Nurturing a love of classical music for all.

Annual Report
2022
Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.A

Table of Contents
Letter from the President / 1
Our New Brand / 2
Technology / 3
Community Engagement / 4
New Content Initiatives / 6
Membership Support / 9
Classical California Sponsorship / 10
Fiscal Year 2022 Overview / 11
Classical California KUSC Hosts / 12
Classical California KUSC Leadership / 13
USC Radio Group Board of Councilors / 13
Major Gifts / 14

Classical California KUSC
1149 S. Hill Street
Suite H100
Los Angeles, California 90015
KUSC.org

Letter from the President
I am so happy to join Classical California in this exciting new period of its
existence. During my transition—I arrived in Los Angeles in mid-September
2022—I have greatly enjoyed getting to know our ever-so-talented staff,
members of the arts community, community leaders, and to hear from somany of you. It’s your dedication and support of KUSC that continues tomake us one of the strongest promoters of classical music in America.
Let me start with a little background about my journey to KUSC. I’ve spent
my career in public media, holding many different positions, includingclassical music announcer. I previously served as the President & CEO
of Lakeshore Public Media, which is a PBS and NPR aﬃliate serving the
Chicagoland area. My love for classical music comes from my parents, who
met as members of their college choir where my mother was a soloist, and my father was a student
accompanist. My parents valued public radio so much that they made it required listening for me
growing up. I’m so happy they did.
As someone who hit the ground running upon arrival, it has been a pleasure getting engaged with all
the initiatives and achievements of KUSC in the past year. Our brand relaunch of KUSC as ClassicalCalifornia has created a foundation to present new offerings on various platforms. We are growing ouraudience on digital platforms through our music streams, our app, our website, and social media. My
first community outreach event was our “Kids Discovery Day” in San Jose, sponsored by our sister
station KDFC. Children and their parents were able to experience live performances from community
organizations; learn about many different instruments at our Instrument Petting Zoo; and participate
in our ‘Be a DJ’ booth, where they could practice becoming our next star announcer. Another Kids
Discovery Day event was scheduled for December 4, 2022 at the Bowers Museum in Orange County
to connect even more families in California to classical music.
Last year, we also launched another new initiative—the KUSC Talent Development program. Throughthis effort, we are training the next generation of classical music hosts. Two talented interns (now fulltime staff members) are learning all aspects of classical music hosting and digital storytelling. We’relooking forward to welcoming our newest trainee later this year. New alternative streams like ClassicalAmericana also launched to provide even more varied musical experiences for you.
All these initiatives and many more are the fruits of your support. Because of you, we are having aneven greater impact in the community. And I could not be more excited about the future of KUSC.
I welcome your comments and feedback as we continue to grow into an even greater community
resource for Southern California.

James A. Muhammad
President
Classical California

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.1

Our New Brand
In April, KUSC, along with our sister station KDFC in San
Francisco, launched a new umbrella brand called ClassicalCalifornia. It’s about extending our reach to new audiences,
expanding the impact of our service for current listeners andmembers, and building a foundation for the future of classicalmusic in our communities for generations to come.
Local radio remains our primary means of sharing greatmusic with you. But it’s become apparent in recent years
that fresh opportunities for spreading the joy of this art form
live primarily in the digital realm: online streams, smartphone
apps, and YouTube channels, for example, where station “callletters” are largely irrelevant.
The umbrella brand of Classical California encompasses our two legacy stations — KUSC andKDFC — repositioning and renaming them for the digital future. Bringing together two of America’s
most listened-to classical music stations will enable us to share the beauty of classical musicwith more and more listeners. Classical California KIDS and Classical California Sky Concert
brand extensions were launched so that we can better serve segmented audiences. The KIDS
brand highlights our renewed commitment to engaging with children and their families with such
community activities as Kids Discovery Days, children’s music festivals at family-friendly museums,
and more. Sky Concerts showcase professional and student musicians as well as our on-air
hosts in live concerts in our community. More sub-brands are planned for the future.
We have a new look for a new future. We have new digital offerings and are creating more. We
remain committed to our local communities, but also invite others to enjoy the welcoming vibethat epitomizes the spirit of California and our unique approach to nurturing a love of classicalmusic for all.

