Audience connectivity in
orchestral performances
SHARI LINDBLOM
FACULTY OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES, QUEENSLAND
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
MASTER OF ARTS (RESEARCH), 2009
Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2008
Key Words Orchestra, Audience, Connectivity, Sustainability, Performance, Music
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
ABSTRACT
With the general global decline in the popularity and profitability of traditional
orchestras, ways to build new audiences, develop new repertoires and create new
networks and business partnerships are being explored.
The aim of this thesis is to analyse the various elements of a proposed Orchestral
Sustainability Framework and determine if and how these elements contribute to
an increased audience connection with the music performance experience.
Three main elements are explored in this Orchestral Sustainability Framework:
1. Social aspects of audience connection such as performer/audience interaction
and ways of emotional engagement
2. Artistic aspects of audience connection such as the impact of poly-stylistic
genres, blend of instruments and sounds and the importance of inter-sensory
perception using visuals, theatre and music
3. Economic aspects of audience connection such as networking with business
partnerships, impact of branding and marketing and the importance of
distribution channels
Audience reactions are central to this approach. Audiences from a variety of
existing orchestral models have been researched through case studies, interviews,
surveys, focus groups and participant observation. An orchestra, formed
specifically for this project, performed to selected audiences and at the Brisbane
Festival of Arts in 2006 and is now achieving commercialisation. The style of
this orchestra is characterised by audience and performer interactivity, theatrical
staging, visuals, spontaneity and less formality. Research has been conducted on
this orchestral model, with contributions from the musicians, directors,
producers, promoters and audiences.
The research hypothesis proposes that a greater connectivity with the audience
results in a more sustainable product, where sustainability is indicated by the
orchestras’ ability to generate a sufficient amount of box office revenue and
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sponsorship. A variety of different models are considered which demonstrate
orchestras that can achieve their mission of satisfying their audience, while being
financial viable.
The findings from the literature and the case studies clearly demonstrate the
importance of many elements in the sustainability framework to achieve a greater
level of audience connection with the orchestra.
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CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................ ii FIGURE INDEX ................................................................................................i TABLE INDEX i 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................1
1.1 Statement of the problem ...........................................................................1 1.2 Rationale for the research ..........................................................................2 1.3 Overview of Research Approach................................................................4 1.4 High-level research methodology description............................................8 1.5 Research Hypothesis...................................................................................9 1.6 Overview of each chapter .........................................................................11
2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................12 2.1 Arts Marketing Historical Context. ...................................................... 12
2.2 The Classical Music Context ....................................................................14 2.3 The Orchestral Context ...........................................................................15 2.4 Social/Personal Aspects of Audience Development..................................19
2.4.1 Interactivity ...................................................................................................... 19 2.4.2 Style of performance......................................................................................... 21 2.4.3 Emotional/psychological connection ................................................................. 24 2.4.4 Musical learning ............................................................................................... 27
2.5 Artistic Aspects of Orchestral Product ....................................................29 2.5.1 Poly-stylistic music genres /Blends of instruments and sounds........................... 29 2.5.2 Inter-sensory perception.................................................................................... 31
2.6 Economic Aspects and Distribution Strategies ........................................34 2.6.1 Networking/Business Partnerships .................................................................... 34 2.6.2 Strong branding and marketing.......................................................................... 36 2.6.3 Entrepreneurial Management ............................................................................ 38 2.6.4 Distribution Channels ....................................................................................... 39
2.7 Conclusions from Literature ...................................................................41 3 METHODOLOGY..................................................................................43
3.1 The Research Project................................................................................43 3.2 The Interpretative Paradigm ...................................................................43 3.3 The Research Strategy..............................................................................47
4 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS...........................................54 4.1 Introduction to the Case Studies ..............................................................54 4.2 Data Presentation – The Deep Blue Orchestra ........................................59
4.2.1 Audience Survey Results - December 2005 ....................................................... 59 4.2.2 Audience Focus Group Responses – December 2005......................................... 61 4.2.3 Musicians Focus Group Responses – December 2005........................................ 65 4.2.4 Audience Survey Results – July 2006................................................................ 69 4.2.5 SMS Data – July 2006 ...................................................................................... 76
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4.2.6 Interviews......................................................................................................... 77 4.2.7 Reflections on Financial Data - 2006................................................................. 82
4.3 Data Presentation - The Queensland Orchestra ......................................84 4.3.1 Audience Survey Results - October 2006........................................................... 84 4.3.2 Audience Focus Group – October 2006 ............................................................. 88 4.3.3 Audience Survey Results – August 2006 ........................................................... 90 4.3.4 Audience Focus Group – August 2006 .............................................................. 94 4.3.5 Audience Focus Group – July 2006................................................................... 97 4.3.6 TQO Musicians Focus Group.......................................................................... 100 4.3.7 Interview with CEO, The Queensland Orchestra – April 2006 ......................... 102 4.3.8 Financial Reflections on Selected Concerts...................................................... 104
5 CONCLUSION.....................................................................................105 5.1 Key findings from the research data ......................................................105
5.1.1 Interactivity .................................................................................................... 105 5.1.2 Style of performance....................................................................................... 107 5.1.3 Emotional connection ..................................................................................... 108 5.1.4 Poly-stylistic genres........................................................................................ 109 5.1.5 Distribution .................................................................................................... 109 5.1.6 Inter-sensory perception.................................................................................. 110 5.1.7 Marketing and Promotion................................................................................ 111 5.1.8 Business Partnerships...................................................................................... 112
5.2 Conclusions .............................................................................................113 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................121
APPENDIX ONE ..........................................................................................127 APPENDIX TWO ..........................................................................................134
APPENDIX THREE......................................................................................145 APPENDIX FOUR........................................................................................153
APPENDIX FIVE .........................................................................................161
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FIGURE INDEX
Figure 1: Audience Connectivity Definition........................................................7 Figure 2: Deep Blue Orchestra Audience Role..................................................74 Figure 3: The Queensland Orchestra Maestro Audience Role............................87 Figure 4: The Queensland Orchestra Clocktower Audience Role ......................93 Figure 5: Audience Preferences: A Comparison by Concert ..............................94 Figure 6: Attributes of Connectivity................................................................117 Figure 7: Audience Connectivity Model for 21st Century Orchestras...............118
TABLE INDEX
Table 1: Orchestral Framework Factors ............................................................10 Table 2: 21st Century Orchestral Sustainability Framework...............................42 Table 3: Deep Blue Orchestra Financial Projections..........................................83
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STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP
The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet
requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To
the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously
published or written by another person except where due reference is made.
Signature:
Date:
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1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Statement of the problem
Over the last two decades in both Australia and globally, there has been a
general decline in the traditional symphony orchestra’s audience base and this
phenomenon may be attributed to a number of factors:
The 21st century audience has exposure to a wide variety of entertainment (Wolf
1999; Kolb 2000; Kotler P. and Scheff 1997) and therefore the orchestral
product has increased competition. Audiences have an increased emphasis on
interactive forms of entertainment and are influenced by technological factors
(Lee 1998; Cook 1998; Gillies 2005). The breaking-down of social barriers and
a more multi-cultural society have created exposure and interest in a wide variety
of musical styles (Letts 2003; Shepherd 1991). There is a “high-brow” view of
classical music, which is created to some extent by the musicians themselves
(Small 1998). ‘When an art product once attains classic status, it somehow
becomes isolated from the human conditions under which it was brought into
being’ (Dewey 1934 p. 3). This is true of the 21st century orchestral art form,
which is still very similar to its 18th century form, and which has now become
isolated from mainstream modern society in many ways.
In addition, the escalating costs of attracting high profile soloists, touring costs
for a large orchestra, and lack of government and private sector sponsorship have
all contributed to the lack of economically sustainable organisations (Campbell
1996; Strong 2005; Brown 2003), as audiences alone are unable to ensure
sustainability.
