KXPR (88.9 FM) is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...

, listener-supported

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, airing a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

format. Along with

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

KXJZ 90.9 FM, they are known as Capital Public Radio or "CapRadio." Both stations are owned by

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

(Sacramento State), and share studios along Folsom Boulevard on campus. KXPR is a Class B station. It has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 50,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s, the maximum for most stations in the Sacramento area. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is on Eagles Nest Road at Florin Road in Rancho Cordova. Programming is

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

on 91.7 KXSR in Groveland-

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

and on 88.7 KXJS in Sutter- Yuba City. While KXPR broadcasts using

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

technology, it has no HD2 or HD3

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...

Programming

Most of the day, KXPR broadcasts

. On weekday and Sunday evenings, it airs

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. And on weekends, there are specialty shows including '' The Thistle and Shamrock, Sunday Baroque'' and '' From The Top''.

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

broadcasts are heard on Saturday afternoons in season. KXPR is a member station of

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

History

The station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air on .''Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook 1984'' page B-34. Retrieved Oct. 9, 2024.
/ref> At the time, the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was KYDS, owned by the San Juan Unified School District. It allowed students considering a career in broadcasting to host shows and learn about radio. It broadcast on 91.5 MHz and was powered at only 300 watts, a fraction of its current output. The station moved to 90.9 MHz in 1984. Eventually it was acquired by Capital Public Radio. At that time, CapRadio owned only one station, 88.9 KXJZ, which had a mixed schedule with NPR news and information programming along with classical and jazz music. CapRadio acquired the second station so one could concentrate on news and the other could provide classical and jazz music around the clock. In 2006, the stations swapped signals to their current configuration. KXPR's powerful signal of 50,000 watts can reach both the Sacramento and Stockton areas fairly easily as the location of its transmitter is about 10 miles (16 km) from Sacramento and 35 miles (56 km) from Stockton. KXPR is also heard on rebroadcaster stations in the Yuba City area on 88.7 KXJS and in the Central Sierra on 91.7 KXSR.

Past shows

Past shows from KXPR's schedule included
At the Opera
' with host Sean Bianco,
Sound and Spirit
' with host Ellen Kushner,
Harmonia
' (with the accent on the third of four syllables), and
Musical Stages
'.

References

External links

KXPR 88.9 Official siteKXPR Schedule
* * * {{coord, 38.2735, N, 121.5041, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title XPR Classical music radio stations in the United States NPR member stations Radio stations established in 1991 1991 establishments in California