On July 18, 2025, Congress officially passed a budget rescission package which included a catastrophic provision: the complete elimination of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This decision cancels $500,000 in critical annual support previously approved by Congress for All Classical Radio. That’s 10% of our operating budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year; previously allocated funding for the 2026-2027 fiscal year was also rescinded.

We’ve promised to keep you informed about developments around federal funding, and maintain transparency around our operations and sustainability.

The impact of this funding loss is severe, and the need is urgent.

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WHAT YOU CAN DO

DONATE NOW: contribute at allclassical.org/donate. Your gift will help All Classical Radio continue operations during this challenging transitional time, as we fortify and implement a new plan for the future.

Give now at allclassical.org/donate or call 888-899-5722.

Read on to learn more about All Classical Radio, our funding model, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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About Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), is a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. CPB is the steward of the federal government’s investment in public broadcasting and the largest single source of funding for public radio, television, and related online and mobile services. In addition to distributing federal funds (which have historically been approved, in advance, in two-year cycles), the CPB also negotiates music licenses for public radio stations across the United States of America. CPB’s grants and operational/licensing support are essential for public media organizations like All Classical Radio, which offers accessible, enriching, and educational content. In addition, All Classical Radio provides critical emergency alerts and public service announcements.

CPB Funding Eliminated: 10% of All Classical’s Budget

In July 2025 congress voted to approve a budget rescission package which eliminated ~$1.1 billion in previously allocated funds to be granted to public media organizations, including All Classical Radio. Through this rescission, roughly 10% of All Classical Radio’s operating revenue for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 fiscal years has been taken away.

This is not just a number. That funding sustains the music, voices, and stories you rely on every day. It helps us broadcast performances from local artists, bring music education to children, and keep classical music freely accessible to all—regardless of income, location, or background. The loss of this federal support places everything we do at risk, immediately.

Independent Radio: Donate Directly

All Classical Radio does not share funds or infrastructure with national public media networks, radio stations, television stations, news networks, arts organizations, universities, or other nonprofits or businesses have. Money that is donated or paid to other entities and organizations will not benefit All Classical Radio. To support this music and radio station, donations must be made to All Classical Radio directly.

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How All Classical is funded

While All Classical Radio’s revenue varies somewhat year to year, the overall makeup of our funding remains largely consistent. Annually, up to 90% of our revenue is contributed by the community. This includes 70% to 80% from individual donors and listeners, with the rest contributed by arts partners, corporate sponsors, and local, regional, and national foundations. Historically, 5%-10% of All Classical Radio’s annual budgeted revenue is contributed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Other funding sources include space rental revenue and nationally syndicated program revenue.

Independent, but not invulnerable 

As an independent public media nonprofit organization, All Classical Radio is not part of any national network, educational institution, or other radio or television station. We rely on direct community support to operate All Classical and the International Children’s Arts Network. Our independence, however, does not make us invulnerable.

This is an urgent and catastrophic loss. Put simply, the abrupt cancelation of this federal funding puts everything we do at risk.

The most impactful and essential source of support for All Classical is donations from individual listeners who believe in this service. The path forward will be paved by the generosity of community members, whose continued and increasing support could offset the loss of federal funding within one to three years—especially through increasing numbers of Sustaining donors and increased monthly amounts from those already Sustaining this service.

You can help

All Classical Radio’s commitment to this mission, and our long-proven and essential impact on the arts community of our region, relies on you. This service was born in Portland’s Benson Polytechnic High School in 1983 fueled by the vision and enthusiasm of youth and community members who believed in music and public radio. It simply would not exist without you, and now is not a time to pull back on arts, culture, and lifelong learning.

Now is the time to redouble our commitment to access to music, arts education, opportunities for youth arts engagement, and cultural experiences for all. The arts have lasting impacts on literacy, creativity, cultural understanding, sharing of knowledge, and curiosity. To ensure that future shocks and shifts will not hinder All Classical Radio’s ability to provide access to the arts for all community members, your action and commitment is absolutely essential.

