In Wednesday’s (10/2) Huffington Post, League President and CEO Jesse Rosen writes, “This week’s news from the Minnesota Orchestra and New York City Opera is deeply troubling to all who care about classical music organizations and the audiences they serve. But let’s not let it overshadow other recent developments that make for a more complete picture of what’s happening in classical music. Last week the National Endowment for the Arts released its 2012 edition of the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. The good news: Classical music participation rates have held steady for the last five years, stopping a steady decline through 2008. Orchestras have been keeping their feet to the pedals as they innovate at unprecedented rates to develop audiences. The Cleveland Orchestra, best known as one of the world’s finest orchestras … now has a new goal: to be the orchestra with the youngest audience. An audacious goal, but by the looks of the audience in Severance Hall last Friday night at the concert I heard, they are well on their way. Or, take a look at what’s going on at the New World Symphony, the post-graduate orchestral academy in Miami. Next week they will release the report of a four-year experiment demonstrating that changing the traditional concert experience greatly changes the audience. The New World Symphony is attracting younger audiences, and first-timers are coming back with greater frequency.… These examples of two superb organizations signal to me that excellence and access go hand in hand and that the orchestral experience is both durable and flexible.”
Posted October 3, 2013
