Vermont Public Radio is kind of my best friend. I had the brilliance to dedicate myself to animation as my film concentration, and VPR is all my ears can handle at four in the morning, after hundreds of drawings. It's safe to assume, however, that most students aren't stuck animating for 25 hours a week, and, when given the choice between rock and classical, there is no question as to which the average Dartmouth student would choose. VPR is slowly working to change that.
In an effort to broaden its listening base and more thoroughly entertain listeners, VPR hosted Graham Dixon, radio programmer extraordinaire of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Dixon is the managing editor of BBC Radio 3, the BBC's music and cultural network. He is also in charge of BBC Radio's international endeavors, and he works with media correspondents from many other countries in order to strengthen the BBC's content.
I wish I could listen to BBC Radio 3 here -- in fact, there's probably a way to get it through my computer, but I'm too technologically-challenged to figure it out. But why would I listen to BBC 3 in the first place, since it broadcasts music of the classical, jazz and "worldly" (cringe!) variety? Especially when my iTunes collection is awesome enough to please both hipsters and fans of Led Zeppelin? Maybe because the employees over at BBC 3 -- Dixon included -- also have the brains to program truly entertaining absurdities alongside Beethoven and Wagner.
Classical music simply cannot be exciting, right? Well, wrong. BBC 3 puts on MadTV-esque comedy sketches that remain centered around classical music. A great example: recently, the producers paid a professional tuba player to go a local public pool, get in the water with his tuba and play for all those lucky enough to be present. They sent a radio crew with him, so his impromptu concert was broadcast (along with the background squeals of "What the bloody hell is going on?!") to BBC 3's listeners. Unfortunately, the chlorine tarnished the player's tuba, but Dixon confirmed that the repair cost was well worth the concert's overall entertainment value.
In a similar stunt, last year BBC 3 staged a full opera in a London railway station. In conjunction with their sister BBC 3 TV station, the opera was fully costumed with a complete cast of professional singers -- and no one in the station knew it was going to happen. Broadcasted on BBC 3 TV and BBC Radio 3 simultaneously, Dixon said, "the concert was a huge success all around. We were flooded with e-mails about it for months afterward."
Such insane planning comes partially from Dixon, who emphasizes the importance of reaching out to all types of listeners. This variety of unique programming may be worthwhile for VPR to try.
"We try to reach the entire community. Some say the BBC 'dumbs down' our content, which is certainly not the intent. We're trying to be a bit more human, that's all," said Dixon. Since all households in Britain pay a government-enforced $200 fee (it would be called a tax on our side of the Atlantic) per year to the BBC, Dixon feels the need to cater to all audiences. He realizes the BBC's task -- to please all age groups, all cultural groups and all personality types of people ?-- is nearly impossible.
Dixon visited Vermont on his "holiday" (vacation) in order to work with VPR to enhance their already well-regarded channel. On Tuesday afternoon, the music department hosted a small discussion with students and community members in the Faculty Lounge of the Hopkins Center to hear Dixon's ideas on the current state of British and American public radio. VPR's Jody Evans and several Dartmouth professors also contributed to the open discussion.
To improve VPR, Dixon emphasized creating more "events." Even something as simple as a composer marathon can be publicized as an event. Last year, an eight-day non-stop broadcast of all of Beethoven's works brought in huge ratings for the station.
In addition, BBC Radio 3 also plays their musical programming in unconventional ways, such as live concerts from the nation's best symphonies. Due to its close connection to other European countries, BBC has access to over 3,000 concerts per year -- some coming from the UK itself, others imported from countries such as France or Spain. The BBC's organization makes this possible.
"It's more difficult [to deal with the U.S.] because U.S. radio is so ununified," said Dixon. He said that VPR would benefit from partnerships outside the Northeast, and he stated that if he could work some kind of program exchange out with VPR, he would.
For now, VPR hopes to reach out a larger portion of the community and get more creative with its programming -- with Dartmouth so close by, it wouldn't be difficult to concoct some mischievous affairs. Broadcasting more local events, such as the upcoming Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra performance, is also high on the station's list of things to try. The good people over at VPR hope to soon gain more listeners, and maybe even more Dartmouth students outside the animation studio.
