Democrat and Chronicle

I was sitting at my desk the other day when, over my shoulder, I heard a tour group coming down the hall.  The visitors passed the WXXI newsroom and stopped a few feet away.

“And this,” announced their guide (a smart and lovely woman who works in another department), “is Classical 91.5.  Classical music is very soothing, very relaxing!”

You’ve probably heard the news.  In a comprehensive front page story published in Sunday’s Democrat and Chronicle, Stuart Low reported the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra may be facing an operating shortfall in excess of $700,000.  

But it could be much worse. 

You may see less arts coverage in the Democrat and Chronicle. The daily paper’s classical music, jazz and dance reporter and critic, Anna Reguero, is leaving to pursue her doctorate in musicology.  (You can hear our conversation about changes she’s seen in Rochester by clicking here.)  She will not be replaced.  In a city with a widespread affinity for music of all kinds, the decision by Rochester’s daily paper to not hire a new music writer is troubling but not surprising.