History of Listen For Life Productions and Content Network
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Listen for Life Productions/Network was founded by internationally-known musician Donna Stoering who performs classical music but is also a devoted fan of world music, jazz, Broadway musicals, folk and gospel music traditions. In speaking with audience members after her performances around the globe, she has discovered a variety of "musical needs or desires" that seem to be shared among all musicians and music lovers everywhere.
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- a need for the creation and broadcast of more compelling music-television programs, worldwide, that cater to diverse musical genres and viewer demographics.
- in the case of classical music in particular, the need to make both televised and live concert performances much more informal, exciting and emotionally accessible to young "MTV"-raised audience members, who say they actually like classical music but do not like the way it is presented.
- the need to encourage an appreciation for the “classical” music in every single culture and tradition.
- the need to unite and inspire both music teachers and music-organization leaders around the world.
- the need to establish a way for musicians and music listeners to communicate with each other. Even in this age of social media and online communication, musicians and music groups can still end up "working in a vacuum", not aware of the lives and struggles of their particular audience members - and this makes it more difficult to communicate warmth or intimacy on stage, thus losing listeners.
Back in 1998, Donna Stoering had been offered her own 24-hour television channel on new digital networks in Asia and Northern Europe, to create an alternative to “MTV” style channels, featuring classical music and under-represented genres. Seeking for compelling content with which to program such a channel she found very little in existence, so decided to put any potential channel on hold while she formed a global production company that could identify the exciting musicians and create the compelling content that would appeal to younger generations of viewers.
While traveling the world as Artistic Ambassador for both the UK and USA, Donna was performing on the major networks of each country she visited, and would then speak with the producers and network executives about Listen for Life and its goals of creating this new content. Virtually all of the producers, music video creators and documentary crews immediately expressed an interest in taking part. Within a short number of years, Donna had gathered a network of affiliate studios/production companies in some 45 countries, and then moved the global headquarters of LFL from London to California where additional contacts in the film, broadcast and music video industries came on board.
In general, our company focuses on (and promotes) the genres of music that are “under-represented” in global media platforms, and the undiscovered musicians of genius and inspiration who are eagerly seeking our help in sharing their gifts and their culture with the world. Therefore our content continues to include the “classical music” of each culture, whether that be Western “European” Classical or traditional folk or blues or Hawaiian or Asian Classical forms or Australian or Austrian or African... the music of the world.