The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis

The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis

infobox Organization
name = The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis


image_border =
size = 20%
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msize =
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abbreviation = FAS
formation = 1969
extinction =
type = 501 (c) (3)
status =
purpose = To provide opportunities for the enjoyment of classical music in central Indiana and encourage understanding and appreciation of this art through education.
headquarters = Indianapolis, IN
location = The campus of the University of Indianapolis
region_served = Central Indiana
membership = Membership donations begin at $50.00.
language =
leader_title = Executive Director
leader_name = Michael Hunt
main_organ = Board of Directors
parent_organization =
affiliations = 88.7 WICR-FM-HD-HD2
num_staff =
num_volunteers =
budget =
website = http://www.fasindy.org
remarks =

The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, is a not-for-profit public charitable trust that broadcasts classical music 24 hours a day on WICR-FM-HD and WICR-HD2, 88.7fm, the radio voice of the University of Indianapolis.

Since 1969, the Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis has been presenting classical music on non-commercial radio in central Indiana.

The Fine Arts Society also serves approximately 210 kids in 3rd through 7th grades with the Fine Arts Society Music Academy (FASMA).

The operating expenses of the Fine Arts Society come primarily from private sources and corporate underwriting.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Fine Arts Society is to provide opportunities for the enjoyment of classical music in central Indiana through radio programming and to encourage the understanding and appreciation of this art through education.

History of the Fine Arts Society

There was little radio available in Central Indiana, if you were fond of listening to classical music.

In May 1961 a group of Lilly Researchers pulled their resources together, formed a corporation and on May 13th the "Lively Arts Station," WAIV-FM went on the air. The station offered a variety of classical music, jazz, poetry, interviews, folk music, discussions of religion, and editorials. Its broadcasts emanated from a tower on top of the Dearborn Hotel on East Michigan Street.

The station struggled financially, and only became profitable in 1967 when the program format became exclusively classical. Programs were chosen by station staff and were presented in their entirety without interruption. This was the first completely classical music format on radio in Indianapolis.

Decisions between the owners of WAIV led to the sale of the station, which eventually became WTLC, but Norbert Neuss was not about to give up. With the help of some of his friends he purchased the 2,500 classical record library from WAIV's new owners, packed them up, and stored them in the Lilly Pavilion of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. His hope was to use them later. That moment came sooner than anyone could have hoped for.

Neuss's friendship with Frank P. Thomas, founder and owner of the Burger Chef System of restaurants, turned out to be a decisive factor in fulfilling his dream of reviving classical music on the radio. Norbert, F. Bruce Peck, Frank P. Thomas and Willis K. Kunz collaborated early in 1968, and The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis, Inc. was formed as a public charitable trust under the laws of the State of Indiana. The Society was granted exemption from taxes under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue code.

Upon hearing that the Indianapolis Public School System was constructing a new radio/television center, the Society approached school officials. After informal discussions between Norbert and the staff of the school's broadcast center, the Board of School Commissioners and the Society arrived at an agreement whereby the Fine Arts Society would augment the instructional programs of the IPS station, WIAN-FM, with a second programme of classical music during prime evening hours.

The Second Programme went on the air in November. The Society's membership soon grew to 1,000 members and the budget could now be augmented to allow for a greater variety of programming.

However, the Society suffered a serious loss on November 5, 1973, when a fire destroyed the downtown Thomas Building, including the offices, hundreds of records, and the Society's major collection of recorded operas. During these years, more than 20 different broadcast services provided the Second Programme with concert materials from the entire spectrum of worldwide musical activity. The Society was also especially proud to bring to the Indianapolis radio audience selected student and faculty concerts from the School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington.

The partnership of The Fine Arts Society and the Indianapolis Public Schools' WIAN, represented a totally unprecedented and unique approach in financing a radio program without any tax subsidies. WIAN was able to expand its broadcast hours by more than 100% at no cost to taxpayers.

Thanks to the expansion of program time WIAN was able to qualify for affiliation with National Publilc Radio and in the 1970s began receiving grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. WIAN now had the financial resources to expand its own operation and programming originating from NPR, but this resulted in increased restrictions of broadcast time for the Society, and prompted the Society to seek another outlet for its programming.