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.2

Technology
KUSC strives to make classical musicaccessible to all. To this end, we must
be flexible enough to respond to theever-changing digital preferences of
our listeners. This year we created new
music streams, introduced a YouTube
channel, and launched a series of videos
on a wide range of classical subjects.
These innovations couldn’t have beenpossible without the considerable
expansion of our technical systems
capacity. Other technical upgrades thisyear include improvements to our mobile
phone apps for easier navigation. Users
can now log in and bookmark favorite
pieces of music for later reference.
In order to maximize your listening
experience, we continue to invest in thelatest audio innovations for our on-air
studios. These include the new “Dante”
digital audio technology, which replaces
the traditional “point-to-point” cableconnections between devices with acomputer network utilizing Ethernet
cables, affording superb digital fidelity.
Now we can connect host studios
across the building and across the state,
ensuring our friendly musical tour
guides sound like they’re sitting rightnext to you.

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.3

KUSC not only strives to nurturea love of classical music, inspiring
people to make it an enduring partof their lives; we also serve as ananchor for Southern California’s vastarts ecosystem. Our megaphone
promotes the region’s performing arts
organizations and cultural institutions,large and small; we also convene
meetings with arts leaders to discuss
how to build financial stability,
inclusiveness and innovation into
our work during particularly
challenging times.

Photos this page taken during theLos Angeles Times Festival of Books
University of Southern California campus
April 23-24, 2022

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.4

Community Engagement

KUSC host Brisa Siegel with young festival-goer at the LA Times Festival of Books in April.

In December 2021, top LA community arts leaders came together for a KUSC Roundtable
on Zoom, focused on how participating organizations can strive to make measurable
changes in the areas of diversity, equity and belonging.
After a long pandemic-related pause in our live
children’s events, we are overjoyed to have beenable to schedule a number of Kids Discovery Days
for FY23. We look forward to a full schedule of kidfriendly activities, including classical performances,an instrument petting zoo, and the popular “Be a DJ”
experience, where kids, coached by our on-air hosts,
get to make their “on-air” debut recording classicalscripts. Excerpts actually get played on the air!
Early next year we’re presenting a school assemblyat the Watts Learning Center with KUSC evening
host Lara Downes. She’ll be highlighting the worksof long-neglected composer Margaret Bonds,
the prose of W.E.B. Du Bois, and the personal“I Believe” statements of the students.

Classical California KUSC host Jennifer Miller
Hammel with a future radio star at “Be a DJ”.

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.5

New Content Initiatives
Talent Development Program
In surveys conducted over the past several years,
you’ve told us that in addition to the music itself,
you greatly value the contributions of our engaging,knowledgeable on-air hosts. Since no postsecondary training program existed to build thenext generation of classical hosts, this past year
we launched a new KUSC Talent Development
Program. Over the course of six months, twotrainees, Brisa Siegel and Suraj Partha, learned all
aspects of classical radio hosting and digital storytelling. Both Brisa and Suraj showed such promisethat we hired them following their training period.
Both are now heard regularly on KUSC, and on
our new streams and videos. We look forward towelcoming our newest trainee early in 2023.

Hosts in training, Suraj Partha and Brisa Siegel

YouTube Channel
With the launch of Classical California, we updated each of our social platforms to reflect the
new branding. We also launched a YouTube channel dedicated to sharing the bold artistic
spirit of the Golden State. Highlights include: “Open Ears,” a series about composers,
musicians, and conductors who made invaluable contributions to classical music but
were underappreciated in their lifetimes, and “This Is Classical,” profiles of artists andorganizations engaged in innovative work to spread the joy of classical music. We launchedboth of these streams to coincide with the Classical California re-branding in April.

