WDAV TURNS 40 WITH A “TOP 40 CLASSICAL COUNTDOWN” FOR THE AGES

Media organizations like to claim they have a deep bond with their audience but WDAV has 40 years of proof. 

On December 1^st WDAV [link] celebrated 40 years serving the Charlotte region with birthday party at the station and special on-air programming. 

As a treat for listeners, WDAV program host Joe Brant revealed the genre's 40 defining works in two five-hour blocks on Saturday (12/1) and Sunday (12/2).

If you wonder who is number one on WDAV'S Top 40, scroll down to see the complete list.

Frank Dominguez

Frank Dominguez, WDAV's General Manager and Content Director, said the Top 40 Countdown was the perfect way to celebrate 40 years on the air:

"We're celebrating our 40th anniversary and thought a Top 40 countdown fit nicely with the theme."

"Lists are always subjective, but between our veteran team of announcers and the listeners who've been tuning to us for decades, we think we'll come up with one that reflects the station and its supporters well."

WDAV also saluted Charlotte’s 250^th anniversary with a special edition of their signature local program Mozart Café, hosted by Rachel Stewart. Stewart, a long-time WDAV host, played music that was popular in 1768, the year Charlotte was incorporated.

Rachel Stewart

Stewart has been associated with WDAV, and the station’s licensee Davidson College since 1982. 

In addition to her work as a program host, Stewart is Associate Content Director. Stewart said in a press release:

"We may be turning 40, but by no means would I say we're over the hill. Classical music and public radio are as vital and vibrant now as they were 40 years ago, arguably even more so."

Other veteran station employees include music director Ted Weiner (32 years) and Dominguez (24 years).

CONSISTENCY, WISE STEWARDSHIP AND THE LOVE OF MUSIC = WDAV’S ENJOYABLE PUBLIC SERVICE

WDAV's Signal Blankets the market

WDAV signed on in 1973 as a student station. 

In 1978 Davidson College made the commitment to be a public radio station. 

On December 1, 1978, the station debuted a full-time Classical Music format with a professional paid staff.

According to information posted on WDAV’s website, in fiscal year 2017 the station had annual cash revenue around $2.1 million dollars. 

Of that amount, members and underwriters contributed $1.6 million (76%). CPB added $230,000 (11%). 

Davidson College provided in-kind support valued at over $900,000.

WDAV’s audience has been remarkably consistent in the past two decades. According to Nielsen Audio PPM ratings, WDAV has had a steady AQH share and over 100,000 estimated weekly listeners for the past several years. In 2016 WDAV made national news when its AQH share hit a record high of 2.9%.

We compared WDAV’s recent PPM ratings with Arbitron diary-methodology ratings from Fall 2000. WDAV has more estimated weekly listeners now than they had 18 years ago.  Few stations can make that claim in today’s multi-channel, multi-platform environment.

WDAV Top 40 Classical Countdown List

Broadcast Saturday & Sunday Dec 1^st & 2^nd, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WDAV administrative assistant Lydia Lorenzin and her

husband, announcer Tomm Lorenzinin 1983

1.    Beethoven                 Symphony No. 9 “Choral”             

2.    Rachmaninoff          Piano Concerto No. 2                                 

3.    Smetana                     The Moldau

4.    Beethoven                 Piano Concerto No. 2 “Emperor”

5.    Barber                       Adagio for Strings

6.    Beethoven                 Symphony No. 6

7.    Mahler                       Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”

8.    Debussy                     Claire de Lune

9.    J. S. Bach                    Mass in B Minor

10. Vivaldi                       Four Seasons Violin Concertos

Oratorio singers perform live

on WDAV during a pledge drive in 1985

11. Copland                     Fanfare for the Common Man

12. Dvorak                       Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”

13. Massenet                   Meditation from “Thais”

14. Beethoven                 Symphony No. 5

15. Holst                          The Planets

16. Copland                     Appalachian Spring

17. Beethoven                 Symphony No. 7

18. Mahler                       Symphony No. 1 “Titan”

19. Ravel                          La Valse

20. Beethoven                 Piano Sonata No. 21 “Waldstein”

Longtime WDAV GM John Clark and Rachel Stewart

Clark remains heavily involved with the station

21. Vaughan Williams  Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

22. Mozart                       Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

23. Tchaikovsky             Piano Concerto No. 1

24. Mussorgsky              Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel)

25. Grieg                          Piano Concerto No. 1

26. Saint-Saens               Symphony No. 5 “Organ”

27. Brahms                     Ein Deutsche Requiem

28. Strauss, Jr.                On the Beautiful Blue Danube

29. Mozart                       Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter”

30. Dvorak                       Symphony No. 8

Community Relations Director Meg Kimmel with her

son Robin, decked out in WDAV attire in 1986

31. Allegri                         Misere mei

32. R. Strauss                  Don Juan

33. Tchaikovsky             Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture

34. Tchaikovsky             1812 Overture

35. Mendelssohn            Hebrides Overture “Fingal’s Cave”

36. Debussy                     La Mer

37. Beethoven                 Violin Concerto in D

38. Rodrigo                     Concierto de Aranjuez

39. Schubert                    Piano Quintet in A “The Trout”

40. Wagner                      Prelude and Liebestod from “Tristan and Isolde”