Classic Arts Showcase, the late Lloyd Rigler's magnificent contribution to performing arts, is turning 20 this month.
The 24-hour non-commercial satellite channel broadcasting is seen on many public TV stations, offering a varied mix of animation, ballet, chamber, choral music, dance, folk art, museum art, musical theater, opera, orchestral, recital, solo instrumental, solo vocal, and theatrical play, as well as classic film and archival documentaries.
Self-described on its website as "Classical MTV," the channel features great artists as well as many rare and independent performances and videos. An eight-hour mix of video clips is prepared weekly and broadcast three times daily. Text displayed on the screen provides details about the recording, and encourages viewers to gain inspiration and "go out and feast from the buffet of arts available in your community."
There is no published schedule and I, for one, relish the constant surprises videos provide, both old favorites and new experiences.
CAS was founded in 1994 and is completely funded by the Lloyd E. Rigler/Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation. It does not solicit any outside funding. Rigler died in 2003, but left at least 20 years of funding to the channel. CAS is offered free to any broadcaster, or public, educational, and government access (PEG) channel on a cable TV system that requests a feed. It is shown on more than 500 channels in the United States, as well as some in Canada.
For channel listing, see the CAS website; for San Francisco, for example, the best outlet on Comcast is ch. 32.