Consequently, the orchestral community is investigating ways of building new
audiences, developing new repertoires and creating new networks and business
partnerships. This research investigates the social, personal, artistic and
economic attributes for the 21st century orchestra that will result in a sustainable
and revitalised art form.
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1.2 Rationale for the research
The well-known music journalist and commentator Norman Lebrecht voices a
strong opinion with his comments on the situation facing classical music. He
believes that the ‘future of classical music performances hangs in the balance’
(Lebrecht 1996 p. 12). Lebrecht states that audiences are collapsing; state
funding and corporate sponsorship are dwindling. One of the reasons he
believes for this situation is that classical music has been ‘held hostage by
business interests’ (Lebrecht 1996 p. 18). High profile artists command huge
performance fees but their presence is required to draw in the audiences.
Corporations and government financially back orchestras and they are
increasingly demanding a return on their ‘investment’. Consequently there is
pressure to present programs that will appeal to the popular market, but the result
may be that the programs are not adventurous enough for classical music
enthusiasts.
One of the issues that modern orchestras face is presenting programs that relate
to the 21st century audience, which thereby develop a strong audience following
and connection. In considering this issue, it is important to assess the relevance
of the repertoire, the instrument sounds and presentation mode to the modern
audience. Percy Grainger was considering this same issue in 1927 when he
advocated that Australian orchestras reject the formula of instruments used in the
classical-romantic genres and include instruments played in the local
community, which at the time were the saxophone, piano and ukulele (Gillies
2005 p. 3). Audiences of the 21st century have had more opportunity to travel
and are more affected by global communications than previous audiences and
this means they have had more exposure to other cultural traditions and beliefs
(Kolb 2000 p. 21). This has resulted in a desire to integrate other cultural
influences into their artistic expression and so there is less interest to preserve
the traditional Western classical concert experience.
In his 2005 lecture, the prominent academic and musician, Gillies, discusses the
growth in popularity and success of the ‘smaller, younger and more fleet-of-foot
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orchestras’ such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO). These styles of
orchestra are often driven by the entrepreneurial style and charisma of their
artistic director or general manager, such as Richard Tognetti, in the case of the
ACO. Entrepreneurship is also evident through an orchestra’s strategy for
distribution of its music. To keep up-to-date with the 21st century technological
advances and people’s growing familiarity with e-media, web-broadcasting is an
important distribution strategy of many modern orchestras.
One of the issues facing the orchestral art form is the distinction between art and
entertainment. The critics of popular culture and art believe that it is
‘predictable, vulgar, unsophisticated and superficial’ but similarly, critics of high
culture and art deem this to be ‘overly intellectual, snobbish and superficial’
(Kotler P. and Scheff 1997 p. 13). If orchestras succumb to presenting only the
more elitist styles of programming by concentrating on high art, then they
sacrifice audience numbers. It is interesting to note that Mozart’s Magic Flute,
which is today deemed to be high art, was actually commissioned by a music
hall to entertain its populist audience (Kotler P. and Scheff 1997 p. 13). This
research will demonstrate that there should not need to be a distinction between
art and entertainment. In the traditional concert environment the orchestra’s
musicians are separated from the audience by many physical barriers and
formality. In these traditional performances, ‘the heightened interactivity and
physicality that goes into producing music strives to hide its face’, as U.K.
violinist and journalist Lasserman describes (Lasserman 2002). Lasserman’s
opinion is that audiences do not have as good a time as the musicians at a concert
and that the lack of interactivity between the audience and the musicians is one
of the main problems. Inherent in these observations is the way arts marketing
must change to respond to new audiences, new products, new distribution
channels and new business models.
Much of the research has been conducted in the Australian context, which can be
seen as a microcosm of the international situation and so it is important to
understand the background and issues facing the Australian arts environment in
particular. Advertising and market research company Saatchi and Saatchi’s
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research conducted in 2001 investigated how Australians view and interact with
the arts. Some of the recommendations in this report were to ‘promote personal
engagement with the arts’ and to ‘engage with the general public about the
relevance of the arts to their lives’ (Saatchi & Saatchi and Costantoura 2001 pp.
301 - 303). The Australian orchestras are part of the wider initiative in the
Australian arts scene which is considering how to develop a stronger audience
connection with their product. The orchestral art form has the potential to be
discovered by a wider range of people, if some of the barriers were dismantled.
This thesis explores a new arts marketing paradigm where the audience is at the
centre of the orchestral model and contributes to developing elements of
performance and style that build a deep connection with the music and orchestra.
‘Audiences, just like travellers, do not return to places that they have not
connected with’ (McLean 1999). This research focuses on ways to increase
audience connectivity and the way this contributes to building a more sustainable
21st century orchestral model. This study aims to find a way to bring a greater
connectivity for audiences with classical music. This approach concurs with the
concept of ‘musicking’, as described by Small (1998) in which music is
composed to be enjoyed and experienced by the general public. As the artistic
director of Orchestra X has quoted, ‘Beethoven has never gone out of style – it’s
the way he’s presented that’s past tense’ (Bamberger and Bradley, 2000).
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1.3 Overview of Research Approach
The aim of the research is to analyse the various elements of a proposed
Orchestral Sustainability Framework, which have been constructed by
examining the key success factors for orchestral models and considering the
values of the 21st century audiences. The elements of the orchestral framework
are divided into three broad categories; the social and personal, the artistic and
the economic elements. By investigating if these combined elements contribute
to an increased audience connection with the orchestral performance, the
research aims to test if this leads to a model for orchestral sustainability.
It is important for this research to clearly define the selected interpretation of the
terminology. Firstly, the term orchestra refers to a ‘an organised body of bowed
strings, with more than one player to a part, to which may be added any number
of wind or percussion instruments’ (The New Grove Dictionary of Music and
Musicians 2003). It is assumed that the orchestra can include other more
contemporary sounds such as electronic components. The orchestral
organisation was also assumed to do live, staged performances and adhere to
some form of notated, composed repertoire, rather than take an improvisational
approach. Using these definitions, the term orchestra may then include the
nationally–run traditional style orchestras, but also include smaller
independently run ensembles.
In the context of this research the arts marketing concept of “product” refers to
the orchestral performance and its associated style and impact on the audience.
This definition draws on Colbert’s concept of a product having both a technical
dimension and a symbolic value (Colbert 2007 p. 30).
This study makes a distinction between orchestral music and classical music and
therefore it is useful to define the term classical music in the context of this
study. It is assumed that classical music refers to a broad genre of music, with
its traditions based on Western liturgical and secular music and spanning a broad
period from roughly the 9th century to present times (Kennedy 1995). It does
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not only encompass works from the classical period in music, e.g. 1750 to
around 1830. Symphony orchestras are one of the main proponents of classical
music and this music is often scored for the traditional symphony orchestral
instruments. This study draws on research relating to aspects of classical music,
as it is relevant for the orchestral organization and market. However, this
research study will investigate not only the classical music repertoire played by
orchestras but other styles and genres that are starting to emerge.
A large part of this research focuses on audience development strategies and
consumer behaviors and values. Consumption of leisure goods is ‘experiential,
assessed at the moment of consumption’ and therefore ‘appeal is not only to
consumer’s minds but also to their emotions’ (Colbert 2007 pp. 94-95). To
understand the consumer or audiences’ relationship with the orchestral product,
the concept of audience connectivity is explored.
Audience connectivity refers to the audience’s ability and interest to relate to and
be involved with the music performance and the orchestra. The existence of
audience connectivity may then influence the audience to further increase their
ability and interest to relate to the performance and orchestra and so it is a two-
way relationship. It is also dependent on the characteristics demonstrated by the
performers and other aspects of the performance, which may encourage this
audience connectivity. The existence of audience connectivity may also change
and enhance the performance for the performers and so this also becomes a two-
way relationship. The research measures audience connectivity in both a
quantitative and qualitative way, by measuring how strongly the audience
connected and the reasons for the existence of this connectivity. The concept of
audience connectivity as defined here is shown in the following figure:
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Figure 1: Audience Connectivity Definition
Distribution within an arts marketing paradigm is concerned with establishing an
appropriate relationship with the maximum number of relevant customers (Hill,
O'Sullivan and O'Sullivan 1995 p. 243). In this research, the focus is on
exploring the optimum distribution channels for the orchestral product to enable
a stronger level of audience connectivity.