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.6

Special Programming
Our popular specials over the past year included “Love At
First Listen,” a warm and sentimental week during which
our listeners shared the pieces that made them fall in lovewith classical music; the “Classical California Ultimate
Playlist”, a presentation of our listeners’ top 250 classicalworks, with a companion stream; and “Great Outdoors
Week,” offering a summer escape inspired by musicaldiscoveries from around the world.
And, as summer waspoised to begin, we
aired “Let Freedom
Ring” commemorating
Juneteenth. This 3-hourprogram of music byBlack composers wasintroduced by KUSC
evening host andResident Artist Lara
Downes.
Lara Downes; photo by Max Barrett

A New Evening Voice
Earlier this year, iconic KUSC evening host Jim Svejda retired following a 43-year
career at KUSC. In countless social media posts and emails, you told us how much you
treasured his unique, erudite presentations, and how much you will miss him.

In February, we welcomed as our new evening host KUSC Resident Artist Lara
Downes. A Billboard Chart-topping pianist, producer, curator, and musicalactivist, Lara also hosts the digital series Amplify with Lara Downes, our new“Classical Americana” stream, and other special broadcasts.

SoCal Sunday Nights
Each Sunday Night at 7pm, KUSC brings you concert broadcasts recorded live fromvenues across the region. These splendid performances in state-of-the-art soundfeature such ensembles as the LA Phil recorded both at the Walt Disney Concert Halland the Hollywood Bowl, the Pacific Symphony, the California Symphony, and more.

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.7

New Content Initiatives
New Streams
Alternate streams added this past year include “ClassicalAmericana,” curated and hosted by Lara Downes, and“The Great Escape” stream, an offshoot of our popular
5pm weekday feature, with host Robin Pressman.
“Nuestra Música,” is a groundbreaking initiative and isscheduled to launch during Hisptanic Heritage Monthin September, 2022. “Nuestra Música” is KUSC’s firststream devoted exclusively to classical music composed,
performed, or conducted by musicians from Latin
America and the Spanish-speaking world. Brisa Siegel
will host separate English and Spanish-language versionsof this brand new channel.

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.8

Membership Support
KUSC is humbled by the generous support our members provide. It is through the
donations of tens of thousands of KUSC listeners that we’ve been able to raiseapproximately 80% of the station’s operating budget this past year. Your sustaining
memberships ensure our financial stability moving forward. The contributions of ourmembers have sustained KUSC during uncertain times, enabling us to keep our focus onproviding music that helps heal the spirit and unite us all. Thank you!
Classical California KUSC Monthly Donors and Revenue
Revenue

Donors$6,700,000

16,00014,000$6,600,000

12,000$6,500,000

10,0008,000$6,400,000

6,000$6,300,000

4,000$6,200,000

2,000$6,100,000

0
FY18

FY19

FY20

FY21

FY22

Classical California KUSC Monthly Sustainers
Revenue

Donors
16,000$3,000,000

14,000$2,500,000

12,000$2,000,000

10,0008,000$1,500,000

6,000$1,000,000

4,000$500,000
$0

2,000
0
FY18

FY19

FY20

FY21

FY22

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.9

Classical California KUSC Sponsorship
Fiscal Year 2022 was a year of resilience for Classical KUSC Sponsorship andUnderwriting. Following FY21, a year of unprecedented challenges for a revenue
department in the non-profit arts sector, we were cautiously optimistic that as the world
began to emerge from remote working, living, and learning, we could play a vital rolein promoting a return to the concert hall, stage, and travel. Throughout our efforts in
FY 2022, our continued commitment to our dual objectives was unwavering: providing
creative input, value, and a measurable return on investment for our partners in thearts community and the corporate sector while generating revenue to fund our own
programming and community efforts.
1. In our efforts to encourage a return to concert halls, Classical KUSC introduced
the Classical Partner Show with longtime partners the Los Angeles Master
Chorale, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, and Los Angeles Opera.
2. Viking Cruises became the exclusive daily sponsor of The Great Escape.
3. The popular Academy Awards theme returned in early spring 2022 with Classical
KUSC’s At The Movies and Classical California’s Movie Music Playlist,
showcasing the year’s best in cinema and original scores.
For information about customized partnerships and sponsorship opportunities, pleasecontact Classical KUSC’s Tim McClellan at tmcclellan@kusc.org

