Midwestern Marketing

The orchestra as we know it is failing. This is not news; for the past decade a debate has raged over how to keep these artistic institutions from atrophying — in other words, how to keep live classical music culturally relevant in the age of technology. Some say that the financial crisis of 2008 killed the subscription package and that fewer concerts at a higher fixed cost will continue to draw those most loyal to the orchestra. Some argue that music should be more accessible and that lowering the cost of attending concerts while simultaneously de-rarifying the concert atmosphere will create a more sustainable economic model. In either case, the fact is that the orchestra must adapt to survive or else risk financial ruin.

And so they are adapting. The Chicago Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra managements are all continuing to experiment with different modes of outreach. Chicago has turned more of its attention to the next generation, increasing its programming for children and youth. Los Angeles champions new music; the orchestra has become one of the premiere ensembles for new compositions (which many patrons aren’t interested anyway, but that’s an entirely separate and certainly more subjective issue). And beginning in May 2013, the Cleveland Orchestra began a series of annual events known as the “At Home” neighborhood residencies. (Watch the orchestra’s promotional video for the original residency at Gordon Square here).

According to the orchestra’s webpage, these month-long residencies involve a mix of educational events — master classes and side by side performance with local school districts, for example — and community-building concerts that display classical programs in a more casual setting. And the real draw of these events, which will take place in the Slavic Village this season: They are free. Some of the events require tickets, but reserving a ticket takes as little as making a phone call.

Of course, free concerts are not an financially sustainable mode of outreach. But then, the idea seems to be that expanding the listener base through these more accessible concerts will help draw listeners to the more traditionally programmed concerts in Severance Hall throughout the year. This is the “At Home” series’s third year, and after the introductory concert at the Bohemian National Hall on March 21st, the flagship concert will take place this coming Friday at 7:30pm at the Our Lady of Lourdes Church. Tickets for the latter concert were distributed on March 21st, and all available seating was claimed within a single hour. The data on whether these community events significantly increase attendance of the orchestra’s regular programming is unavailable as of yet, but the Orchestra’s performance at Lourdes Church will undoubtedly reach a great deal of new listeners.

The news release for the outreach series states that “The goals of this program are to offer more people the opportunity to experience performances by the Orchestra and its musicians, to engage with local community partners around arts and cultural activities, and to bring increased visibility and vibrancy to greater Cleveland’s neighborhoods.” Indeed, however these institutions choose to pursue increased cultural relevance, all of them seem to be focusing on developing relationships with local business partners. In neighboring cities, for example, the Ann Arbor Symphony has initiated a new program, “Taste of Music,” in which musicians from the orchestra perform at local farmers markets. According to Veronica Zaragovia in an article she wrote for NPR, the Detroit Opera is appealing to its Latino community through a series of free outdoor performances around the city.

If these recent programs are so successful, why is the orchestra still in such a state of financial instability? Perhaps it is because the music of the neighborhood residencies itself alienates the more loyal listeners, turned off from the “pop” like nature of the programs. And, vice versa, maybe it is because there is not enough correlation between the music of the outreach concerts and the traditional programs in Severance, which can marginalize new patrons less familiar with classical music. Both of these issues highlight the single greatest challenge of the modern orchestra: Which demographic to appeal to?

Board members and artistic directors continue to debate this exact quandary. Should the programming be aimed towards the older generation, which already appreciates classical music? Or should concerts be solely aimed towards drawing new listeners in through techniques such as the neighborhood residencies or the “Taste of Music” concerts? There is no answer yet, but perhaps the largest concern with the latter scenario is whether the overall quality of the music produced will keep the same standards of the concert hall. Put another way, will Daniel McKelway, the assistant principal clarinetist of the Cleveland Orchestra perform the Rossini Variations for Clarinet and Orchestra with the same panache at the Our Lady of Lourdes Church as he would in Severance Hall?

I will answer this question after attending Friday’s concert and continue my discussion of the Cleveland Orchestra’s outreach program in the weeks to come.

For a far more thorough if slightly outdated analysis of the decline of the American orchestra, check out Phillip Kennicott’s article in the New Republic, “America’s Orchestras are in Crisis”