Sustainability is defined as the situation where the orchestral organisation
produces an artistic product to satisfy its audience which results in a combination
of box office income and sponsorship funding. This enables the orchestral
organisation to achieve a level of financial viability, based on a time period of at
least five years. This approach assumes that a great proportion of the financial
costs to sustain an orchestral organisation can be met by the box office and so
the orchestra is aspiring to a mass market consumer model, or certainly a
significant niche market model. Organisations that produce a product with the
aim to reach a mass market must respond to the desires of the consumer (Kolb
2000 p. 30). This is one of the challenges for the orchestral organisations who
need to consider the mass market when making decisions on repertoire,
presentation and marketing. This is a different situation from an orchestral
organisation promoting a product based solely on the artistic vision, with no
consideration for the consumer desires and needs. For sustainability to occur
Audience Connectivity
Audience Factors Interest Ability Demographics
Performers Performance characteristics
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there may be a requirement for a proportion of the orchestra’s income to come
from sponsorship and funding. Although this research has not focused on the
economic details of the sponsorship requirements, it does show that all
orchestras will require this component to some extent and cannot solely rely on
the box office income.
1.4 High-level research methodology description
With the many aspects to investigate within the hypothesis, a mixed paradigm
view has been taken to interpret the research data. Some patterns were observed
from a variety of orchestras in Australia and globally that lead to successful
orchestral performances and these have been used to form the main factors of the
framework. This has given a strong constructivist paradigm to the research.
Recently audience development strategies have moved towards understanding
audiences’ motivation and expectations but there is still a lack of research on
audiences experiences while attending performances (Kolb 2000 p. 159).
Consequently there is a paucity of research on participatory constructivism from
the audiences’ perspective. This has enabled this particular research study to
construct the framework of factors in a new environment and applying new
approaches.
The research study followed primarily a qualitative methodology to interpret and
understand how the audiences connect with the music performance experience in
the context of orchestral performances. It has drawn on a variety of empirical
devices to conduct the research and these are:
• Case studies
• Action Research
• Interviews
• Participant observation
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The case studies facilitated exposure to the wide variety of aspects necessary for
a functioning, modern orchestra and this was important for the research,
considering the broad topics covered by the framework elements. By using an
action research approach with the main case study, the Deep Blue Orchestra, this
revealed how the implementation of certain framework elements into subsequent
performances helped in the development of this orchestra. The Deep Blue
Orchestra, which has been developed in conjunction with the research can be
described as ‘exploring orchestral futures, marrying the traditional string section
of the orchestra with digital and electronics and it combines with a DJ and VJ
with cameras, screens and lighting’ (Brisbane Festival program 2006).
While there is this interpretive perspective to the research, there is also a part
that is more quantitative in nature. The audience survey data allowed for some
quantitative analysis of audience numbers and their appetite for the inclusion of
particular elements of the Orchestral Sustainability Framework in concert
performances.
1.5 Research Hypothesis
By establishing that the orchestral framework factors help build audience
connectivity, the research aims to show that there can be a model of orchestral
sustainability in the 21st century. The research hypothesis is that: Increased
audience connectivity contributes to orchestral sustainability.
The factors comprising the orchestral framework constructed for this thesis are
shown in the table below. The factors in the framework can be classified under
three main areas of arts marketing; product, audience development and
distribution. However the categorization of the factors has been chosen to more
closely reflect the key aspects of audience connectivity and the framework is
therefore divided into the three main categories of social/personal, artistic and
economic.
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Table 1: Orchestral Framework Factors
Social/Personal
Performer/
audience interaction
Style of performance
Emotional/
Psychological connection
Musical Learning
Artistic
Poly-stylistic music genres
Blend of sounds and instruments
Inter-sensory perception using visuals and
theatre
Economic
Networking/business partnerships
Strong branding and marketing
Entrepreneurial management
Variety of distribution channels
Using these factors to give a structure to the analysis, the following research
questions have been framed to support the hypothesis:
• Are there particular artistic elements that audiences desire and relate to in
a modern orchestral performance?
• What ways do audiences and performers interact to achieve a collective
experience?
• What are the attributes that enable a music performance to be a powerful
source of emotional and psychological expression, leading to a strong
connective experience for the audience?
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• What are the important business strategies to strengthen audience
connectivity and growth i.e. marketing, distribution and funding?
1.6 Overview of each chapter
The next chapter of this thesis, the Literature Review, discusses the investigation
of other orchestral organisations and identifies some key patterns and themes for
audience connectivity and sustainability.
In the third chapter, the research methodology is discussed and the reasoning
behind the determination of the research hypothesis is described.
Chapter Four sets out the background to the two case studies and then follows a
detailed presentation of all the data attributed to these cases.
The final chapter discusses the analysis of the data and relates the findings to the
research hypothesis, with some conclusions to this research.
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2 LITERATURE REVIEW
This review has been compiled from a variety of sources, including arts
marketing theory, literature, websites, journal articles, concert performances and
interviews. It concentrates on exploring the values of orchestral audiences and
finding a new concept of the orchestral product.
2.1 Arts Marketing Historical Context
There are some unique characteristics of attracting and sustaining consumers or
audiences for arts organisations. Colbert discusses how the approach of an arts
organisation can fall into distinct categories (Colbert 2007 pp. 9 - 10). An
organisation can take a market view and be involved in producing work for a
mass audience or take a product view and produce only unique works which may
or may not have wide audience appeal. Diggle in Colbert (2007 p. 11) places
‘the artist and hence the artistic product’ at the core of the marketing strategy. He
describes an approach where the focus is on getting a wide exposure and
appreciation of the artistic work but without necessarily satisfying any consumer
or audience need i.e. the product is created first, not the consumer need identified
and then developed. Colbert presents the differences between these approaches
and states that with a market-centred model, there is a ‘financial rather than an
artistic goal (Colbert 2007 p. 15). Some organisations display characteristics of a
hybrid approach, where a product view is also combined with financial goals and
satisfying the audience tastes and values.
Audience development strategies have evolved over many years. During the
1970’s, the focus was on understanding audience demographics and not on what
motivated audiences or their tastes for different cultural products (Kolb 2000 p.
70; Hill et al. 1995). During the 1990’s, many arts organisations researched
ways to increase audience attendance but did not focus on audience motivation
and tastes. The idea of ‘audiences as customers’ (Hill et al. 1995 p. 37) took
audience development strategies further with the concept that arts organisations
should then be concerned with understanding people’s relationships with the arts
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product. Both Kolb and Colbert comment on the lack of research on audience
experiences while attending arts events, although there has been more attention
on the ‘experiential facet of consumer behaviour’ over the last twenty years
(Colbert 2007 p. 108). Colbert discusses the concept of how consumption of
leisure goods is experiential and therefore the ‘appeal is not only to consumer’s
minds but also to their emotions’ (Colbert 2007 pp. 94 - 95). He also goes on to
describe how aesthetic experiences demand that consumers engage emotionally,
in order to evaluate and respond to the experience. By assessing this experiential
dimension of arts consumption, we can understand audience’s motivation for
attending artistic performances in greater depth.
Appropriate distribution strategies for arts products are important to ‘arouse the
interest of new audiences’ (Hill et al. 1995 p. 190). The arts have historically
relied on public relations and printed promotional material as part of their
distribution strategy (Hill et al. 1995 p. 191). This has obviously started to
change with the growth of the internet and new technological opportunities such
as SMS text messaging, e-flyers and interactive websites. As Hill et al. (1995 pp.
