fall 2025 IMPACT REPORT
A thriving classical community made possible by your support.
LETTER FROM LEADERSHIP
As we navigate a time of great change, it’s comforting to remember that Classical KING has been there for our community through many changes over the past 75 years. Because of support from listeners like you, music we love continues to enrich the lives of listeners in the Pacific Northwest and around the world. Our audience today is robust — 250,000 weekly listeners, on-air and online. We are rapidly expanding in the digital space and reaching new audiences. The Classical KING app was downloaded more than 100,000 times in the past year. Through partnerships with the Seattle Kraken, Seattle Mariners, Seattle Art Fair, and The Museum of Flight, we are forging new connections for the station across our community.
Coinciding with this progress, we are tackling a funding gap generated by federal budget cuts. On July 18, 2025, Congress ended decades of bi-partisan support when it voted to rescind federal funding for public broadcasting. We built a budget for our fiscal year without federal funding for the first time since Classical KING became a nonprofit in 2011. Soon we will also have a clearer picture of added expenses as we begin purchasing music rights that were previously covered by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Altogether, we estimate the funding gap to be about $450,000 per year.
In the few months we had to prepare, we made expense cuts with one goal in mind: preserving the service you rely on every time you tune to Classical KING.
Our goal is to prevent further cuts, which could impact core programs and partnerships that define Classical KING’s mission of growing, diversifying, and enriching the love of classical music in our community. We’ve invited everyone who cares about the station to increase their investment in the music. So many of you have already stepped forward — your generosity is inspiring to all of us. Together we have made significant progress but still have a gap to fill. Thank you for renewing your commitment to keep Classical KING a thriving Pacific Northwest treasure.
It gives me great pleasure to share the many successes you helped make possible in this Impact Report. Whether broadcasting live concerts or bringing a classical performance to a Mariners game, your support keeps Classical KING true to our Pacific Northwest roots while enriching and renewing our community through the music we all love. Just as our mission calls us to do.
With gratitude,
LIVE CONCERTS EXPAND AUDIENCES
This summer, Classical KING gave listeners a virtual front row seat to the World’s Largest Chamber Music Party. The station broadcast live from the Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Music Festival — extending the starstudded event from the Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall into the homes, cars, and devices of music lovers far and wide.
The popular festival is just one example of how Classical KING amplifies the region’s classical arts scene with dozens of live broadcast concerts year-round. Another annual favorite is Seattle Symphony’s opening night, which the station broadcasted live on the evening of September 13th.
“This is how we are creating a third space,” says Michelle Maestas Simonsen, Classical KING host and chief content officer. “We are making the community more culturally rich when we broadcast live. Every time we air a live concert, we reach many multiples more listeners than could fit inside the venue. We expand the performance to the entire region and to streaming listeners around the world. The more people know of Classical KING, the more they know of our artists and our region’s institutions.”
Classical KING’s Michelle Maestas Simonsen interviews flutist Demarre McGill during a live broadcast from the 2025 Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Music Festival.
Over the years, Classical KING has partnered with dozens of organizations with a shared commitment to amplify their work and artists. In addition to 20+ live broadcasts this year, Classical KING airs a Broadcast Concert on select Friday evenings and Seattle Opera on select Saturday mornings.
At the chamber music festival, program hosts Dave Beck, Lisa Bergman, and Michelle Maestas Simonsen interviewed artists amidst the buzz and thrum of festival fans who pressed in close to hear the on-air conversation.
When Maestas Simonsen sat down with Seattle Symphony principal flutist Demarre McGill, her disarming conversation with the internationally renowned artist created an intimate experience for anyone listening.
“Classical music is still evolving,” Maestas Simonsen says. “We talk with artists about being able to step into the past and make it relevant today. With live music, performers give to the audience, and the audience gives something back. This is how the magic happens.”
Each
week
live broadcasts
reach a hundred times more people than can attend in person.
PARTNERSHIP BRINGS WARTIME PIANOS TO LIFE
Classical KING helped bring new life to historic Steinway & Sons pianos in partnership with The Museum of Flight exhibition Victory Verticals: Pianos That Went to War. Through live performances and interviews, Classical KING helped show how these specially designed portable upright pianos entertained troops during World War II with songs and memories from home.
Victory Vertical pianos went to every theater of the war from the South Pacific to Africa. Finished in olive green for the U.S. Army and blue gray for the U.S. Navy, they were durable and resisted both water and invasive insects.
At 40 inches high and 455 pounds, the upright pianos were easy for four soldiers to carry.
Classical KING Host Dave Beck interviewed collector and historian Franke Haude, who restored the three Victory Verticals that were on display.
Accomplished pianist and Classical KING host Lisa Bergman was among the local artists who treated museum goers to a live performance.
CLASSICAL KING HITS A HOME RUN
On August 24, 2025 the station partnered with the Seattle Mariners for a first-ever Day at the Ballpark. The BiSaxuals quartet performed after winning our National Anthem content, delivering a standout on-field rendition. Your support enables a winning blend music and community camaraderie!