MUSING ON ARTISTIC PROGRAMMING – PART 1
The question has often been put, “Can we sell new orchestral music to a far larger audience?” The question itself places it roots in a moral, if not righteous, musical quagmire: the person(s) asking the question more likely than not holding an unshakeable belief the proposition is sound. Without condescension, they may well be right, but when asked if they can with all confidence assert a far larger audience will ensue based solely on that belief, the answer must be, “Truthfully, no.”
Artistic planning for large, middle-size and smaller orchestras alike requires confidence in the decision-making process that audiences will be so galvanized by the concert program – often in tandem with the artists performing the repertoire – they will be compelled to buy a ticket. It is the classic FOMO. I know, my wife and I do it all the time. The only problem is that we already belong to the tribe of the converted.
Artistic planning is a tremendously challenging job. I know this from planning seasons ahead for the Australian Discovery Orchestra; a 64-piece ensemble made up of some of Australia’s finest orchestral players, designed to be adventurous and forward-thinking in terms of repertoire choices. Given the ADO only rehearses twice before any concert which last no longer than one hour; a schedule that necessitates utmost concentration from the orchestra to get the job done in the allotted time, the choice of music performed has to meet the following minimal criteria:
- The music itself has to warrant the time and effort spent on rehearsing it;
- Given that we only play the program once, if you don’t buy a ticket, there won’t be another chance to hear it live-in-concert – and we often perform works never previously performed in Australia (or sometimes not anywhere in many decades);
- The music must give the musicians performing it a level of gratification for the extraordinary efforts they make to convey the inherent beauty within the work, and
- Audiences need to feel they have spent their time and money wisely.
But with all this in mind, does it mean the audience will come?
They will, but only well conceived and executed mechanisms are in place. To demonstrate this, I am going to do a series of posts on artistic programming by American orchestras across all 8 Groups (or tiers) and discuss what I believe is insightful artistic planning.
Coming very soon. Stay tuned.