1. Speaker Spotlight: Ben Cameron on Audiences Beyond the Concert Hall

    Where do we find audiences? In this post, Ben Cameron—Program Director for the Arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation—argues that the concert hall is only one place we should be looking. Ben Cameron joins us in San Francisco on Sunday, May 13 for our free Talking About Audiences event. Register today!

    Ben CameronHow questions are framed inevitably guides and often limits our thinking. I am especially struck by the observation in this blog that “…the core orchestral presentation—a live, on-stage concert—is essentially unchanged over the past 100 years. Will that, can that, remain the case for the next 100 years?”—a “can” that seems to imply an aspiration to retain that format and an overall frame that provokes several questions of my own.

    Are there reasons that the experience of the last 100 years should be definitive? (more…)

    Topic: Audience | Tags: ,
    May 7, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (2)

  2. Alan Gilbert of the New York Philharmonic on Programming for Audiences

    Alan Gilbert, Music Director of the New York Phiharmonic, joins us in San Francisco on Sunday, May 13 for our free event “Talking About Audiences.” Recently we had the chance to sit down with him to ask how he approaches programming and what role the audience plays in choosing what music to play. “What we do is very simple actually,” he said. “We play pieces that we really believe in, that we think are great pieces—important for the orchestra to play and important for the audience to hear.” Watch more here:

    We’re looking forward to hearing more.

    Register today to hear Alan Gilbert on May 13!

    Topic: Audience | Tags: ,
    May 4, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  3. Brent Assink: What’s Working and What Must Work

    From audience engagement, music education, and a changing relationship with the community, to technology and the best use of social media… there are a lot of questions in today’s orchestral world and not always a lot of concrete answers.

    Indeed, if you had to narrow it down and list just the top five things orchestras should work to change, what would they be?

    In a recent talk at the University of Michigan’s American Orchestra Summit, Brent Assink, Executive Director of the San Francisco Symphony, took up that challenge in a keynote speech on the theme “What’s Working and What Must Work.” The American Orchestra Summit brought together arts administrators, educators, and musicians with the goal of inspiring “new ideas and new conversations” around such issues as productive collaboration, changing audiences and communities, and the training of the professional musician in the 21st-century.

    Watch the full speech below or read the transcript at SymphonyNOW.

    Topic: Audience, Community | Tags: ,
    May 3, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  4. “The expectation is that we sit.” Is concert behavior at odds with human experience?

    You know the drill. Take your seat, don’t move, sit quietly, then applaud enthusiastically only at the appropriate times. Is this prescribed concert behavior the best way to engage audiences? Susan Key—special projects director for the San Francisco Symphony—examines this question.

    Empty SeatsThere has been a lot of discussion lately in arts circles about the importance of listening to our audiences. For me, the point was underscored by an audience question during our March 17 Forum in San Francisco:

    Sitting in the audience can be a very passive experience. I mean, my head is spinning. I have lots of thoughts going through it. But I’m not supposed to move… the expectation is that we sit. We’re well behaved. …but we’re not supposed to do anything. And I wonder whether on occasion there could be a little bit more—like in rock concerts [when] people get up and dance.

    Her question brings up an issue that I think orchestras ignore at their peril: the distance between the multi-textured human experience embedded in the works on our concerts and the human behavior we prescribe for their consumption. (more…)

    Topic: Audience | Tags: ,
    May 2, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (3)

  5. Yannick Nézet-Séguin – Music Director Designate of the Philadelphia Orchestra – On Community

    In September 2012, Yannick Nézet-Séguin will become Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He recently sat down with us to share some thoughts on Community as he gets ready to take the helm. It turns out Philadelphia might just be the perfect place for him. Was it written in the stars?

    Topic: Community | Tags: ,
    April 25, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  6. Event video: Talking About Creativity Roundtable and Audience Q&A

    One last video from our Talking About Creativity event in San Francisco is now available for viewing — the roundtable discussion and audience Q&A.