233 - 235) discuss, e-marketing has an important role in attracting and building
new audiences. Relationship marketing is another concept which has strong
applicability for the arts organisation and Hill et al. (1995 p. 243) state that
distribution should be concerned with establishing an appropriate relationship
with the maximum number of relevant customers. Supporting this point is
Kolb’s (2000 p. 206) view that cultural distribution strategies need to understand
the importance of psychic or emotional connection as well as physical
connection for audiences.
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2.2 The Classical Music Context
Botstein (2004 p. 40) states that the 20th century has seen a gradual loss of
general public appeal for classical music and the genre has ‘moved to the
periphery of culture and politics’. Supporting this statement are the results from
the Knight Foundation survey, conducted in 2003 in the U.S. This survey
(Brown 2003) found that the typical classical music subscriber is middle-aged or
older and classical concerts have difficulty in attracting younger audiences. In
addition, only about 10% - 15% of Americans have a close or moderately close
relationship with classical music. Another statistic from U.S. audiences in 2000
showed that classical music radio listeners accounted for only 1.5% of total
listeners. Botstein attributes the reasons for this classical audience decline due to
the affect of cultural, social and economic changes over the last century.
These changes in society have had an impact on classical music education, as
Kolb (2000) mentions, which has declined in schools and homes, but now the
younger generation is more exposed to music through the digital media such as
music video (Williams 2003). The growth of rock and pop music and its
popularity amongst the young has become their predominant form of musical
expression. Wolf (1999) describes the intense competition that now exists for
people’s entertainment dollar and time. There are now many other forms of
other entertainment available to people through television, films and the internet
and they have diminished the importance of a live performance, as it is no longer
the only means of hearing music.
Classical music has long been associated with the elite of society and it is seen to
be a form of entertainment to promote social ambition and privilege. This view
has clashed with the increasing egalitarian 20th century society as it appears not
to reflect societies’ current beliefs and consequently it can lose its relevance for a
20th century audience. Popular culture has become a source for high-art
practices in sculpture, photography and film but this cross-fertilisation rarely
materialised in new musical composition (Botstein 2004 p. 46). The classical
concert has become to a large degree a way to preserve the historical traditions
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of the past but does the audience see it as being culturally relevant for today?
Dewey, the well-known aesthetician wrote: ‘When an art product once attains
classic status, it somehow becomes isolated from the human conditions under
which it was brought into being’ (Dewey 1934 p. 3) and this has become the
situation for the classical music world in the 21st century.
The distribution of music has also had a significant impact on the declining
popularity of the classical genre: pop and rock music is well adapted to
promotion through radio, as it is much shorter than longer classical pieces. This
air-time has increased the exposure of the pop and rock music at the detriment of
the classical. The growing importance of multi-media has not been utilised in
the distribution of classical music to a great extent, while the pop/rock world has
taken advantage of it with promotion of music videos and concerts using visual
elements.
The economics of staging a classical concert also need to be considered when
determining the causes for the decline in this form of entertainment. The costs
for staging a large scale opera with its numerous participants or the costs for
touring with a full symphony orchestra are high and ticket prices would need to
be much higher than they currently are to at least cover costs. The Strong Report
(2005) highlights this situation and demonstrates that most classical music
organisations simply cannot survive without public funding. Apart from Asia,
where interest in Western classical music has increased over the last 50 years,
Europe, North America and Australia all are under pressure to reduce national
subsidies for the high arts.
2.3 The Orchestral Context
The problems already identified here for the classical music world can be
demonstrated in more detail by considering the orchestral art form. The
problems faced by orchestral music in the U.S. are highlighted in a number of
studies such as the Wolf Report (Financial Condition of Symphony Orchestras
1992), which stated that the American symphony orchestra was ‘economically
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fragile’ and in danger of becoming ‘both culturally and socially irrelevant’.
Other reports commented that it was important to popularise the orchestral
product by finding ways in which orchestras could reflect the cultural and ethnic
world around them. The strongest concern faced by most American orchestras
today is that of creating and maintaining a wider audience in an era of aging,
shrinking constituencies for the arts in general (Campbell 1996).
Authors researched identified some examples of orchestras trying to adopt a new
approach to their music performances and a good case is that of the
Collaborative Orchestra (The Collaborative Orchestra, Koch Label 2005).
Defying all preconceptions of orchestral performance, this orchestra has created
a new way for classically trained musicians to perform a rare genre-splicing
breed of music influenced by drum and bass, club, dance, jazz, funk, world and
contemporary classical music. The orchestra is a 22-piece ensemble creating
original orchestral-based performance developed from collaborations with artists
from contemporary, club, hip-hop, electronic and world music. The orchestra
aims to encourage new young audiences to experience orchestral-based
performance by taking it out to non-traditional venues.
Other various American orchestras are trying to address the problem of declining
audiences by including free concerts, theme concerts, mixed-media
presentations, pre-concert talks, new concert lengths and starting times in their
programs. The Baltimore Symphony's series of casual concerts, featuring talks,
interviews, and skits is an example of the orchestras’ adaptation to the issues
facing them.
Many authors refer to the importance of finding a new audience through an
increase in education strategies, which is increasingly understood by many
orchestras and over the past decade, there has been a virtual explosion in the
quantity and variety of education and outreach projects as American orchestras
search for new audiences and cultivate a new generation of listeners. Building a
stronger network within the community is also seen as an important strategy to
develop new audiences. Campbell (1996) presents a good example of this with
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the major ‘Community Imperative’ launched by the Saint Louis Symphony
which includes a merger with the local Community Music School and
endeavours to build a bridge to the African-American community through area
churches.
The economics of the orchestral organisation has also changed. U.S. orchestras
operating revenues rose to an all-time high in 2003-2004 of 8% but the costs
over the same period also rose by 7% (Orchestral Statistical Report 2005). In
summary, many authors highlight the problem of the increasing costs to operate
a full symphony orchestra, which means revenue must grow even faster to
prevent a reduction in profits even if some strategies are working to increase
audience numbers.
Brown (2003) discusses that one of the elements important to audiences is the
ability to use attendance at orchestral concerts as a social event and surveys
show that this aspect could be exploited more by appropriate orchestral
marketing strategies. For some people, it is the social opportunity that triggers
the decision to attend a concert. This same survey also highlights the demand in
many consumers to want a variety of repertoire in their orchestral concerts.
“Cross-over” or poly-stylistic works that reflect a wider variety of consumers’
tastes in the 21st century are still not represented widely in the orchestral concert
repertoire. However, some classical artists such as Yo Yo Ma (www.yo-
yoma.com) and Nigel Kennedy have used such repertoire to increase their
popularity.
Brown’s American audience survey found that less formality in presentation and
more interaction between the conductor/musicians and the audience would
increase their enjoyment of the performance. This result refers to the fact that
many consumers would like to see the style of presentation of the classical
concert evolve. This desire was more evident in the younger ticket buyers and
so to attract a younger audience, orchestras may need to change their style of
presentation. One of the statistics that emerged was that 50% of people who
love classical music are not attending live concerts with any regularity and this
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may be in part due to the stylistic presentation of the concert and to the way it is
marketed.
The European experience of orchestral music also has many similarities to the
situation in the U.S. Europe has traditionally had a much greater contribution to
funding from the state governments and together with its history and strong
culture of classical music, had not experienced the same degree of audience
decline as other countries. However, over the last decades the amount of
funding has reduced and audiences are also declining (Radbourne 2005). There
is a strong demand for contemporary music repertoire and cross-over style
music, so groups such as the Ensemble InterContemporain are developing new
audiences to the traditional symphony concert demographics. They have seized
on the desire for audiences to be more involved in their performances and offer
concerts where audiences can engage with the performers through more
performer/audience interaction.
