A lot is happening at ArtSound. Here’s some of it.

Welcome to ArtSound’s New Year

We at ArtSound hope your new year will go as well as we hope ArtSound’s will.

What can we look forward to?

Ongoing, new, and improved broadcasts. Concerts in the ArtSound gardens. With any luck, a boost in fundraising.

How can you, our valued members and listeners, help to put ArtSound on a more secure financial footing?

In calendar year 2023, ArtSound was able to return a break-even budget. For this, we have many people to thank. Those include artsACT, the territory’s arts funding agency, which generously provides ArtSound with a rent-free home; it has done that for almost 20 years.

But beyond that, we must raise some $120,000 each year — it used to be much more, but we’ve diligently trimmed the budget to the bare bones. But that doesn’t stop costs of upkeep and improvements from placing our finances under constant pressure.

If you can help, please do. Take out or renew your ArtSound membership. Or make a donation by going online to https://artsound.fm/support-us/ (donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible); or, phone 6295 7444 or write to admin@artsound.fm

If you’d like to support ArtSound through a bequest, we’d be most grateful for that, too.

Thanks!

Quiz Night Coming!

Leap into 2024 with our first major fundraiser of the year: February 29, ArtSound’s next music quiz, under the always engaging quizmastery of Brian Leonard.

The quiz night at Eastlake Football Club in Kingston will feature music trivia from the 1950s to the 1990s.

It’s your opportunity to catch up with other ArtSound members and listeners, and to speak with presenters and board members.

If you leap soon, you can get tickets for the special early-bird price of $20 for members and $180 for a table (plus booking fee), or $25 for non-members (but that’s not you, right?).

We’ll be putting the price up as we get closer to the day. So buy now, and we’ll see you there on February 29 at Eastlake Football Club.

Come to the club for a bistro dinner before quizzing begins at 7pm, or order from a special menu for dining during the quiz.

A raffle with great prizes will add to the excitement as well as ArtSound’s fundraising target.

Book now and begin to gather your team for more in 2024!

https://events.humanitix.com/the-artsound-music-trivia-quiz-leap-into-2024

(Note: you don’t need to enter as a team – come along and find a table and team on the night!)

P.S.: listen to ArtSound for hints and tips.

Podcasting 101

In collaboration with the University of Canberra Faculty of Arts and Design’s Short Courses program, ArtSound is holding a two-day public course, Podcasting 101, where participants can learn about the many factors and practices that go into optimising audio recordings for podcasts or any audio format.

Saturdays 20 & 27 January, 2024

1-4:30pm each day

$180 ($90 for UC students)

Face to face at the ArtSound studios at the Manuka Arts Centre.

Two highly experienced ArtSound community radio presenter/producers will show you how it’s done, with hands-on use of podcasting and studio consoles, microphones, and recording devices, as well as sound-production software you can download freely and use at home.

We’ll cover such aspects of podcasting as using microphones effectively, editing sound recordings, structuring podcasts and managing their quality, and planning and conducting interviews.

You’ll learn the basics of editing software packages that you can then download and use at home.

We’ll practice interviewing each other and learn some ways to use those effectively and creatively in podcasts and other recording packages.

We’ll provide some guidance on how to pitch or post your podcast or any kind of recording, e.g. postings to your website.

More details on the UC website. Search for University of Canberra Podcasting 101, or go to::

https://www.canberra.edu.au/discover-fad/podcasting-101-with-artsound-fm

Training Course

Have you ever wanted to be on the radio? Have you ever wondered what goes into making an ArtSound radio program, or on-air presentation?

ArtSound is conducting a four session introductory course. Here are the details:

Course: Introduction to Radio Broadcasting

Dates: 4 x Tuesday evenings (February 25, March 5, 12, & 19)

Times: 5:30-9pm

Where: ArtSound FM studios (Manuka Arts Centre)

Content: studio operations, program planning, presentation, production & maximising your voice

Experience: none required; just an interest in radio, music & having fun

Cost: $300 (includes $50 deposit upon enrollment and all related course materials)

If you’re interested in enrolling or just want more information, contact us on 6294 4777 or admin@artsound.fm.

Enrollment is limited to 10 participants.

For those who complete the course, there’s great potential to contribute to an ArtSound program!

To register, contact ArtSound Administration at admin@artsound.fm. For more information, call 6295 7444 during business hours.

Membership Update

If your ArtSound membership is nearly due, or is past due, in the next days you’ll be receiving a reminder from us, along with information on how to renew.

You’ll be signing on through our new membership software, MembershipWorks (which soon will also be our ticket-sales platform), but you’ll do that through our regular website.

Go to artsound.fm, click on the topmost “Membership” tab, drop down to either “Become a Member” or “Renew Membership & Sign-In,” and follow the directions there.

If, when renewing, you’re directed to sign in, you may well not yet have a password, or may have forgotten yours, in which case you need only request a new one; it will rapidly come to you by email.

