In the middle of our Spring Pledge Drive, we welcomed two more celebrities from the classical music world: although they would never boast about it themselves, Anton Nel and Bion Tsang are world-renown for their talents on the piano and cello, respectively. (You might remember their musical collaboration referenced in previous blog entries.)

Mr. Tsang visited us on Wednesday morning. He chatted with hosts Jeffrey Blair and Sara Hessel, and while they were all on the air, he told us that he and his wife and children all enjoyed listening to KMFA at home, and emphasized how lucky Austinites are to have a full-time classical music radio station, commercial free. 🙂

Mr. Anton Nel came by on Thursday morning and gave us props for our wonderful library of CDs, many of which are now sadly out of print. Although his distinguished career as a concert pianist takes him all over the world, he loves living in Austin and said that KMFA is one of the assets that makes Austin a great place to live.

Thanks so much, Mr. Tsang and Mr. Nel, for your support of KMFA! 

~posted by Alison @ KMFA  🙂

This afternoon we welcomed another famous Austin Arts personage: Kevin Patterson, General Director of the Austin Lyric Opera!

Kevin visited us during the 9th day of our Spring Membership Drive. He shared several meaningful insights about why he feels it’s important to support and nurture an all-classical community radio station; the one reason that particularly struck me was how Austin’s Opera and KMFA are complementary partners in our wonderful Arts community!  KMFA exposes all varieties of opera to Central Texas, and recently, the partnership that we enjoy allows us to live-broadcast the ALO season premiers. Thank you Kevin for your support of KMFA!

~ posted by Alison @ KMFA 🙂

Dr. Matthew Hinsley, Executive Director of Austin Classical Guitar Society, stopped by on Monday to lend us a hand during our Spring Membership Drive. He and Dianne Donovan talked on the air about the importance of preserving a local, member-supported classical music radio station… and from a personal perspective, he reminded listeners that KMFA doesn’t just broadcast classical music, but also promotes the study and practice of performing it. (For example, KMFA is a media sponsor for the McCallum Fine Arts Academy, as well as primary sponsor for the KMFA Young Musicians Competition.) 

Thank you, Dr. Hinsley, for your support of KMFA!

~posted by Alison @ KMFA  🙂

On Monday morning, one of our esteemed visitors was Maestro Peter Bay, the Artistic Director and Conductor at the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Bay is a frequent contributor to KMFA’s program, Classical Austin, often discussing the next ASO performance.

However,  on this visit, Maestro Bay spoke about a slightly different matter: the value of a public-radio classical music station in Austin, Texas!

Of course, it’s not exactly a shocker that a conductor of a symphony would espouse the merits of exposing the Austin area to orchestral delights. But Maestro Bay *did* surprise me when he said that the diversity of our CD library is so extensive that he has actually discovered new works while listening to KMFA… works that are completely new to him, and he has encorporated them into ASO programs.

So there you have it. Our Kent Kennan Library has such a diverse quality that even subject matter experts find new things to like about classical music!

~ posted by Alison at KMFA  🙂