The Australian situation is similar to the U.S. but is worse in some respects due
to the smaller audiences in this country and a lesser culture of private sector
philanthropy. An inquiry into the major performing arts sector (Nugent 2003)
was undertaken to see how some of these issues could be resolved. The report
gave the opinion that Australia ‘should have a vibrant major performing arts
sector that enriches Australian life and builds its image as an innovative and
sophisticated nation’. One of the suggestions for the symphony orchestras to
achieve this goal was to develop new works that allow a move away from
providing only the traditional classical repertoire. There were suggestions of
performing more popular repertoire as well as specific niche market
programming, to widen the audience base.
The Nugent Report also found that audiences’ attraction to well-known “stars”
such as high-profile soloists and conductors can provide a way of ensuring a
concert is financially successful and the Australian orchestras were encouraged
to use this way of deepening audience engagement with a performance. Another
recommendation was that arts companies change their financial dynamics
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through strengthened private sector support, community participation and co-
operation with other artistic companies. By taking a more entrepreneurial
approach, the dependency on government funding would be reduced. Part of this
requirement would involve a more sophisticated packaging and marketing of
their products, so as to compete with other forms of entertainment.
2.4 Social/Personal Aspects of Audience Development
2.4.1 Interactivity
Lewis and Bridger believe that the new consumer demands to be involved in an
‘experience’ and has a greater variety of entertainment opportunities available so
greater focus must be placed on holding their attention (Lewis and Bridger
2001). One way to do this is to give the audience more of an opportunity to
participate in a performance. The concept of audience participation in a classical
musical performance is not traditionally a feature in this style of concert and
participation is usually confined to the audience taking a purely listening role.
This one way communication from musician to audience also does not
encourage the interaction between other listeners at a concert. If we take Small’s
(1998 pp. 4 - 9) concept of the word ‘musicking’ and his theory that ‘the
meaning of music lies not just in musical works but in the totality of a musical
performance’, there is an implication that the audience has a more active role in
a performance than just listening and that other aspects than just the music
contribute to the audiences’ enjoyment of the performance. One of these aspects
is the social element of a performance, which is one of the reasons people want
to attend a concert. Small comments on the social environment of the Ranelagh
Pleasure Gardens Rotunda in the mid 1700s, where music was part of the social
scene and he highlights the difference with classical performances today (Small
1998 p. 28). The modern concert hall creates a barrier between the audience and
the performers and the social aspects are confined to a short discussion in the
intervals. This style of performance is very different to the pop or rock concerts
or festivals that use the social aspect to great effect to promote their popularity,
especially with the younger audiences.
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Arts in Motion is a spin-off company from the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra,
established in 2002 when orchestral audiences were declining. It is described as
a non-profit organisation which has reinvented classical music (Arts in Motion
2007). They have successfully addressed the challenge to incorporate inter-
activity in their performances. In one concert, audience members had the
opportunity to use touch-screen kiosks which were located throughout the
museum in which the event was held. People listened to the music and the
corresponding visual images and communicated their feelings by “drawing” their
version of the surrealist figure, which was a feature of the performance. This
data was centrally collated and was dynamically updated to represent a morphing
collage of the image, from which the musicians were able to improvise and react
to the audiences’ vision (Haeker 2005). This example is a good demonstration
of the possibilities that interactive music technology brings to 21st century
audiences, as explained in more detail in Winkler (1998). The influence of
electronic and computer generated music on the music industry in general can
also bring opportunities for integration into the classical music industry and in
particular, the contemporary orchestra. By using interactive computer music
composition techniques such as Max, spatial sensors can be used to pick up
movement by performers or audience and influence compositional process. In
this way, the performance becomes truly participatory for the audience and may
increase engagement. Connecting with the audiences’ feelings can also be taken
to another level as it is done in Indian classical performances, where the artist
may change the program depending on the audience reactions.
Houston based Orchestra X stages multimedia events in offbeat venues and
through its informal, often interactive approach to music-making, the group has
developed an audience predominantly of people in their late twenties and early
thirties (Bambarger and Bradley 2000).
The technological influences on music are also an important element for the
classical music world. Guy Dammann at the Guardian Newspaper
(http://blogs.guardian.co.uk), talks about the opportunities that technology offers
in providing a more interactive approach for audiences and this can be exploited
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by orchestras. The example referred to is the Liverpool Philharmonic, which
played a concert of Rachmaninov and Ravel for an audience of avatars on the
Second Life website in September 2007.
Radbourne (2005) discusses Ensemble Intercontemporain, which is a French
contemporary music ensemble with an international reputation for excellence in
this repertoire. The musicians with Ensemble Intercontemporain are identified
as soloists, though they play ensemble and individual works. This group
demonstrates a good example of performers’ engagement with the audience as
each artist is identifiable and thus allows the audience to connect more deeply
with each of the group. There is often the common element of engaging
personalities amongst the performers of many successful groups who are aiming
for this interactivity. The audience wants to relate to the performers. Similarly,
performers need to engage the audience with character, dynamism and a display
of warmth. Often it will be the flamboyant main conductor’s role such as
Zhubin Mehta of the New York Philharmonic (Cardinal and Lapierre 2003) or
lead violinist Richard Tognetti, Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber
Orchestra (ACO). This characteristic is present in the popular music world but
to a lesser extent in the classical music world, although there are a few
exceptions such as Nigel Kennedy or Vanessa Mae. In the past there have been
some widely popular classical musicians, such as the pianist Liszt, who had a
huge personal following.
These examples of interactive performers and performances show the power of a
collective experience, which can be greater than an isolated individual
experience.
2.4.2 Style of performance
Various authors suggest that today there is a strong emphasis on searching for
innovation, originality and making art and music more available to everyone
through less elitist strategies. Seabrook (2001) introduced the term ‘nobrow’,
which refers to the disintegration of the gap between ‘high brow’ and ‘low brow’
culture. Seabrook discusses the waning of the distinction between elite culture
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and commercial culture. Today there is a strong emphasis on appealing to the
commercial market and this is evident in arts marketing strategies. The New
York Philharmonic with executive director Zarin Mehta, has displayed many of
these successful strategies (Cardinal and Lapierre 2003), as have Kronos Quartet
(Kronos Quartet 2006). These companies have not excluded the traditional
classical repertoire from performances, but have encouraged the development of
new works. The New York Philharmonic also gives a series of free outdoor
concerts in the parks of New York every summer which opens up the mystic of
the classical orchestra to an audience that may not have otherwise attended.
Lewis and Bridger (2001) believe that with the shorter attention spans of the new
consumer, variety in programming is also important. If audiences can identify
with a performance and there is relevance for the individual consumer, the
concerts will attract an increased attendance. Dewey also talked about this
concept seventy years ago, when he described the necessity for art to be given a
direct human context to result in a much wider appeal. These factors can help to
expand the younger audience demographic, which is often missing in traditional
classical concerts. If we consider that the meaning of music is directly related to
the expression of society’s views and style (Shepherd 1991), then the importance
of relating a social relevance to a performance is evident.
Small (1998 p. 64) describes another barrier for many people in attending a
classical concert, which is that a classical concert is conducted as a rather formal
ceremony or ritual and if you are not familiar with this ritual, you may feel
excluded from the group. The people that are familiar with the ritual feel
comfortable by knowing what is expected and so the segregation of a classical
audience is evident, with people classified into two groups, and it becomes more
difficult to belong to the second group. The formal style of a classical concert
prevents the audience from being more active. Passivity in the classical
audiences is a reasonably recent phenomenon, with an example of a 1820’s Paris
audience applauding spontaneously after striking passages in a Beethoven
symphony but today this would be frowned upon. As Orchestra X’s Axelrod
comments, ‘Beethoven has never gone out of style--it's the way he is presented
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that's past tense’ (Bambarger and Bradley 2000). Orchestra X has also played
Holst's Planets in Houston's planetarium and Mozart to scenes from Amadeus, as
well as music on a Shakespearean theme to readings from the plays. Creating
this context for the performance helps people to relate more to the music and
contributes to breaking down the traditional ritual of a concert hall experience.
To attract a new customer base, which is the goal of many successful companies,
performances and the experience of the music must be fun. The importance of
comfort and flexibility in the concert experience are shown to be factors that
positively influence new consumers. One chamber music group, Music Room in
Canada (Preece 2001), has performances in intimate home surroundings, with
people sitting on the floor. Obviously for a larger audience this is not possible
but taking elements from the rock/pop concert world where the audience can
move about freely and socially interact, is one way of avoiding the confining
structure of traditional concert-going behaviour.
If many people feel disconnected from the performance style of a classical
concert, one of the reasons could be the way that the individual musicians and
performers relate to each other and as a whole. In a classical orchestral
performance, the conductor is the ‘medium through which the musicians relate to
the listener’ and their ‘personalities are submerged into the collective of the
orchestra’ as Small (1988 p. 80) describes. The players’ musical autonomy is
relinquished to the conductor and this is a hierarchical relationship. Jazz and
rock musicians take a more individual approach which allows the audience to
connect more with each performer. The hierarchical approach is a more
traditional and old-style way of working in society and this again reinforces the
ties with the past that the classical concert evokes, with the younger generation
of audiences finding it difficult to relate to this style. However there are some
examples of orchestras working on changing the style of performance to relate
more to the audience. Bramwell Tovey at the Vancouver Symphony engages the
audience with pre-concert banter, as do The Queensland Orchestra in their
Clocktower series.
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Caru and Cova (2005) state that marketing research shows there is a growing
awareness of consumers’ preference for being immersed in a thematic setting
instead of being offered a finished product. They believe that there is a strong
focus on experiential marketing and consumers looking for a total immersion
experience that can transform. This approach demonstrates the importance of
being familiar with some part of the performance, relating personally to the
artistic experience in some way and the ability to investigate new elements of the
performance. Orchestras that can program with these aspects in mind may prove
to be more successful in capturing the 21st century audience.
The U.K. radio station Classic FM has sought to change the elitist image of
classical music and has successfully brought in a younger audience (Glover
2002), showing that breaking down the barriers caused by pre-conceived ideas
about classical music should not be solely confined to the concert hall. The
station format has an absence of ‘classical snobs and academics’ and aims to
create an inclusive culture that opens up the classical repertoire to a new
audience. They have had enormous success despite criticism that it has ‘dumbed
down’, and that their play-list does not truly represent the full classical
repertoire. However, it does show that some classical works can have appeal to
a large audience when the presentation style is less formal and less intimidating
to many people.
2.4.3 Emotional/psychological connection
There is a wide body of literature on the importance of the emotional connection
that music can bring to people (Cook 1990; Davies 2004; Gabrielsson 2004;
Langer 1953). The importance of the emotions that music evokes has always
been one of the main elements of a successful composition, but given
consumers’ focus on emotional fulfilment in the 21st century (Solomon,
Bamossy and Askegaard 2002 pp. 126 - 153), this point is increasingly important
today.
The effect of the emotional experience that music causes is one of the main
reasons that we engage with music, as Davies points out in Juslin and Sloboda
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(2004). There are many musicologists who believe that having a detailed
understanding of the musical work and the context in which it was written, is
important to fully appreciate and relate to the work. Cook (1990) describes this
belief but also discusses the opposite view where the focusing on the
complicated analytical understanding of the work can detract from the aesthetic
perception and emotional engagement with the music. Over the last half century
the focus on the academic understanding of classical music has been very
important and so may have lessened the importance of the emotional
engagement.
Classical music has developed over the last century as part of a culture valuing
analytical thought as opposed to valuing its social or emotional context
(Shepherd 1991 p. 58). This may have introduced the idea that emotion is not
central to the music and as Gabrielsson describes in Juslin and Sloboda (2004 p.
458), ‘this has contributed enormously to the disengagement of the general
population from entire genres of music’. An example of this disengagement
came with Schoenberg and his concept of composition based on a mathematical
system, as was employed in his twelve tone system, which did not prove to be
popular and engaging with the majority of audiences. The focus for Schoenberg
was the intellectual rather than the emotional. However much of the classical
music repertoire does in fact utilise harmonic, melodic and rhythmic devices to
convey different emotions to its listener.
Music organises our conception of feeling into an expression of life experience,
wrote Langer (1953) and she describes the impact of music that draws the
imagination, or that references some symbolic meaning, which often has a
greater power to move the audience. There is a ‘sense of satisfaction engendered
through absorption in a piece of music’ is Cook’s (1990 p. 160) point of view
and similarly ‘the power of art lies in the sensory felt experience’ and
‘audiences, just like travellers do not return to places that they have not
connected with’ (McLean 1999). Music which investigates themes relevant to
modern society will have a greater chance of connection with the audience. The
Brisbane Festival 2005 performance of Credo demonstrated this, with many
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
audience members being moved by the powerful political message. However
Vancouver Symphony’s Tovey believes that if audiences understand the
motivation and relevance of a lot of classical music for today, this will increase
audience interest in performances. For example he comments that ‘Britney
Spears might write a song about rebelling against authority and feeling out her
sexual maturity -- well, that's exactly what Tchaikovsky did’ (MacDonald 2006).
Taking an anthropological perspective to the way listeners respond to music,
Becker in Juslin and Sloboda (2004 pp. 136 - 153) discusses the concept that the
situation and context of how we hear a piece of music and the listeners’ group
dynamics are crucial to the emotion felt by the individual listener. Davies in
Juslin and Sloboda (2004 pp. 23 - 44) also points to the effect the social
dynamics of the orchestra itself may have on influencing the expression of the
music and therefore on the listeners’ emotional responses. It is interesting to
consider Arousal Theory in the context of the classical orchestral performance.
Davies discusses this theory, which states that meaning in music is derived from
what listeners feel when listening to it e.g. the importance is put onto the reaction
of the audience. Often this is not seen to be of primary importance for the
programming and marketing of the modern day orchestra.
Cook also believes that by using different media such as visuals and movement
to accompany an orchestral performance it is possible to heighten the emotional
experience for the audience. This builds on Eisenstein’s concept of montage
(Cook 1990 p. 50), where different media can relate to one another through
shared emotional qualities.
The concept of an ‘optimal experience’ or ‘flow’ as described by
Csikszentmihalyi is described as an occasion when we feel a sense of
exhilaration and deep sense of enjoyment that stays in our memories and it is
believed that we need to focus and concentrate on the activity that we are doing
for this experience to result (Csikszentmihalyi 1990). An example of this
phenomenon is demonstrated by the band U2. A 2005 Brisbane Courier Mail
interview with The Edge, one of the members of leading world rock band U2,
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gives an insight into this moment of flow or optimal experience: he says ‘the
band and the audience reach that spine-tingling, mind-blowing point of rapture’.
This experience is something that an audience member will carry with them a
long time after the concert is finished and it will leave them wanting to return for
more. This experience can also be achieved in a classical orchestra but one of
the aspects that helps reach this state, is the interaction between performers and
audience. U2 state that ‘we invest a lot of ourselves in the performance and that
carries through and has a strength that people pick up on’. The importance of
performer/audience interaction is shown to be important in this example and the
effect of this collective influence on the individual’s enjoyment level.
2.4.4 Musical learning
Lampel et al state that ‘consumers need familiarity to understand what they are
offered, but they need novelty to enjoy it’ (Lampel, Lant and Shamsie 2000).
The novelty can be addressed by programming of new works and different
modes of presentation but the familiarity element must come from some form of
education or musical learning. This point is supported by Kolb (2000), who
believes that the importance of music education and the support for it from
family and society is evident as key elements for success. The lack of research
and development in the area of musical learning in childhood has been an issue
in Australia (Improving the Condition of School Music Education Across
Australia 2005). This has resulted in a gap in understanding and appreciation of
classical music in a society where childhood music programs are under-valued.
