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2021 Classical IPR listener survey summary

Thank you to everyone who responded to our recent listener survey. We are grateful to everyone who took the time to fill out the survey.

Demographic information
The vast majority of survey respondents are at least 60 years old (84%) and have a bachelor's degree or beyond (86%).

Respondents were split almost equally between male and female.

Almost two-thirds of respondents (64.3%) have attended concerts or performances at Interlochen Center for the Arts.

The survey did not ask respondents if they were donors.

Most popular programs
According to survey respondents, the top three most popular programs on Classical IPR are Performance Today (80.7% positive response), Music by Request (83.7% positive response) and the syndicated symphony programs at 8 p.m. each weeknight such as the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony (84.2% positive response).

Immediate actions
In response to survey feedback, we are making a few programming changes effective immediately.

On Fridays at 8 p.m., we are adding the Cleveland Orchestra's weekly radio broadcast to the lineup. This is in response to listeners' strong support of syndicated broadcasts of major symphony orchestras.

On Sundays at 7 a.m., we are adding the program A Joyful Noise to the lineup. A number of respondents said they particularly enjoy the syndicated choral music program With Heart and Voice that airs Sundays at 8 a.m. A Joyful Noise is also a program of choral music that we think listeners will enjoy hearing on Sunday mornings.

Finally, we are bringing back three hours of Weekend Classics on Sunday afternoons starting at noon. Listeners said they wanted to hear more broadcasts featuring local hosts on the weekends. Amanda Sewell will be the host of the Sunday block of Weekend Classics, and Nancy Deneen will continue to host Weekend Classics on Saturdays from 7 to 9 a.m.

View Classical IPR's complete program schedule here.

Items for consideration
Classical IPR will continue to refine its local programming as well as its syndicated offerings.

It was clear from the survey that the respondents do the majority of their listening on weekdays between about 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Our weekend morning programs are very popular, but afternoon and evening programs on both days less so. We will continue to work with listeners and focus groups on our weekend programming to see if we can implement changes that would increase listening during these times.

Some listeners expressed concern that Music by Request is now only three hours long. For more than a year, the program has not received enough requests to fill the fourth hour of the program. We replaced the fourth hour of Music by Request with From the Top a few months ago.

Listeners also asked why a specific syndicated program was canceled or if we can add a specific syndicated program to our lineup. When we add a syndicated show, we must consider how many listeners will enjoy it, how consistent the show is with the rest of our programming and how much the show costs to syndicate.

Some respondents asked if we could offer a printed program that would include all of the programming for the upcoming month. This is an option we can explore. For now, we encourage listeners to sign up for our weekly email newsletter for highlights in the coming broadcast week.

Respondents also expressed support for the IPR Live Concert series, with more than 63% of respondents saying they would attend a future in-person concert that IPR presents in the region. Thanks to those who suggested regions or venues for us to consider in the future.

If you have additional questions or concerns, please email IPR's music director at amanda.sewell@interlochen.org

Dr. Amanda Sewell is IPR's music director.