Shaking Up the Airwaves

Houston Public Media plans to sell FM 91.7 frequency and move classical station to HD format

Houston Public Media has announced that the 24-hour classical station, currently broadcast on 91.7 FM, will switch to an all-digital format.

Houston Public Media announced plans to shift its 24-hour classical station, 91.7 KUHA, to an all-digital format and sell its frequency on the FM dial.

The station will be moved to 88.7 HD-2 — an HD radio station with a much lower profile— as the organization received approval from the University of Houston Board of Regents on Thursday to adopt an HD broadcast and an all-digital distribution for its continuous classical music programming. No layoffs are planned amid the changes.

In addition to HD radio, Houston Public Media listeners will be able to access its classical music programming online at the organization's website and on free applications like iHeartRadio and TuneIn, as well as via television at TV 8.5.

"We are making this change in recognition of the growing popularity, superior broadcast quality and greater efficiency of digital broadcasting," said Lisa Shumate, associate vice president and general manager of Houston Public Media, in a press release. "Placing our focus on HD radio and digital streaming for our classical music programming enables us to make the best use of technology and resources to continue providing the music and arts and culture content that our listeners enjoy."

No buyers have been approached yet regarding a price for the station, according to a report from Radio Insight.

Houston Public Media, which is affiliated with the University of Houston, launched the all-classical station on 91.7 KUHA in March 2011 as part of a reorganization plan, that included combining KUHF 88.7, which adopted a 24-hour all news and information format, and PBS affiliate KUHT Channel 8 under one umbrella organization. The KUHA frequency, which Rice University sold to UH for $9.5 million in 2010 amid student protests, was previously used to broadcast Rice's popular student-run station, KTRU.

In 2013, eight full-time positions, including four local hosts, were eliminated at KUHA, which adopted a broadcast content format from Classical 24, a nationally syndicated service from Minnesota Public Radio. An arts & culture team was developed to produce content for all HPM outlets. The team will continue under the latest changes.

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a 14 minute tour

Museum of Fine Arts takes Houston to Paris cathedral with new virtual tour

Still image of digital rendering of Notre- Dame Cathedral, Ars Electronica.

Museum of Fine Arts courtesy image.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opens “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.” (Still image of digital rendering of Notre- Dame Cathedral, Ars Electronica.)

Lovers of art and architecture around the world mourned when a 2019 fire destroyed significant portions of the exterior and interior of Notre-Dame Cathedral, one of the most beloved landmarks in all of France. After five years of intense rebuilding and repair, Notre-Dame is set to open again this December. For those who can’t make it to the reopening, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has a very special virtual trip planned this holiday season with their just announced monumental installation, the “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.”

Set within the MFAH’s vast Cullinan Hall, this animated, 14-minute, immersive presentation will surround visitors with images of Notre-Dame, simulating the experience of walking through the medieval cathedral. Viewers will go on a virtual journey from the outside of Notre-Dame as day turns to dusk, then move into the candle-lite interiors and stained-glass windows. The immersive video will also replicate the fire and its aftermath before revealing the cathedral’s newly reconstructed spire, topped with a cross and a golden rooster, a national emblem of France and a symbol of Christianity.

“It is difficult to exaggerate the role Notre-Dame plays in the public imagination, from its iconic architecture, emblematic of the Northern Gothic style, to its magnificent stained-glass rose windows,” Museum of Fine Arts, Houston director Gary Tinterow said in a statement. “When fire erupted five years ago, millions of people around the world grieved the loss of a monument that had personal significance to each of them. Happily, the cathedral has been restored, and now Houstonians will be among the first to experience the reconstructed building that rose from the ashes.”

“Notre-Dame Immersive Experience” was created by Ars Electronica Futurelab, in partnership with French start-ups Iconem and Histovery. To create a virtual 3D model of Notre-Dame, the installation uses point cloud data compiled by the late Belgian art historian and Vassar College professor Andrew Tallon, who created 3D laser scans of the cathedral in 2010 that proved instrumental in guiding the reconstruction of the cathedral as well as additional scans and 3D material by Histovery.

Over the years, we’ve come to expect perception-defying immersive artworks from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston every summer, but this “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience” November surprise looks to be a perfect place to take any visiting art, history, or Francophile friends and family for the holidays.

The "Notre-Dame Immersive Experience" will be on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from November 23, 2024, through January 5, 2025.

Courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opens “Notre-Dame Immersive Experience.”

museum of fine arts houston museums notredame cathedral