Kolb also shows that family influence is very strong in the development of music
appreciation. Organisations that realise that building audiences from a young
age is crucial to success are rewarded by growing audience numbers, as shown
by The Queensland’s Orchestra (TQO) success with its education program.
The importance of having some previous exposure to classical music for
heightening the enjoyment and connection to a classical music performance, is
mentioned by a number of authors. Gombrich in his book Art and Illusion writes
that ‘people have a conscious/unconscious framework of interpretation,
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
conventions, beliefs that are specific to a given culture’ (Cook 1990 p. 103).
Classical orchestral music has its foundations in the beliefs and conventions of
17th century Europe and understanding these traditions can help modern
audiences be more aware of the structure and message of the musical works and
therefore allow them to develop a stronger understanding and connection with
them. However as Cook (1990 p. 174) points out, an increased knowledge about
music does not automatically lead to an enhanced enjoyment and sometimes
listeners with less expertise can be more open in their approach. However,
encouraging audience participation in the process of understanding music can
also lead to shared ownership and assist with building audience loyalty.
There are numerous examples of modern orchestral groups investing in
education to develop audiences for the future. The New York Philharmonic
educational program is aimed at children as well as adults and includes a Young
Subscribers Club for 18 – 29 yr olds, seminars related to the season’s program
and private meetings with the maestro and musicians. TQO has a strong schools
education program which has related music to other aspects of learning such as
literature and science and allows students to watch an ‘open rehearsal’ (The
Queensland Orchestra Brochure, 2006). Arts in Motion has an education
program which helps ‘underserved students explore the connection between
contemporary and classical music traditions and make their own musical
compositions with the latest software’ (Arts in Motion 2007). The Stuttgart State
Opera (Tremblay 2004), and Musica Viva Australia (Lebrecht 1996), which
brings music to a quarter of a million school children a year, are among other
numerous companies investing in this essential part of the musical journey, as
they realise the benefits it brings. The Los Angeles Philharmonic's Composer in
the Classroom program to help children create their own music and Baltimore
Symphony's series of casual concerts, featuring talks, interviews, and skits both
open orchestral music up to a wider and younger audience and demonstrate the
success that educational programs can have in attracting and fostering new
audiences (Campbell 1996).
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2.5 Artistic Aspects of the Orchestral Product
2.5.1 Poly-stylistic music genres /Blends of instruments and sounds
The fusion of different musical genres has gained an increasing mainstream
focus over the last decade, as shown by numerous examples of integration such
as Bollywood influenced Indian instruments and styles or the use of hip-hop
rhythmic bases with traditional Western repertoire. The growing popularity of
World Music festivals such as WOMAD shows that the integration of multi-
cultural music is exciting and relevant to 21st century society. These elements
are becoming more mainstream in popular music as it reflects the nature of our
more multi-cultural global society. Compositions and performances of music
which are scored for a diverse range of instruments, are the new approach to
catering for multi-cultural and novelty hungry audiences.
At the 2005 Melbourne Arts Festival , the Philip Glass Ensemble together with a
variety of world musicians playing instruments such as the sitar, Gambian
nyanyer, Chinese pipa and didgeridoo, performed the work Orion, ‘a
collaborative concert work’ (Philip Glass's Orion 2005) which has received
world-wide acclaim. Similarly Fabrica’s Credo performances in Brisbane and
Paris produced a global integration of musical styles and sounds with live
musicians playing different cultural music genres, synchronised to video images
which were then accompanied by a traditional symphony orchestra.
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) has successfully developed a new
performance called The Edge, which has around 40 musicians playing a more
contemporary pop style program. The ASO players using microphones are
joined by vocalists and a band and play a program which includes music by
Radiohead and Coldplay. The performance is held in a club-style venue and has
been a sell-out in 2006, attracting a largely younger audience (The Strad
Newspaper Pleasers: ASO and Tonhalle 2007).
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VCO) has explored pop crossovers,
teaming up with Jann Arden and Spirit of the West. VCO has also accompanied
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iconic American pop composer Burt Bacharach on hits such as What the World
Needs Now Is Love. Orchestra X repertoire includes a mix of old with new and
classical with popular such as using the Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony as an
encore.
The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s (ACO) 2006 The Travellers concerts
presented a program that blended the sounds of the Egyptian oud and percussion
with the chamber orchestra. Due to the nature of the Maqam based music, an
element of improvisation was part of the performance and the ACO mirrored the
Arabic style in a counterpoint to the oud. The innovation and beauty of this
program was popular with the broader audience demographic that attend the
ACO performances (personal observation).
In 2005, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra commissioned its first work, Melody
Waves by a Western composer, Michael Nyman. This work is scored for 70
traditional Chinese instruments ranging from the erhu (a python skin and
rosewood fiddle) to a sheng — an extraordinary cross between a bassoon and a
pipe organ which gives the orchestra its tuning, along with traditional Western
instruments (Brown 2005).
As part of the Barbican Connect series, the Icelandic 4 piece band sigur ros
composed and performed a piece with the London Sinfonietta and choir. The
music blended the sounds of guitars, drum kits, electronics and a stone marimba,
an instrument built from 54 natural stones (www.sigur-ros.co.uk Sigur Ros
Reviews 2005).
The concerto for turn-table and the redbullartsechro is another innovative
example of mixed use of instruments. The orchestra was the concept of the
company Red Bull, and has successfully aimed at attracting a younger, more hip
audience by integrating a modern influence into the orchestral performance.
Their concerts in 2005 at Carnegie Hall had the soloist DJ Radar and the
turntable as the feature instrument, bringing a hip-hop influence to the music
(Sandow 2005). The Glyndebourne Opera has also taken inspiration from the
world of hip-hop with a 2006 production of Cosi Fan Tutte School4Lovers,
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featuring undisclosed amounts of rap-Mozart, in an effort to bring the twenty-
something audiences in and create a relevance to current musical trends while
still producing high-art (Sandow 2005).
2.5.2 Inter-sensory perception
To consider another aspect that can contribute to a greater level of audience
connectivity with a music performance, it is important to look at the increasing
use of other art forms such as visual and dance which are used in conjunction
with the music. In the artistic roots of some cultures such as Brazil, music and
dance were intrinsically linked and this is still the case with many of the African-
influenced societies. Another example of the linking of the visual with music
was demonstrated by Scriabin’s wish that the audience wear white clothing to
allow the reflection of colours to ‘wash them in the emotions of sound’ with the
1915 performance of Promotheus: A Poem of Fire (Winzenried 2006). The
Philadelphia Orchestra also used integration of colours and sounds in
performances in 1926.
Cook talks about kinesthetic and visual representations of music reinforcing the
audible and believes they can help in imagining the overall structure of the music
(Cook 1990 p. 103). He describes a phenomenon where the music acquires
specific meaning by virtue of its alignment and interaction with words and
pictures. This phenomenon can be taken to the extreme with the concept of
synaesthesia, described as ‘input in one sensory mode to excite an involuntary
response in another’. Eisenstein in Cook (1990 p. 57) speaks about a hidden
inner synchronisation of the music and the visuals. Music that shares patterns
with visual information may contribute to greater attention and consciousness is
also a concept discussed in Juslin and Sloboda (2004 p. 259). This concept is
developed further by Williams (2003) in his analysis of music video. Here he
describes music video’s ability to create a certain mood for the viewer and to be
representative of a defined cultural style. The visuals and music are not separate
things but ‘entwined in the act of expression’ (Williams 2003 p. 138).