Fortunately, the University of Indianapolis was in the process of upgrading its campus radio facility both in signal strength and stereo broadcast mode. The happy affiliation of the Society and the University of Indianapolis took place on January 26, 1983, when the Society broadcasted its First Program on WICR-FM, 88.7 MHz.

In 1984 Dan Harvey began as the announcer/host for the Fine Arts Society. He became Program Manager for the Fine Arts Society in 1988. 1990 saw the arrival of Tom Woody as the announcer/host of the Fine Arts Society's Second Program.

The Metropolitan Opera Network selected The Fine Arts Society to present live broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera in 1993.

2001 saw the retirement of the President of the Board, Norbert Neuss, after 32 years of service to the organization. He was appointed President Emeritus.

Laura Mendelsohn became the second Board President in 2002. Michael Hunt was also hired as Executive Director of The Fine Arts Society in that year and the Society began broadcasting Indianapolis Symphony programs in 2002. Kathy Ryan was also hired as the part time Education Coordinator for The Fine Arts Society Music Academy. Kathy signed on as a full time coordinator in April 2003.

The year 2005 was a year of transition for The Fine Arts Society as the offices were moved from the Sease Wing of the Krannert Memorial Library on the campus of the University of Indianapolis to their current office in the basement of Cravens Hall. 2005 also saw the move for WICR to the third floor of the new addition to Esch Hall. Kathy Ryan also signed on to announce the Society's First Program of classical music in 2005 as Meredith Granger switched from mornings to afternoons, hosting the Second Program of classical music. As Kathy moved to the announcer of the Society's First Program of classical music, Laura Warren signed on as education coordinator for the Fine Arts Society's Music Academy.

In the summer of 2005 a massive loss was felt throughout the Society as Bruce Peck died. A year later President Emeritus and retired board president Norbert Neuss died. The current Fine Arts Society music library has been dedicated the F. Bruce Peck Library and one of the production studios has been dedicated the Norbert Neuss Production Studio in honor of their memory and contribution to the Society.

2006 saw continued growth for the Fine Arts Society as Art Baker and Joe Boehnlein were hired part time to assist with producing the Society's radio programming. Joe signed on full time as Director of Operations in November 2007 as Brent Miller switched to the Program Director of the Society's over-the-air broadcasts.

Christopher Tolzmann signed on as the Director of Development and Marketing in October 2007.

The George Foster Peabody Award

Certainly the most rewarding and significant event in the Society's history happened in 1987, when the Society received the most coveted George Foster Peabody Award. This honor was given to only 28 of over 800 entries and was only the fourth ever received by an Indiana broadcast entity in the 48-year history of the award, administered by the University of Georgia School of Journalism and Mass Communication. What impressed the judges most was the manner in which the Fine Arts Society was able to finance its operations exclusively from private sources. Signifying the dedicated service to the community by an organization without precedent in classical music broadcasting, the quotation in the booklet for the awards in May 1987 is as follows:

"The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis is a public charitable trust established to promote the understanding and appreciation of the Fine Arts and Performing Arts..."

Each year the Society produces and provides funds for more than 5,400 hours of professionally produced classical music programming. This programming is broadcast on WICR-fm, the radio station of the University of Indianapolis. For the Society's outstanding contribution the Peabody Board recognizes the accomplishments of both the Society itself as well as the individual contribution made by Norbert Neuss, its founder and president.

The Mozart Bus

In 1991 the Society rolled out the Mozart Bus Project to introduce Mozart to more than 36,000 children in Central Indiana. The next year the Society received an Addy award for its Mozart Bus from the Advertising Club of Indianapolis. The Society's Mozart Bus also provided transportation for inner-city children so that they could attend concerts at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Hilbert Circle Theatre.

The Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis, Inc. is a not-for-profit public charitable trust, under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Staff

Executive Director: Megan McKinney
Director of Development and Marketing: Christopher Tolzmann
Morning Host: Kathryn Ryan
Afternoon Host: Meredith Granger
Director of Corporate Development: Howdy Bell

Director of Programming: Brent Miller
Director of Operations: Joe Boehnlein
Education Coordinator: Laura Warren
Production Assistant: Art Baker
Office Managers: Brenda Wilkinson and Sue Collins
Program Producer: Amanda Ratliff

External links

* [http://wicr.uindy.edu WICR official website]
* [http://www.fasindy.org Fine Arts Society of Indianapolis website]
*FMQ|WICR
*FML|WICR


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