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INVEST IN THE MUSIC

• Donate now
  A gift right now will help All Classical Radio continue operations as we fortify and plan for the future. Give at allclassiscal.org/donate or call 888-899-5722

• Become a Sustainer
  Reliably monthly income has a profound impact on All Classical Radio’s ability to adapt and plan. There is no amount too large or too small. Become a Sustainer at allclassical.org/donate.

• Increase your Sustaining gift
  If every Sustaining donor—a group of over 6,000 generous individuals—could increase their monthly gift amount by 10%, we could immediately bridge the budget shortfall gap during this critical time of transition. Make a meaningful difference by increasing your gift amount today at allclassical.org/donor-portal.

• Invest in the future
  Including All Classical in your will or estate plans will protect this service for future generations. Learn more at allclassical.org/support.

TURN UP THE VOLUME

Chances are there’s someone in your life who could benefit from All Classical Radio—whose life would be enriched, uplifted, and brightened by tuning in for music, connection and beauty. However you listen, please grow this community, and turn up the volume by sharing this service with your friends, colleagues, neighbors, and loved ones. You can help broaden the awareness of what All Classical Radio brings to the community, and what it means to you.

These lines from George Meredith’s 1881 poem “The Lark Ascending” appear at the top of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ draft score for his work of the same name. Written just before the outbreak of the First World War, The Lark Ascending features a solo violin evoking a lark’s flight over a vast pastoral landscape. Vaughan Williams began composing the piece in 1914 and completed it when he returned from serving in the military. The work received its premiere performance in 1920.

Here’s one of my favorite renditions by pianist Benjamin Grosvenor and violinist Hyeyoon Park, recorded in 2022 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Vaughan Williams’ birth.

The following year, Vaughan Williams reworked the accompaniment into the orchestration most commonly known by listeners today. In this version, the music colorfully comes alive; the lush string harmonies propel the violin along like a gentle breeze and wind instrument solos pop out like other creatures greeting the lark.

Here’s another one of my favorite recordings, featuring soloist Iona Brown with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

The Lark has enjoyed tremendous popularity over the last century. It’s often performed in concerts or played on the radio. Other composers and instrumentalists have also been inspired to create their own arrangements. The lyrical violin writing of the original lends itself especially well to wind instruments, particularly the flute. The wind band (of which Vaughan Williams was very fond) also provides the perfect palette for reworking the music.

The piece has also served as inspiration for classical dance, as seen here in beautiful choreography by the great Alvin Ailey.

My favorite reimagining is an arrangement for violin and chamber choir by British composer Paul Drayton, performed here by VOCES8 and soloist Jack Liebeck. With the solo violin part intact, Drayton fills out the accompaniment with both wordless lines and text from Meredith’s original poem. The effect is both unexpected and breathtakingly beautiful.

As ubiquitous as The Lark is to many, it’s being discovered all the time by new listeners, as evidenced by the many delightful “reaction” videos to be found on YouTube! “Classical Music Reactions” feature a split screen so the viewer can follow along with the performance as the YouTuber listens in real time; occasionally these listeners are seasoned experts offering insights and critique, but usually they’re folks who are fairly new to classical music, making their unfiltered responses especially touching.

Here’s my favorite first-time reaction.

As YouTuber GIDI observes, the piece evokes freedom; in the lark’s flight over a pastoral scene, all seems at ease. For many British listeners, however, The Lark has taken on historic significance. Its countryside serenity is a stark contrast to the wartime agony just on the horizon. Whether or not Vaughan Williams intended such symbolism, the dichotomy of peace and strife held fast in the national imagination, and it’s become a significant part of Britain’s cultural history.

Here, at the opening of a Westminster Abbey service commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of WWI, the piece provided a moment for reflection and solace.

Peacetime and war, nature and humankind, innocence and world-weariness….Whatever the interpretation, Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending continues to resonate with modern listeners in its expansive and soulful expression of limitless wonder.

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Below is John Pitman’s recent conversation with Appl, along with musical excerpts from his new album.

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Benjamin Appl’s For Dieter: The Past and the Future is available now as an album as well as a 140 page CD-Book, featuring personal text written by Appl with previously unpublished photos and letters offering a glimpse into Fischer-Dieskau’s life and legacy. Learn more.

