KWMU to air St. Louis Symphony performances

KWMU is picking up live performance broadcasts of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in September. The partnership, announced yesterday, provides a new outlet for the symphony after KFUO, the city's all-classical outlet, switches to the "Joy FM" format under new owner Gateway Creative Broadcasting, a religious broadcaster. KWMU, which recently rebranded itself St. Louis Public Media, will air all Saturday concerts in the symphony's Wells Fargo Advisors Orchestral Series, beginning with the 2010-11 season-opening performance featuring violinist Joshua Bell. The news isn't so good for opera lovers, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which reports that KWMU doesn't plan to change its Saturday afternoon line-up to carry live broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera.