A lot is happening at ArtSound.

Read on for news about:

  • Annual Report
  • New ArtSound Board
  • Young Virtuoso Competition
  • Programming update
  • Call for radio-drama scripts
  • ArtSound production unit
  • Pacific Neighbours
  • Canberra Southern Cross Club sponsorship
  • ArtSound’s podcasting meetup
  • Writing prize
  • 2025 membership marathon
  • Donations
  • How you can help

Annual Report Issued

ArtSound’s Annual Report for 2024 was presented at the Annual General Meeting held on April 10, 2025, at the Eastlake Football Club. The report is now available on the ArtSound website. It includes good news, but cautions that we need to continue to raise money.

ArtSound is in remarkable financial health considering how jeopardized it was before and during the Covid years. In 2024, we attained a fair degree of budgetary stability. While we returned a loss for the year, that was only because income guaranteed during 2024 will create a positive balance only in 2025.

Our financial picture has improved thanks to public fundraising and greater success in grant applications than for many years. We are registering modest gains in sponsorship (advertising) income as we build increasingly efficient, sustainable solicitations.

In addition, we have cut costs. While we must raise at least $125,000 each year to operate effectively, that figure used to be much higher. During and since Covid, we’ve diligently trimmed the budget while spending carefully.

Of course, our thrift doesn’t prevent costs of upkeep and improvements from rising. We ask you, faithful listeners, to help us to confront that persistent challenge so we can meet our recurrent obligations and also fund special projects and meet likely emergency expenses.

Among many optimistic notes in 2024 was that our broadcasts became more polished, and certainly more varied and consistent with our specialist arts and music licence remit and our Constitution, as well as our Programming Aims, which we refreshed late in the year.

We were able to make strides in filling gaps in our presenter roster, thanks to recruiting some new presenters and preparing others in paid broadcast-training courses.

In terms of technology, we are in good shape. We are even providing an example to other Australian community radio stations of efficient technical advancement. That said, we of course continue to need listener donations and grant income if we are to complete the Technical Team’s savvy preparation of another decade of dependable broadcasting through our “Digital Transformation Project.”

In the area of memberships, we have at least held relatively steady; we’ve even increased membership income slightly. Subscriptions remain a necessary point of emphasis, which poses a challenge: most not-for-profit membership organisations face declining enrolments in a time of cultural change and household financial stress.

We note that an ArtSound subscription provides a cheap day-and-night out that lasts a whole year.

As most listeners have become aware, ArtSound has for some years been a lean, all-volunteer operation. Managing to broadcast without staff 24 hours a day, every day of each year, is a remarkable achievement.

Again, you can find our Annual Report online.

New ArtSound Board

A new ArtSound Board was introduced at the Annual General Meeting, and the Board appointed its executive committee members at its first meeting, on April 17.

The Board for 2025-26 is:

  • Bart Meehan, President
  • Chris Deacon, Vice-President
  • Sharon Paliaga, Secretary
  • Peter Monaghan, Treasurer
  • Will Brehm
  • Gabe Caddy
  • Tim McNamara
  • Dean Parham
  • Louise Spencer
  • John Worcester

Andrew Clark remains as our Finance Manager.

At its first meeting, the Board drafted Louise Spencer onto the Board. In addition, the Board coopted to its ranks Seima Darrow, a highly experienced accountant, for her finance expertise. She, along with outgoing treasurer Sunny Zhong and incoming Board member Dean Parham, will form a support team for the Treasurer and Finance Manager.

Short Board bios are on the website.

The Annual General Meeting thanked outgoing President Julie Finch-Scally (pictured) for her fine leadership of the organisation during the 2023-4 and 2024-5 terms.

Young Virtuoso Competition – can you help?

Each year, ArtSound hosts the ACT regional finals of the Young Virtuoso Competition, which identifies outstanding Australian classical music performers. The event offers ArtSound an excellent opportunity to demonstrate its support for talented performers in the Canberra region.

Could you help ArtSound to stage the ACT leg of the competition? We’d be most grateful for sponsorship covering the cost of sending the ACT winner to the nationals. This year, those will be in Adelaide. We cover the regional winner’s travel and accommodation expenses to attend the final.

If you can help, please contact us at admin@artsound.fm or phone 6295 7444 Monday-Friday 10am-2pm and ask for Julie Finch-Scally.

Friday Night Live recordings

On May 1, bassist Sasha Gavlek, visiting from Hobart, brought a trio to the ArtSound Recording Studio to record a session for Friday Night Live.

With her were Michael J. Brady on electric guitar, and Somesh Putcha on drums. You’ll be able to hear the performance in coming weeks.

Also coming up on Friday Night Live (Fridays at 8pm) is a recording of one of Australia’s premiere saxophonists, Sandy Evans OAM, from a performance at the Jazz Haus series at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre on April 12. With her, in a highly distinctive lineup, were Satsuki Odamura, a master koto and shamisen player (pictured); Steve Elphick, bass; and Sohrab Kolahdooz, a Sydney-based Iranian percussionist.

Also in the studios during April for Friday Night Live was pianist Micah Knight with his trio, Mezzo Unit, featuring Naoise, bass, and Oliver Scott, drums. They performed structured improvisations on standards by the likes of Cole Porter and Henry Mancini, along with improvised solos and duos and original compositions.

If your accomplished group would like to record a Friday Night Live session, please write to fnl@artsound.fm

Programming update

Starting on May 3, you’ll hear one change on Saturday afternoons on ArtSound.

At 5pm, The Magic of Music, one of the series in the expansive Bert Whelan’s Golden Years of Music project, will return, replacing Music Collector.

In the series, Len Power presents music selected by Bert, who has a formidable knowledge of music ranging from the classics to light orchestral to the American Songbook and Broadway, as well as film music and popular 20th century songs.

