity Initiative reinforces our desire to lead by example, advancing representation by diversifying our music library and shining a light on artists from historically marginalized communities in classical music.

“We describe ourselves as wanting to build community through classical music, and WDAV’s RII project is a major way to ensure that our audience is represented by what we present on air,” said WDAV General Manager Frank Dominguez. “People of color, women, and artists from other marginalized groups have been making incredible strides in classical music throughout its history, and the variety of experiences and backgrounds reflected in the new music we’re seeing today is astonishing. I have a feeling that once RII recordings start getting regular airplay, more and more stations will become interested in participating, and that has the potential to diversify the classical playlist at an incredible rate.”

“WDAV was created for a project like this,” Dominguez continues. “Since 1978 we have presented classical music on the radio and later online as a way to build community using the legacy of the art form. To have the opportunity now to add to that legacy in this meaningful way is a true honor.”

More information about WDAV’s Recording Inclusivity Initiative project can be found here.

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WDAV Classical Public Radio is dedicated to building a community focused on classical music by providing easy access to the art form, as well as opportunities for exploration and discovery. In addition to producing 149 hours per week for its own broadcast use on 89.9FM, HD-1, HD-2, and wdav.org channels, the station produces nationally distributed programs, including Concierto and Reel Music. A service of Davidson College in Davidson, NC, WDAV’s main source of operating revenue comes from annual member contributions. The station’s 89.9FM signal reaches a 22-county region centered in the Charlotte, NC metro area and ranges from Rock Hill, SC to Galax, VA. WDAV’s broadcasts can also be heard live online 24 hours a day at wdav.org and iTunes, as well as on any Android, iPhone, or iPad device equipped with the WDAV Classical Public Radio app, or the TuneIn, NPR Music, or Public Radio Player apps.