“The Philadelphia Orchestra is returning to national radio after a long absence—but this time on satellite rather than traditional radio,” writes Peter Dobrin in Sunday’s (5/14) Philadelphia Inquirer. “Starting with a broadcast Monday night and continuing three times a week for at least the next year, concerts recorded in Verizon Hall will be carried on SiriusXM radio…. Philadelphia lost sponsorship of its nationally syndicated series in 1990…. ‘It’s exciting to be back on the national stage,’ said Ryan Fleur, executive vice president for orchestra advancement…. The orchestra’s local broadcasts on WRTI-FM (90.1), Temple University’s station, will continue. The deal was brought to the orchestra by one of its donors: David G. Marshall … who sits on the board of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation with SiriusXM president and chief content officer Scott Greenstein. Marshall—whose wife, Sandra Marshall, is an orchestra board member and longtime volunteer—said he was wowed hearing enthusiastic reaction to the orchestra on a European tour [and wanted] to help it reach a wider audience … so he approached Greenstein…. While the music will be the same as local listeners hear on WRTI-FM, on SiriusXM the broadcasts will feature Nézet-Séguin speaking about the music.”
Posted May 17, 2017