Bert Whelan has worked with ArtSound colleagues for many years to create his fine, multi-program series. In the past it has included The Gershwin Project, Light Orchestral Hour, Music from the Movies, I Love a Piano, and The Great Songwriters.

Another series in the project, You Must Remember This, continues to air at 4pm on Saturdays, so you can now enjoy two hours of Golden Years of Music.

Other changes are coming on Saturday mornings. Those are still in the works, and will replace Celtic Heartbeat.

Call for radio-drama scripts

You, too, could be featured in an ArtSound Radio Players production. If you have a script that would be suitable for radio, or even an idea for a radio play but you’re not sure where to start, get in touch with ArtSound Radio Theatre, which airs Sundays at 4pm (repeated Mondays at 10pm). The highly experienced troupe may be able to help. Write to help@artsound.fm.

ArtSound production unit

Do you have skills or ideas for audio production? For example, have you wanted to create a series of short items about some aspect of ACT-region arts and culture?

In recent months, ArtSound has formed a communications unit to help get the word out about our activities and events. Now we’re doing something similar around production — specifically, production of promotional and sponsorship (advertising) announcements, along with short items to drop into our regular programming.

The latter could be, for example, segments about Canberra-region arts, culture, history, architecture, social services… They could be anything that fits into our overall programming ethos.

ArtSound has the production capacity, and producers already working in this area of content creation. If you’d like to join them, or have ideas to share, get in touch via help@artsound.fm.

Pacific Neighbours

ArtSound is preparing a new weekly radio program featuring the music and culture of Australia’s Pacific Neighbours. To date, we’ve recorded episodes with diplomats from the embassies of Colombia and New Caledonia, and have lined up some others.

We’re defining “Pacific Neighbours” quite liberally, casting our net as far afield as South-East Asia to the west and western South America to the east.

If you’re from that broad region, and knowledgeable about your nation’s musical heritage, and would like to take part in the program, please get in touch. You can then work with an ArtSound producer who’ll do all the techie stuff while you simply talk a little about your country’s music.

Please get in touch via help@artsound.fm.

Canberra Southern Cross Club sponsorship

ArtSound is back on the Canberra Southern Cross Club Community Rewards list, which allows ArtSound supporters to contribute to our coffers simply by dining at the club’s various facilities.

Under the program, as a patron of the club, you can go to this link: https://csccmarketing.wufoo.com/forms/m1ti98210e4gdsx/ and add your CSCC member details. Then, every time you buy food and drinks at the CSCC, ArtSound will get 7.5% of what you spend, and the money goes towards our equipment upgrades and running costs.

It’s a sweet deal for all concerned.

ArtSound’s podcasting meetup

Members are invited to attend ArtSound’s fortnightly Podcasting Meetup. It’s an informal meeting of podcast enthusiasts who gather to discuss and plan podcast skills and content.

The group generally meets every second Monday from 5:30-6:30pm in ArtSound’s dedicated podcast studio. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday May 12.

To inquire about joining in, write to podcast@artsound.fm.

Writing prize

MARION, the ACT writers association, has launched its inaugural Finding Beauty Poetry Prize, established to honour Roger Green (1955-2024), an environmental advocate, writer and editor, lover of poetry, and thinker. (Read all about him on the Marion website.) His family has established the Finding Poetry Prize in his memory. Entries can be submitted via the Marion website. They close at midnight on Monday 19 May 2025. Marion will announce the winner on Thursday 3 July 2025 at the ACT Literary Awards in Canberra.

2025 ArtSound membership marathon

Through all of 2025, ArtSound is running a membership drive.

Currently, membership accounts for about 10 percent of the organisation’s annual income. We’d like to double that.

The Board recently announced modest membership-fee increases. The new annual fees are: individual membership, $75; family membership $110; concessional membership (with seniors or student ID) $50 per year.

For a limited time, new members will receive a free copy of the latest ArtSound Press publication, Gertrude’s Sweetheart: Monologues for Readers and Actors.

ArtSound aims to increase the benefits that members enjoy. Already members, and non-members, receive 24/7 radio every day of the year, but we’d also like to increase the number and range of businesses that will offer discounts to our members. We’ll list these on our website’s membership page.

Can you help us to identify or recruit such business supporters? If you know of any that might be interested, please write to Bart Meehan (bart.meehan@gmail.com) with details (including any contact details, if you have them).

Or, contact us and talk about how you might help: admin@artsound.fm

Donations

We’re always grateful to receive donations to support our work, which includes featuring about 1,000 ACT-region artists on air annually along with specialty programming that supports and fosters arts activities in the ACT region.

ArtSound does this as an all-volunteer community radio station with expenses to run to more than $120,000 each year, almost half of it from the costs of transmitting to the ACT from Black Mountain and Mt Taylor.

If you can help, please do so. Simply use the QR code below to go directly to the ArtSound donation page. Or get in touch to talk about how you might help: admin@artsound.fm or 6295 7444.

Support ArtSound in any of many ways

Opportunities to help out at ArtSound are many. Some of them are:

Welcoming Committee members

Communications team members

Management and financial wizards

Advertising reps

Presenters

Program producers and assistants

Music library helpers

Please send your contact details and a description of how you think you can help to help@artsound.fm. Or phone 6295 7444 weekdays between 10am and 2pm.

 

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-centred 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 donate. Or, send your contact details and a description of how you think you can help to help@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 $1 or more are tax deductible.

ArtSound is an all-volunteer community radio station.

 

Please forward this newsletter to any possibly interested friends and family members. And if you have any suggestions about items to include in this bulletin, please send them to newsletter@artsound.fm at least three days before the end of the month.

Never AI generated.