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The Colorado Symphony presented a program consisting mainly of (very) modern (American) classical music this weekend - featuring Jennifer Higdon's Concerto for Orchestra and Michael Daugherty's UFO. As with most modern classical music programs, the attendance was less than is normal at concerts featuring 18th and 19th Century music. What I've observed at these concerts is that the reduced attendance is mainly due to the fewer number of middle-aged people. The older people seem to turn out in similar numbers as with other concerts (in Denver, few young adults go to the symphony), and they seem very receptive to new music. I was curious as to whether people in other cities have observed the same thing or if it's just a local aberration.

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Interesting observation, YouOverThere. It's often said that concertgoing is a habit; perhaps the older people have developed the habit of going regularly and are not put off by unfamiliar music, while some of the (somewhat) younger set attend the older and better known repertory.

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I think it's just that older people are still the ones going to classical/serious concerts. It would still be the younger ones who champion the newer music most likely, but this is not an age like the 20s and into the 70s at least. A parallel is cabaret, which barely exists anymore, and is supported almost exclusively by people over 60, and most of the big cabaret artists left are in that age group themselves. There's still a reasonable jazz club young people audience, but the current young generations have gone into different forms entirely from what previous generations have done--on the whole. I think it's a tiny minority going to classical concerts, ballet and opera, and I think this mostly from young people I've known in New York, where you might think it would be different (and it probably is, but not in any significant way). I think the older people generally want to hear the tried-and-true more than they want to hear new work anyway, they're just used to attending this sort of thing. Young people want loud clubs, MySpace, and iPods. Movies are the only thing that seem to be equally as popular among all ages in this era. Books are not.

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I can't remember the details, but I've read recently that concerts mixing new "classical" compositions with intelligent pop in "non-stuffy" settings (clubs) have been catching on with younger listeners, many of whom are probably reluctant to spring for pricey symphony tickets anyhow. This is a big university town and there was at least one such concert here last fall.

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I can't remember the details, but I've read recently that concerts mixing new "classical" compositions with intelligent pop in "non-stuffy" settings (clubs) have been catching on with younger listeners, many of whom are probably reluctant to spring for pricey symphony tickets anyhow. This is a big university town and there was at least one such concert here last fall.

One example of this, that I imagine most readers here already know, is cellist Matt Haimovitz, who has toured with the Bach unaccompanied, playing bars and clubs as well as more traditional venues. He's performed here in Seattle at the Tractor Tavern, which has regular music programming of a fairly eclectic variety, but is usually not classically based.

Tractor Tavern

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It's often said that concertgoing is a habit; perhaps the older people have developed the habit of going regularly and are not put off by unfamiliar music ...
When you're talking about series, it's partly the subscription habit which many of us got into when we were younger. Commitment to a subscription is something that seems quite unbelievable to our younger friends. Another factor may have been longer exposure to "recently composed" music over a number of decades.
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[

One example of this, that I imagine most readers here already know, is cellist Matt Haimovitz, who has toured with the Bach unaccompanied, playing bars and clubs as well as more traditional venues. He's performed here in Seattle at the Tractor Tavern, which has regular music programming of a fairly eclectic variety, but is usually not classically based.

The last time he played Seattle, he brought, Uccello, a cello ensemble that includes him and his students from McGill University. It was a fantastic night of music.

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[

One example of this, that I imagine most readers here already know, is cellist Matt Haimovitz, who has toured with the Bach unaccompanied, playing bars and clubs as well as more traditional venues. He's performed here in Seattle at the Tractor Tavern, which has regular music programming of a fairly eclectic variety, but is usually not classically based.

The last time he played Seattle, he brought, Uccello, a cello ensemble that includes him and his students from McGill University. It was a fantastic night of music.

Lucky you -- I missed it and have been kicking myself ever since.

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I rather suspect it is the subscription issue. Younger audiences are less likely to commit to a subscription either because of financial reasons or because of other commitments like work. (When I lived in NY, I rarely bought ballet tickets more than a week advance because of scheduling around work issues, let alone a subscription). And if you only have the financial resources to go once or twice during the seasons or know you will only be able to take a couple of evenings off during the season, I think people are far more likely to pick something they know they will enjoy rather than take a chance.

I think older audiences who are more professionally and/or financially set are far more likely to make that kind of commitment to a subscription.

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I rather suspect it is the subscription issue. Younger audiences are less likely to commit to a subscription either because of financial reasons or because of other commitments like work. (

...

