Performance Today 
Awarded 2007 Karl Haas Prize for Music Education

The Karl Haas Prize for Music Education is the evolution of the Lifetime Achievement Awards given by the Klassix Society, the official friends organization of 88.7KXMS/Fine Arts Radio International® as one of three Fine Arts Radio International Awards.

Mr. Haas was recipient of the first Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000 for his unparalleled contribution to classical music education via his radio series  Adventures in Good Music. Subsequent recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award were Peter Schickele, Martin Bookspan, Leonard Slatkin, and Bill McGlaughlin.

In 2005, upon the death of Mr. Haas, the award was re-focused to reflect its initial impetus: it became the Karl Haas Prize for Music Education. That same year, the first recipient of the renamed accolade was Classical Kids, an outstanding series of classical music recordings produced by The Children s Group under its founder Susan Hammond. The second Karl Haas Prize was awarded to Christopher O Riley, host of  From the Top,  an exceptional radio series produced in Boston featuring talented young performers from across the United States.

In PT's transition from its original home at National Public Radio to its new address in St. Paul, Minnesota, American Public Media was excited to announce that Fred Child, the highly-acclaimed host of NPR's Performance Today, would remain as host when American Public Media assumed production and distribution of the program from NPR in January 2007. "This is a perfect partnership the most ambitious daily classical music show teaming up with American Public Media," said Child. "No other media company in the country has comparable experience, expertise and creativity in broadcasting classical music. The team of producers, hosts and audio engineers at American Public Media is unmatched in its dedication to music. I'm proud and honored to be joining the team."

American Public Media's "Performance Today" is broadcast on 237 public radio stations across the country and is heard by about 1.2 million people each week.

Text of the 2007 Karl Haas Prize Recipient's Letter:

29 June 2007


"Performance Today"
American Public Media
480 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55101

Dear PT Producers:

By way of a new concept in radio programming in 1987, music lovers became aware that exceptional classical music is performed daily all over the United States. More significantly, that new concept, a series created by NPR called  Performance Today,  proved that classical music enjoys a significant level of passion and vitality in America.

On this twentieth anniversary of  Performance Today,  the Klassix Society/Friends of 88.7KXMS recognizes that this unique daily radio series has consistently embodied both the passion and the educational imperative that the late Karl Haas brought to millions of radio listeners over the course of 48 years with his  Adventures in Good Music  radio series. For that achievement,  Performance Today  is hereby awarded the 2007 Karl Haas Prize for Music Education.

Karl had a passion for classical music. His daily radio presentations suggested that something important was going on, and that he couldn't wait to share it with his audience. PT s Fred Child conveys the same today, as have hosts Liane Hansen, Martin Goldsmith and Kathryn Loomans in PT s 20-year run. During that time, the enumerable regional submissions by affiliate stations, the engaging in-studio interviews with musicians, and the captivating and whimsical special features by regular contributors all have made PT a worthy successor in the pantheon of daily classical music programs on the radio.

Today marks the official end of the national syndication of  Adventures in Good Music.  The baton has been passed to a new generation of classical music broadcasters. And as Karl might say:  The dance goes on, as you well know. 

Cordially,

Jeffrey D. Skibbe, General Manager
88.7KXMS/Fine Arts Radio International