Almost 100 Winnipeggers made a beautiful noise Friday to protest the changes to CBC Radio 2.
They gathered outside the Portage Avenue headquarters of CBC Manitoba, handing out pamphlets, encouraging passing motorists to honk their horns, and carrying placards emblazoned with the likes of "I love Jurgen Gothe."
The demonstration coincided with those in other major Canadians cities, largely to voice displeasure with such recent network decisions to disband the CBC Radio Orchestra and reduce the number of broadcast hours devoted to classical music.
"I see the changes as a ratings grab disguised as an attempt at populism," said Jonathan Klassen, 24, a clinic assistant at Canadian Blood Services. "There's been a reduction of classical musical accessible to Canadians in general. But if they're going to appreciate it, it's important they hear it at an early age."
Music teachers Carolyn Boyes and Alexis Silver took their lunch hours to make their disappointment known.
"We're just finishing a class project about Oscar Peterson," said Boyes, 38, referring to the revered pianist who died recently.
"Where else would my kids learn about him if not for the CBC?"
John Bertrand, the director of CBC Manitoba, mingled with the well-mannered crowd, which ranged from junior high school band students to retirees, and CBC radio and TV reporters covered the protest.
But Bertrand refused to comment on the situation, instead referring interview requests to the network's national public affairs office in Toronto.
CBC officials have maintained that the changes to Radio 2, heard at 98.3 FM in Manitoba, are designed to broaden the kinds of Canadian music the network plays.
This view was upheld by Brandon-based classical composer Patrick Carrabr ©, who hosts the weekend edition of Radio 2's year-old late-night program The Signal.
"As a Canadian composer, I think the opportunity to hear new Canadian music of all kinds is important," he said. "It's part of our development as a country."
He dismissed the idea Radio 2 should be devoted to European-based classical composers from previous centuries.
"They're dead German guys," Carrabr © said. "Buy a CD, listen on the Internet."
But Rebecca Woodmass, a music student at Canadian Mennonite University, insisted that listening to CBC Radio 2 is what cemented her ambition to become a professional opera singer.
"I grew up with Saturday Afternoons at the Opera," said Woodmass, 22, who carried a placard announcing her love for the veteran Radio 2 Disc Drive host Jurgen Gothe.
"I didn't even see a live opera until I was 20."
In the most recent Bureau of Broadcast Measurement ratings, released earlier this week, CBC Radio ranked 11th out of 14 signals in Winnipeg, earning a 2.3 share of all radio listeners aged 12 and up.
This was down significantly from the 3.7 share in the previous ratings period.
morley.walker@freepress.mb.ca
wayne glowacki / winnipeg free press
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