Live Blog: A behind-the-scenes conversation with The Cleveland Orchestra

4:20pm LaBarre: The orchestra has needed to make sure that Cleveland knows they are still The Cleveland Orchestra. Cleveland the city has changed a lot. It’s reputation still depends on a lot on its great cultural institutions.

4:17pm Hanson: There is an element of supply and demand. In Miami, there is scarcity of TCO. In Cleveland, you might argue there is more supply than demand. The scarcity creates the buzz.

4:16pm Ginstling: Community interaction has to be genuine. In Miami, we are coming from the outside, it’s almost like the bar is set a bit higher. So we have to think about it carefully and almost work harder to get the same results.

4:12pm Why can’t experimentation happen in Cleveland? Why Miami? Hanson: we had to quickly make our mark in Miami. TCO quickly learned that the best way to embrace the community is to through institutional partnerships. The path to greater relevancy is best traveled with others, in partnerships. This was brought back to Cleveland. In Miami, TCO had to innovate and move quickly.

4:06pm Smith: At first, it was a curiosity and you can’t argue with spending a few weeks of the Cleveland winter in Miami. Board and community in Miami is very inventive. The city embraces experimentation. What if we play in high schools? What if we have Franz Welser-Möst conduct in a high school gym? Musicians also pitched ideas.

4:04pm Hanson: Now 20% of revenue comes from outside Cleveland.

4:03pm LaBarre: The antecedents to the Miami residency is that TCO is in the smallest market of all the great orchestras in the US. Also – residencies are more artistically rewarding, more efficient, and frankly speaking… more profitable

4pm Cleveland Orchestra Miami – a four week residency in 2012-13. It has a separate board and staff. Hanson: An institution has to pursue growth. TCO is pursuing growth in many places, but this project might be the largest. Miami residency is more than concerts. To be successful you need people on the ground to make it happen. To get the community involvement.

3:45pm Panelists are arriving at The Green Room here at Davies Symphony Hall.

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