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music the orchestra world

later concert times?

Sam Bergman over at Inside the Classics Arts writes today about the efforts to attract the elusive (and some say mythical) 18-40 year old audience to orchestral concerts.  He offers the idea of a later concert that might synch up with the predilictions of that age group:

But there are ways to massage these things, and a few groups are making the effort. London’s Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment recently launched a series of 10pm concerts aimed squarely at the city’s young professionals, and guess what? They’re apparently turning out in droves. (Part of the appeal appears to be that the audience is allowed, nay, encouraged to drink during the show. No word on whether the orchestra gets to imbibe as well.) In this country, the groups that have tried late-night concerts are generally smaller ensembles unburdened by strict CBAs, but anecdotal evidence suggests that these, too, have been successes.

So, if you’re part of the ridiculously coveted 18-to-40 demographic, what about it? Would you be more likely to show up for a casual, dressed-down, late-night concert than a starchy, formal, early evening one? If we suddenly started doing an Inside the Classics show at 11pm on a Friday night, would you consider starting your bar crawl with us? Or are we really better off looking at the dinner theater option?

Some orchestras have gone for the older crowd with “coffee concerts” at 10 or 11 a.m. – so a 10 p.m. start time (common in some European venues at summer festivals) could be worth trying for some concerts (Antony and the Johnsons being a prime example for us this season).

What do you think?  Take the new poll to the left to register your opinion!

9 replies on “later concert times?”

well, this basic story keeps coming back. i guess if the audience is drunk enough, it won’t matter if the orchestra is playing Boulez or Beethoven.

yes indeedy! serve high-octane, fundraising “fuel!”
Booze, Bucks and Boulez – the new “3 Bs.”

I’ve been to 3 or 4 OAE Night Shift concerts, which are the ones mentioned in the article and they’ve been going from strength to strength. It’s worth noting it’s not just bringing in drinks and a late start time that makes it different. The concerts are only an hour, you can come and go throughout that hour (though most people don’t). Some of the orchestra come out to the bar after their concert finishes and before the Night Shift starts, and because the bar is open until midnight and there’s a DJ, bunches of them stick around afterwards too.

There’s also a presenter, who talks to the conductor or members of the orchestra about what they’re playing… but in an interesting way, not like a dry pre-concert talk. Sometimes some of the orchestra players have changed out of concert dress into casual, sometimes not.

The ticket prices are much different as well – you can text in for a £5 ticket which is generally a good spot in the front stalls that costs about £40 for the full-length concert earlier in the evening.

I love these concerts, I think they’re great. The buzz in the foyer is completely different than before regular classical concerts, and the crowd is definitely younger.

Different concert formats and start times definitely attract different audiences. For example, I (Marzena) once put on a midnight concert in Seattle that featured an hour and a half long quadraphonic tape piece by R. Murray Schafer entitled “Okeanos.” The “oddience” was encouraged to stretch out on the floor with cushions, sleeping bags, etc. The “concert” was followed by a tradition Indonesian breakfast that lasted until about 3 am.

We had about 150 people attend (not much by symphony standards) and they all left fully fed, sounded and dreamy. Most of the multi-aged crowd were new faces and bodies. i never saw most of them again once we resumed our normal concert format and start times.

I suppose it depends what your goal is for presenting these different format concerts. You’re right, it won’t necessarily translate directly into ‘regular’ ticket buying, but that isn’t the point of the Night Shift as I understand, not as a primary goal anyway. Besides, those same Night Shift audiences may be more likely to engage in a different way – by buying an OAE CD, for instance – or by becoming an attender in five years, somewhere else entirely. It’s hard to quantify those kinds of successes though, organisationally… which can make it difficult to get funding/resources/etc for continuing with those projects.

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