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.10

Fiscal Year 2022 Overview

1%
7%

10%

13%

79%

20%

19%

45%

6%
Development

Operations

Underwriting/Sponsorship

Development

Government Funding

Underwriting/Sponsorship

Other

Content/Engineering
Administration

KUSC Operating Revenue

KUSC Operating Expenses

Development.................................. $7,886,742
Underwriting/Sponsorship.......... $1,308,548
Government Funding....................... $685,183
Other.................................................. $134,544

Operations......................................$1,587,588
Development ................................. $1,479,162
Underwriting/Sponsorship............. $436,726
Content/Engineering.................... $4,268,132
Administration................................... $804,005

TOTAL...$10,015,017

TOTAL..... $8,575,613

KUSC’s most recent independent auditor’s report conducted by Price Waterhouse
Coopers can be found on our website:							https://www.kusc.org/culture/our-mission/audited-financials/				Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.11

Classical California KUSC Hosts

Alan Chapman

Lara Downes

John Van Driel

Brian Lauritzen

Linda Cassidy

Dianne Nicolini

Rich Capparela

Robin Pressman

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at the Universityof Southern California. Photo at left: Dr. Carol Folt,
President, University of Southern California.
Photo above, from left to right: Gail Eichenthal,
Brian Lauritzen, Mary Mueller, and USC Senior Vice
President, University Relations, Samuel Garrison

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.12

Jennifer Miller
HammelClassical California KUSC Senior LeadershipJames A. Muhammad
President
Classical California

Minnie Prince
Chief Philanthropic
and Community
Development Oﬃcer

Bill Lueth
President KDFC
Vice President
Sponsorship andMarketingJustin Collard
Chief Technology
OﬃcerMark Steinmetz
Vice President ofContent

Daniel Sy
Senior BusinessOﬃcer

Classical California Board of Councilors
The Board of Councilors represents the interests of thelisteners and the community at large by acting as liaison
between KUSC and the community, offering advice regarding
strategy for USC Radio and helping with fundraising efforts.
Robert Abeles, Chair (retired)Frank H. Cruz
Lee Walcott
Natalie Klein
Corey Field
Samuel Garrison

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.13

Major Gifts
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

Composer’s Circle($5,000 - $9,999)

President’s Gold($25,000 + )Anonymous (27)Martin and Dr. Brecken Armstrong
The Hilaria and Alec Baldwin
Foundation, Inc.
Ron Baldwin
Eve Bernstein
Curtis N. Browne
Ana and Robert Cook
Dr. Cornelia Haag-Molkenteller
Thomas C. Hudnut
Judith and Howard Jelinek
Stuart and Barbara Klabin
Masako Maki
Christine Mankofsky
Carole Innes Owens
Janet Petersen
Susan F. Rice
Michelle Rohè
Dena and Irv SchechterBea and Dennis Volper
WHH Foundation
Ramona R. Whitney
Anna and Edward Yeung

Anonymous (7)The Colburn Foundation
Valerie and Hans Imhof
The Norman and Sadie Lee		
Foundation
Jason Subotky and Anne Akiko
MeyersSunny Health & Fitness
Dr. Daniel Temianka
The Flora L. Thornton Foundation
Lee and Deborah Walcott
President’s Circle($10,000 - $24,999)
Anonymous (13)Nancy E. Barton Foundation
Curtis Browne
Gary and Shuko Clouse
Louise G. Garland
Robert and Cynthia Hall
Allen Katz
Linda and Bill Krantz
Heather MacDonald
M. Susan Montgomery
The Negaunee Foundation
Carl and Elaine Neuss
The K.T. & E.L. Norris Foundation
The Ruby Family Foundation
Meredith Jackson and Jan Voboril

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.14

Producer’s Circle($2,500 - $4,999)