You can learn more about the chalumeau in this YouTube video:

The true clarinet existed during the height of the Baroque Era, but the most well-known composers of the time left us no music for the instrument. So, what’s a Baroque-loving clarinetist to do? First, let’s look at the music of JS Bach, beginning with some unaccompanied music that I have played almost daily for the past 20 years: the six Cello Suites and the six Violin Sonatas and Partitas. These works can be immensely rewarding and powerful educational tools for clarinetists of intermediate and advanced levels, giving both budding and seasoned performers a perfect vehicle to practice tone, legato, articulation, phrasing, rubato, intonation, and more. While many of these movements contain extensive chord writing, most can be readily adapted to the clarinet.

I’ve performed all six Cello Suites on the bass clarinet (gasp!), and I think with a thoughtful approach these masterpieces can come off quite well on the instrument. Suites 1, 2, and 3 are technically more straightforward, in easier keys, and include fewer double and triple stops than the later suites. All three of these earlier suites can provide a great challenge for high school and college aged enthusiasts and are great life-long refresher works for professionals and dedicated amateurs looking to maintain and refine their skills. The final three suites are more challenging. They contain more leaps, more complicated passage work, are longer, and perhaps most challengingly contain much more extensive use of chords. The 6th suite was written for a 5 string “piccolo cello” and as a result has a wider range than the other suites. This presents a unique challenge that will push even many accomplished bass clarinetists to work on refining their high-register finesse.

Hear my rendition of Bach’s Suite No. 1, Mvts 1-3 on YouTube:

Compared to the Cello Suites, the six Violin Sonatas and Partitas are more of a challenge to translate to the clarinet. Of these works, I’ve only publicly performed the Partita in B minor, and it was one of the more difficult challenges I’ve taken on. All six of these works have extensive use of double, triple, and quadruple stops and are generally more virtuosic than the Suites for Cello. Many movements from the Sonatas in G minor and C major, and the Partitas in B minor and D minor, are in my weekly etude rotation. I use these works as the best music to practice evenness of tone, legato, intonation, and the never-ending challenge of creating an inherently engaging performance style that is both clear and subtle. Bach is the best!

While there are many wonderful editions out there prepared specifically for clarinet, I encourage students to use the original scores for cello and violin, rather than adaptations. We can make our own choices on how to roll or break chords that are not possible on the clarinet by looking directly at the source material, rather than assuming the choices of an editor. Many Baroque specialists chose to roll chords even on violin, so I have learned not to lose sleep over it. As far as transposition – who cares? We are playing violin and cello works on the clarinet and bass clarinet, so I think it’s too late for authenticity in certain respects. Clarinetists do need to be able to transpose on sight, so if you really want to play the same sounding pitches as your violinist friends, go ahead and read from the original versions as though you were performing a part for Clarinet in C and you can get some transposition practice while you are at it.

As far as performing other Baroque works on the clarinet, Telemann’s works for chalumeau translate fairly well to the modern clarinet. The Concerto in D minor for 2 chalumeau, strings, and basso continuo can work well on modern instruments. I’ve performed this Concerto several times in what I’d describe as a “middle path” stylistic approach adopting aspects of historically informed performance practice with a mixture of modern and Baroque equipment.

Recently, the acclaimed Swedish Clarinet Soloist Martin Fröst worked with arranger Andreas Tarkmann and Concerto Köln to release a wonderful album of Imaginary Concertos inspired by the question, “What if Vivaldi had written concertos for the clarinet?” The three concertos often draw on Vivaldi’s operatic works, using vocal arias as source material. This approach works fantastically in my opinion, and Tarkmann has created three satisfying and dramatic works that show off the clarinet’s blend of virtuosic and vocal qualities.

My general feeling about Baroque music, or music in general, is that it’s all fair game! Whether you’re looking for a tool to push yourself in the practice room or some new music for the concert stage, I think the clarinet can mix with Baroque Era music brilliantly. With a little care and attention to style, audiences will appreciate your adventures with adapting the music from the pre-clarinet era for this versatile instrument.

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Hear Brandi’s conversation with Ashley below.