Great story, David. Here in LA there is snootiness and some non-snootiness. The LA Phil makes its attempt at the bowl and does very well. Up front is snooty and fancy dinners, in back is less snooty and hot dogs (though still expensive for many).
In comparison, there are ensembles like the Long Beach Municipal Band. They're pick-up players and have a rather consistent memebrship like the orchestra you describe. They rotate around the municipal parks four evenings per week for the lawnchair crowd. In times of budget cuts, Muni Band always survives because it is so well loved. On the orchestra side, there is the California Philharmonic (pickup / consistent roster). They play outdoors to about 10,000 lawnchairs (and the people in them) and are broadcast live on the commercial classical station in LA. They play some new music -- I have a piece on the series this summer and one of my former students has a premiere -- and pops-like or classical light tunes with the more rigorous fare. They felt confident enought to expand to a second performance of most concerts in Disney Hall and have done well enough to keep that up (it is expensive, as you might imagine). Of course, 10,000 at a concert in LA is nothing like 5,000 in rural Maryland. What a great series that is. I hope I get to hear a concert there some day, especially if they're playing the likes of Judith's music. And to bring this back around ever so slightly to Finale... these ensembles often need copyists and arrangers. These are the musicians for whom rehearsal time is so dearly expensive and for whom the notation must be at its peak if one hopes to be hired a second time. -Carolyn On 1/30/06, David Froom <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On 1/29/06 7:52 PM, Carl Dershem wrote: > > > To me, the price of tickets, plus the perception of snootiness are at > > least as much what keep the audiences away as anything else. > > Carl, > You are absolutely right. As a way of backing up what I say, we have a > festival here in Maryland, in the rural part, 75 miles south of Washington, > DC (it is called The River Concert Series). The series, which features a > full-sized professional orchestra, took on as its raison d'etre avoiding > snootiness and making the concerts free. The concerts are in the summer, > outside, in a pretty place. People bring lawn chairs and sit where they > like. There are signs for the audience: up close is called "serious > listening," in the middle "casual listening" and in the back, "serious > socializing." The sound system, top professional, is equally good in back > -- but if you sit up close, you mostly hear the real orchestra sound. The > conductor makes sure that everyone understands that "the only rule is if you > sit in serious socializing, you have to socialize." People can buy food > from local vendors, or bring picnics. There is no rule against alcohol. > Parking is free. > > The orchestra is free-lance, but union scale. The membership, over the > seven years of the festival, has become stable, since the musicians enjoy > playing these concerts so much. Much of the orchestral membership comes > from the Washington DC military bands, particularly the Marines, but > including members from the others. Also a bunch of free-lancers. Soloists > are generally young up-and-coming touring folks: Lara St. John, Ahn Trio > (premiering a new concerto for trio and orchestra by Kenji Bunch) as two > examples. > > This is NOT a pops series. There is some pops. But also big, challenging > works. Last summer, Bruckner 6, Bartok Concerto for Orchestra, as two > examples. Also new music (a new piece by Judith Shatin, for example). > Every summer, at least one or two, sometimes three or four new pieces over > the seven concerts. Usually a premiere. > > Attendance averages about 5000 per concert. This in an area where there are > less than 300,000 people living within 40 miles of the concert site. Lots of > kids. Lots of young adults. It is THE social event of the year. Kind of a > "town center" atmosphere. Neighbors of mine who never listen to classical > music go to all the concerts. Often their kids beg them to go. > > The concerts are sponsored mostly by local businesses. When the businesses > understand that the concerts are free, and are attended by all kinds of > folks, they are quick to want to donate. They understand they aren't > supporting elitist organizations for a few rich patrons (and as unfair as > that sentence might be, it is, at least, a perception). The vendors pay > for the space to sell food, and they do good business -- and the local crowd > gets to be introduced to the local restaurants this way. They do pass the > hat at the concerts, but no pressure. > > We have come to understand that classical music is the only thing that is > universal, and could work for this kind of thing. Were this to be rock or > jazz or bluegrass, lots of people would stay away because it isn't their > kind of thing. Were it to be a mix of those, the audience would be > stratified, according to the particular concert. Not only do all agree that > classical music is OK, they leave the concerts feeling good about themselves > for having gone to a classical music concert. > > One HUGE advantage an outdoor casual concert has is that if you don't like > what you are hearing, you can get up and walk around, socialize, buy a beer. > You still hear and process the music in the background, and often people get > pulled back in. Or not. It doesn't matter. They know they will have a > good time no matter what. > > Last year, for the Judith Shatin piece, there were two singers. Both were > NYC Opera regulars (she was NYC Opera artist of the year for her Carmen). > One of the singers told me he would come back to this series whenever asked, > even though his pay was maybe half of his normal fee. He was flabbergasted > that he could have the opportunity to sing for "normal" folks, and that the > audience seemed to be having such a good time. He said that if he lived > locally, he'd be at every one, probably in "serious socializing" drinking > beer. > > So, Carl, yes you are exactly right. Get rid of high prices and snootiness, > and classical music of every stripe flourishes. > > David Froom > > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