    Read the Talking About Creativity Roundtable transcript (pdf)

    Participants include: Mark Clague, Professor of Music, University of Michigan; Ed Sanders, Group Marketing Manager, Creative Lab at Google; Margo Drakos, cellist and Co-founder, InstantEncore; John Adams, composer; Mason Bates, composer; Brent Assink, Executive Director, San Francisco Symphony; and Steven Winn, San Francisco arts journalist and critic.

    Topic: Creativity | Tags: , , , , , , ,
    April 23, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  7. To Tweet or Not To Tweet – A Changing Relationship with the Audience

    Twitter Logo“Tweet Seats.”

    That’s the usual term for one of the most controversial ideas in the orchestral world these days. Mention the idea of tweeting during a concert and you’ll likely get a strong response. Love it or hate it, people have an opinion.

    In some ways, that’s good. The controversy around tweet seats often focuses on the physical disruption of the phone (the light! the tapping!), but it can also serve as a proxy to discuss the changing relationship of the audience to symphonic music. Rather than setting the music on a pedestal, with a silent, reverent audience listening in the dark… are we moving to a more interactive relationship? One where the audience is taking part in the performance in a way? Commenting, sharing, promoting, criticizing and responding. If so, how does that change the nature of our organizations? And our concerts?

    A recent Conducting Business podcast from radio station WQXR explores these issues with three guests: Brent Assink, executive director of the San Francisco Symphony; John Schaefer, host of WNYC’s Soundcheck and New Sounds; and Christopher Pinelo, vice president of communications for the Cincinnati Symphony, who oversees the organization’s social media activities. Naomi Lewin leads the discussion.

    It’s a fascinating conversation. Take a listen.

    Topic: Audience | Tags: ,
    April 18, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

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

    What follows is a live blog from our behind-the-scenes conversation with leaders of The Cleveland Orchestra.

    Participants include:

    • Gary Hanson, Executive Director of The Cleveland Orchestra
    • Gary Ginstling, General Manager
    • Joshua Smith, Principal Flute
    • Dennis LaBarre, President of the Musical Arts Association, governing body of The Cleveland Orchestra

    5:24pm Hanson: Word-of-mouth has always been the best way to get people in the hall. The dearth of formal music criticism in newspapers has not created a huge void.

    5:21pm LaBarre: The long-term commitment from conductor Franz Welser-Möst is the bedrock of the whole situation. He has been remarkably receptive to community programs. He wants to be involved.

    5:13pm Smith: Culture is changing to a more open-minded, pragmatic way of thinking about things.

    5:12pm LaBarre: As president the past three years, he’s focused on three things: 1) maintaining top artistic quality, 2) ensuring the long-term financial stability of the orchestra, and 3) strengthening “the fabric of the institution” – the three groups musicians, board, management becoming much more unified. A sense of… We are in it together, we know each other. (more…)

    Topic: Audience, Community, Creativity | Tags: , , , , ,
    April 14, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  9. The Cleveland Orchestra: No Longer Business as Usual

    Like many organizations, The Cleveland Orchestra has faced challenges the last few years, but challenges aren’t always a bad thing. The flip-side of challenge is opportunity and as a recent article by Zachary Lewis in the San Francisco Classical Voice puts it:

    For better or worse, it’s not business as usual at the Cleveland Orchestra. The atmosphere today is one of determination, of long-overdue gameness to collaborate, experiment, open up. Read the full article.

    The orchestra offers free tickets to summer concerts at the Blossom Music Center for all children 18 and under. They’ve also launched a popular Fridays@7 concert series, featuring an earlier start time, no intermission, and an after party. The orchestra’s Center for Future Audiences–started in 2010 and funded by a $20 million grant–ensures that such initiatives will have long-term financial and organizational backing.

    The orchestra is also expanding the definition of community by performing regularly in Miami, recently announcing a four week residency (more…)

    Topic: Audience, Community, Creativity | Tags: ,
    April 10, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

  10. Video: Michael Tilson Thomas – Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony – on Creativity

    Michael Tilson Thomas, Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, talks about the different meanings of Creativity in the orchestral world. This video draws together highlights from our March 2012 event.

    Topic: Creativity | Tags: , ,
    April 5, 2012 by Beth Hondl | Comments (0)

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