Lynda Jarman
Terri and Tom KevilleDonald & Sharon Lafler
Katharina and Thierry Leduc
Stanley Lintner
Scott Litt
Lillian Lovelace
Mary Morgenstern
Ann Mulally
Alan and Abby Myerson
Drs. Kenneth and Roberta K.
Nieberg, M.D.
Jean L. Oppenheimer
Jane C. Parks
Anne Breck Peterson
Edward Platt
Peggy and Peter Preuss
Jerome & Toby Rapport Foundation
Robert RichardsPeter Rutenberg
Alexander A. and Mariette Sawchuk
Claire and Dr. Charlie Shaeffer
Shanbrom Family Fund
Dr. Jack and Anitra Sheen
Robert and Kerry Shuman
The Simon-Strauss Foundation
Judith Spector for Spector Family
Trust
Anne-Marie Stephens
Sharon Stevenson
Douglass M. Stewart, Jr.
Max Stolz, Jr.
Terry Tegnazian and Scott Whittle
Karen and William Timberlake
Terence Van Vliet and Jan K. Keller
Robert D. Voit
Tim Whalen
Susan WhiteDavid and Michele Wilson

Anonymous (83)
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Abeles
Gretchen E. Alkema
Bonnie Bee Bailey-Jones
Judy and Leigh Bardugo
Dennis and Patricia Burke
Linda and David BushPeter Fogliano and Hal Lester
In memory of Diane K. Gordon
Teresa Gordon
Donald P. Gould
Barry Graynor
Betty Lou Gross
Harvey HoeppnerCharlotte Hughes and Christopher Combs

Legacy Society
Anonymous (75)
Dr. Barbara Ackermann, LCSWCarleen Anderson
Jerry and Barbara Andes
Dr. Roman Anshin, M.D.
Sonia Appell
Jim and Nancy Bailey
Christopher D. Baker
Charles N. Baron
Terry S. Bateman
Benla C. Bennett
Herbert M. Berk
Lillian Berman Goldfarb
Martin Bray and Scott Henderson
William J. Bryan*Audrey Steele Burnand
Jeremiah and Raun Burnham
Dr. Leland S. Burns
Bobbi Chifos
Dr. Owen G. Clayton
Nancy Coleman-Frank
Edward and Lisa Cook
Dr. Allen J. Curtis
Caroline S. DeMar
Fantasia Fairchild
Theresa and Jeff Ferguson
Robert S. Field
Jeanette Fraser
David F. Freedman
Robin Friedheim
Dr. and Mrs. E. Peter Gabor
Peggy Garvey
Robert L. Glasser
Deborah Goetzman
Meredith Goodwin
Donald P. Gould
David Grant
Tom Greene
Heinz Hanau
Rod and Nancy Harvey
Robert S. Helfman
Vera J. Hirtz
Terrence Joseph Hughes

Barbara JuryLen and Trudy Kapner
Steven Katz
Doris H. Keniry
Nick J. Labedz
Donald & Sharon Lafler
Dr. Peter B. Landecker
Jocelyn Lee
Dennis and Kathleen Lees
William Earl Lentz
Adolph Maier
Hon. Nora Manella
Alison Manheim
Susan J. MarksJames Michaelis
Les Modie
Maury and Barbara Mortensen
John R. Oden and Mark Dizik
Craig Percy and Silvia Berg
Ernest and Anne Prokopovych
Suzanne Robinson
In Memory of Charles Simon Sarkas
Ronald (Dec.) and Barbara Schonfeld
Matej Sherko and Anthony Rosello
Lynette Sim
June Smith
Max Stolz, Jr.
Evelyn Stone*Joseph and Linda Svehla
Craig and Junior Vickers
Carol Ann Walker Trust
Carole E. Walker
Ramona R. Whitney
Jon Harvey and Joemy Wilson
Dr. Robert and Mrs. Nadyne Zafran*Deceased

Classical California KUSC Annual Report 2022 / p.15

Experience Life Classically
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