I think older audiences who are more professionally and/or financially set are far more likely to make that kind of commitment to a subscription.

I'm not sure that this is true, but it certainly rings along with some current changes in ticketing. Locally, single ticket sales at PNB are apparently up, and although I don't know that it's a direct correlation to a demographic shift in the audience, I do know that they've really been targeting younger people. Sounds like a chance for a research paper for an enterprising non-profit MBA type!

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I rather suspect it is the subscription issue. Younger audiences are less likely to commit to a subscription either because of financial reasons or because of other commitments like work. (When I lived in NY, I rarely bought ballet tickets more than a week advance because of scheduling around work issues, let alone a subscription). And if you only have the financial resources to go once or twice during the seasons or know you will only be able to take a couple of evenings off during the season, I think people are far more likely to pick something they know they will enjoy rather than take a chance.

I think older audiences who are more professionally and/or financially set are far more likely to make that kind of commitment to a subscription.

This is quite possibly true. However, the Colorado Symphony sells "season" tickets in packages of multiples of 7 (7, 14, or 21), and you can add individual concerts to your package, so effectively "season" tickets just means purchasing tickets to at least 7 concerts. Unless there are fewer than 7 concerts that you want to go to, you wouldn't need to purchase tickets to a concert that you're not interested in just to get the benefits of having season tickets. It is true that on the average older people have more stable finances and might be more willing to take a chance on a concert that they don't know ahead of time whether or not they'll enjoy.

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As far as NY, I did notice at the Golijov festival last spring, at the Rose Theater in the Time/Warner building, a greater percentage of somewhat to much younger people in the audience than I generally see on programs at the NY Philharmonic which include a new piece. This is also true of Alice Tully Hall. Perhaps younger types feel more comfortable in smaller halls? Although the Rose Theater is quite large, it isn't a barn like Fisher.

Most, if not all, of the Grendel performances at the NYS Theatre were sold out. NYC Opera's new operas generally get a youngish crowd.

In Santa Fe, the new operas also get a younger (& less affluent) crowd than the traditional operas. This is also true of the SFe Chamber Music Festival for new works (& dance as well) at the Lensic Theater downtown.

So I guess I have to conclude that I don't see this as so in my two home cities.

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Sounds like a chance for a research paper for an enterprising non-profit MBA type!
I hope people follow up on your suggestion, sandik. They will have to factor in the greatly increased marketing costs for selling tickets on a program by program basis -- and also find a way to determine how many become repeat and regular customers. Also, the subscriber base tends to be the contributor base. Individual ticket purchasers are really not carrying their weight as to cost.

Attractiing new audiences may have less to do with "new music" than with "new kinds of promotion." For example, the local opera company's performances of 110-year-old Thais had a significantly younger audience (20s - 40s) than usual, possibly the result of a rather good advertising campaign that featured the more lascivious aspects of the plot and suggested (not incorrectly) that Massenet is an "easy listening" kind of guy.

I am very sympathetic the idea that subscriptions and the time and financial commitments they involve are difficult in the modern age. But I wonder how many audience members are depriving themselves of wonderful artistic experiences -- many of them "new" and unpredictable -- because they feel that the smart consumer buys only those experiences that come with a guarantee of familiarity, trendiness, status, "entertainment value", or whatever.

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I am very sympathetic the idea that subscriptions and the time and financial commitments they involve are difficult in the modern age. But I wonder how many audience members are depriving themselves of wonderful artistic experiences -- many of them "new" and unpredictable -- because they feel that the smart consumer buys only those experiences that come with a guarantee of familiarity, trendiness, status, "entertainment value", or whatever.

I think that's the case in many areas. On this board alone, how often do we lament the low audience turnout for mixed bills relative to full-length story ballets?

I really don't think it's all that difficult for an "enterprising non-profit MBA" to figure it out how to reach a broader (oftentimes younger) audience and bring them in a variety of ways including using smaller and/or family-friendly venues, programming at times and places more convenient for people with families or other commitments, tiered/discount/rush ticketing, advertising in media likely to reach younger people, etc. I think some groups do very well in introducing non-warhorse programming in those ways. It's not really rocket science.

I think there is a period of time when people are far less likely to go out for events generally, though. It's usually when they have young children. The expense and trouble of hiring a babysitter and planning and evening out is really nontrivial, and I think the numbers go down across the board in that demographic even in more "modern" and "trendy" media like cinema. Because of the trouble, people are just far more likely to stay at home with a DVD until their children are older.

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