Once you have the password, you can sign in, change your password if you like, keep your contact details up to date, and keep track of your term of membership.

If your membership has lapsed, you may need to sign in as a new member rather than use the “renew” option.

We greatly value the support that your membership provides.

Discontinued Email Addresses

Your email address may be about to expire, because some providers are bowing out of service.

If that applies to you, please let us know what your new address is by writing to admin@artsound.fm. We’ll update our records to ensure you continue to receive ArtSound communications, including this monthly newsletter.

National Technorama

ArtSound’s Technology Manager Chris Deacon, along with technical personnel from 1CMS (Canberra Multicultural Service community radio), took part in the national conference and workshops run by Technorama Inc. in Sydney last month. Chris has been a board member for many years in this organisation, which brings together technical managers and volunteers in community radio stations nationwide to exchange skills, learn about new developments in technology, undertake training, and solve engineering problems.

Technically minded readers would have been interested in a workshop on coding and use of the Raspberry Pi microcomputer platform, which has numerous applications in community radio stations.

Another highlight: Patrick Sproule, Head of Content Technology Solutions for the ABC, gave a keynote address about the ABC’s new radio and TV facility at Parramatta.

[Image: CMS technology officer Marvin Jiang with Chris Deacon, ArtSound and CMS Manager Teechology, at Technorama]

Outside Broadcast Upgrade

Like many of us, ArtSound’s outside broadcast van took leave during Covid and has been off the road for a while. The good news is that it will be back in the new year with a refreshed make-over thanks to a grant from the federal Stronger Communities grant program, and from ArtSound’s sponsor for an award, Canberra Member of Parliament, Alicia Payne.

Technology Manager Chris Deacon, who is undertaking this project, has been progressively removing old signage and arranging for minor repairs and for the vehicle to be re-registered.

When the upgrades are complete, ArtSound will again hit the road to engage with the community! (Below is what the van used to look like, and soon will, again.)

A Friday Night Live milestone

Friday Night Live completed its 23rd year on December 29, 2023, with episode #1196!

Airing Fridays 8-10pm, it’s ArtSound’s weekly broadcast of jazz and other concerts recorded either in the ArtSound studios or at various venues around the ACT region. Hosted by veteran broadcaster, Chris Deacon, the program has a special emphasis on local live jazz venues.

Episode 1196 was an historical recording of a concert recorded in about 1993 at the Southern Cross Club featuring the late Don Burrows along with the legendary James Morrison and brother John Morrison.

Chris has anchored the program over this entire period, and was also responsible for hosting its predecessor, Jazzwaves, which aired on test broadcasts from the early 1980s to 2000.

[Images: Chris Deacon, recording the program in the field, back in the day; and pianist Luke Sweeting, of Antipodes Quartet, a regular guest on FNL.]

Poetry on the Radio Anniversary

Also marking an anniversary is ArtSound’s weekly Poetry on the Radio. Since its first broadcast, in the first days of 2023, the showcase of writing by ACT-region writers, plus some visitors from as far afield as the United Kingdom and the United States, has presented the work of some 60 poets, with readings and interviews. Each week’s broadcast also includes a rundown of upcoming poetry events from around the region.

The co-hosts of Poetry on the Radio are Kimberly K. Williams (pictured, right, with guest poet Lizz Murphy) and Peter Searles, with assistance from Anneka Grant. Peter Monaghan produces the program.

Poetry on the Radio airs Sundays at 4:30pm and repeats Mondays at 10:30pm.

Also on air is the short weekly Poetry on the Radio segment, each Thursday between about 1:15pm and 1:30pm during Arts Café , in which Canberra-area poets read one of their poems, talk about it, and read it again.

ArtSound Radio Theatre

You’ll have noticed that in the slot normally occupied by ArtSound Radio Theatre — Sundays at 4pm and Mondays at 10pm – you’re currently hearing A Reading Life.

Bart Meehan is the producer of both, and the latter is running while Bart produces the next season of the former.

ArtSound Radio Theatre will be back on air in March, featuring an eclectic mix of radio drama. “This series will include more original work from local writers, as well as adaptations of classics, such as The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen,” Bart says. “The show will also feature productions of Exiles, James Joyce’s only existing play, and both versions of Electra by Sophocles and Euripides, all performed by some of Canberra’s best actors.”

To accompany the launch of series 4 of ArtSound Radio Theatre, ArtSound Press will publish a collection of monologues that have been featured on earlier episodes of the show. More details soon.

 

ArtSound FM’s mission is to cultivate a vibrant arts community in the ACT region. Your memberships and donations sustain our year-long programming including our artist-centered features and interviews and our many broadcasts of live recordings of concerts in and around Canberra.

Thank you for being part of ArtSound!

Please go online to artsound.fm to take out membership or make a donation. Or, write to admin@artsound.fm. Or phone (02) 6295 7444 — if you don’t reach someone right away, please leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.

Please forward this newsletter to any possibly interested friends and family members.