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
While modern orchestras are searching for new ways to engage audiences, a few
have started to use this phenomenon to draw in a different audience
demographic. Musician/critic David Lasserman asked in the Guardian
newspaper: ‘Is our culture too visual now to support the traditional orchestral
concert performance mode?’ (Lasserman 2002). The visual component is very
important to the 21st century audience and a number of musical performances
have started to recognise this very successfully. Jack McAuliffe, Chief
Operating Officer of the American Symphony Orchestra League believes that
visual components in an orchestral concert are ‘helping the culturally aware non-
attender with a point of entry’ (Stearns 2004). The MTV generation audiences
are used to seeing their music accompanied by images and the integration of
video within a performance adds to the experience (Williams 2003). Can 21st
century orchestras incorporate some style of VJ-ing that is a multimedia
performance with music and video played live by a video jockey, in the same
way that a DJ plays music? There are some adventurous examples by a number
of orchestras proving popular with audiences.
Kronos Quartet’s Visual Music series with performances was described by The
Times Newspaper (Visual Music: Press Quotes 2005) as ‘something new and
entrancing’ and incorporated video, lighting, pre-recorded sound and musical
‘sculpture’. The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s Luminous performances,
Orchestra X’s multi-media performances and Fabrica’s Credo production have
also shown some possibilities for visual integration with music. Arts in Motion
have taken the visual music to a new level by creating a synaesthetic 3D score
visualisation technique, capturing the real-time synchronisation with live
performance and are receiving a great audience response. The Philadelphia
Orchestra’s pre-recorded Symphonie Fantastique with accompanying underwater
images has sell-out audiences (Stearns 2004). Vancouver Symphony and the
New York Philharmonic have also used live large screen images of the
musicians projected to the audiences (Pogrebin 2004).
While a multi-media performance may improve the experience for many
audience members, it was mentioned by many of the orchestral audience studies
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
that visual music is more popular with new subscribers rather than the traditional
audience and so this needs to be considered when programming. The Dallas
Symphony conducted research that showed its use of visuals was liked by 70%
of its audience but the rest found it distracting (Stearns 2004).
Concerts can be enhanced by the use of sophisticated lighting techniques, a good
example of which is demonstrated by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (Trans
Siberian Orchestra 2005), who successfully combine multi-media light shows
with a variety of program repertoire. The ability to assist the change in mood of
the music with different coloured lighting, emulates the successful use of this
technique in the rock music world. On the Chinese National Orchestra’s tour of
Australia in 2006, their concerts featured a strong visual element with the use of
lights to create an almost rock concert style atmosphere.
It is not only visuals that can enhance the experience of an orchestral concert or
performance, but movement or dance. Cook (1998 p. 78) describes the concept
that music embodies movement and this allows for a natural integration of music
and movement within a performance. A 2005 production of Grand by Sydney
Dance Company illustrated this mixing of art forms with a pianist and dance
choreography. The Lincoln Centre in New York has invested large amounts in
its New Visions series which promotes cross-over of art forms as has the
Barbican centre in London with its Connect series. Queensland Orchestra’s
2005 Clocktower Series used tango dancing with a Spanish repertoire program
very effectively to demonstrate the concept of inter-sensory perception.
In reviewing aspects of different sensory perceptions, orchestral concerts which
simply use a juxtaposition of different styles of music can also be considered.
Juxtaposition of widely divergent musical styles is nothing new but in recent
years have become very popular, with examples of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road
Project or Concerto Köln's recording Dream of the Orient (Oestrich 2004). The
Lincoln Centre’s 2004 Mostly Mozart Festival included a first half program by a
Persian-Indian instrumental ensemble, Ghaza, followed by Mozart’s Requiem in
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
the second half. As Oestrich points out ‘the results can be illuminating when the
styles truly speak to each other’.
2.6 Economic Aspects and Distribution Strategies
2.6.1 Networking/Business Partnerships
Darso talks about a new wave of arts and business partnerships that rely on
complementary relationships, with both companies using a similar marketing
message that reflects their values and market positioning. Rather than a purely
financial relationship, both arts and business can learn from each and build the
‘creative economy’ of the future (Darso 2003). One successful partnership is
shown in the company Red Bull’s support of the new orchestra
‘redbullartsechro’. This is not a philanthropic relationship but a profit making
venture, where the vision is to create something innovative and modern as
described with their project of concerto for turn table with a DJ as the soloist.
Another good example of reciprocity is the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in
Finland (Ropo and Sauer 2003), where leadership tasks such as visioning,
networking, resource acquisition and change management were shared among
orchestra members and its partners.
Another aspect of good business partnerships demonstrated by some
organisations is the important reliance on audience, community and
entertainment industry support, to leverage promotional opportunities.
Tafelmusik’s success shows the benefits of developing support within the local
market and loyalty within this audience base (Gainer 1999). The educational
benefits of this strategy are also evident. Gainer makes the point, as do many
authors, that in most countries, government funding and subsidies for the arts
have been dramatically cut over the last years and the reliance on the commercial
model is essential to the future survival of this industry. Many successful
orchestras realise the importance of connecting with the activities of their local
communities and building a loyal audience base. Joint promotional strategies for
community events open up the orchestra to another market that may not be
targeted by traditional marketing strategies. The opera world has also
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
experienced a problematic elitist image, in a similar way to the orchestral world.
A good example of overcoming this image is shown by the Stuttgart State Opera
who have tried to undertake more ‘collaborative projects with artists in other
disciplines’ (Tremblay 2004 p. 64), thus allowing the Opera to increase its reach
beyond the traditional audience base. This is a strategy that has worked well for
the Opera. The English Chamber Orchestra relies more on private support than
public subsidy and has developed a successful model of corporate sponsorship,
fundraising galas and individual donations, which emphasise the strong ties with
the local community (Chong and Trappey 2001).
The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, a chamber orchestra in Bremen, Germany
works with local composers, music educators, and students on a variety of
projects within the local school system (Campbell 1995). Also in Germany, The
Berliner Symphoniker has become a successful model for a completely privately
funded orchestra, in a reaction against the huge reduction in government
subsidies. The Saint Louis Symphony’s Community Imperative involves a
merger with the local Community Music School and building a bridge to the
African-American community through area churches, which is another example
of how networking can assist an orchestra (Campbell 1996). The Australian
Chamber Orchestra relies on a strong network of sponsorship and fundraising to
ensure 87% of its budget is met by these methods and box office receipts (ACO
Posts Strong Surplus 2005).
The network provided by the entertainment/music industry can also be leveraged
to great advantage. The trend towards ‘plug and play’ or virtual organisations
(Bryne and Brandt 1992) within the Creative Industries enables companies to
exploit fast-changing market opportunities and share costs and skills. The
orchestral company should not try to exist in isolation but instead take advantage
of networks for developing repertoire, finding performers, event management,
distribution, marketing and production material.
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
2.6.2 Strong branding and marketing
Without a strong branding and identity the modern orchestra or music
performance will not be successful and this is supported by numerous examples
from the research. In the technological age, electronic marketing is becoming
increasingly important and a sophisticated website is an essential component of
the marketing strategy.
One of the important revelations for classical arts marketing is the importance of
leveraging social networks when targeting consumers as shown by the survey
conducted by Saatchi & Saatchi and Costantoura (2001). Attending a concert is
a social occasion for many audience members. There is a general increasing
decline in the traditional subscriber base and modern audiences tend to be less
loyal, so focusing on the single ticket buyers and analysis for segmented
marketing and niche programming are all important themes. Rentschler
describes the example of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. To try and attract
the 18 – 35 yr old audience, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra launched its
Classic Attitude product (Rentschler 2002 p. 56), which was a combination of
music events, social outings and information. The popularity of the social events
also attracted new sponsors for the orchestra and the way the program was
marketed focused on relationship marketing and emphasised the experience of
seeing the orchestra live. After two years, the program successfully attracted
over 600 subscribers.
Arts in Motion have used viral marketing strategies to develop their audience
base. Eric Haeker, the artistic director and Chief Executive Officer
communicated that they are ‘interested in developing promotional strategies that
capture the younger demographics, who are less likely to subscribe and will
require social context before they attend’ (Haeker 2005). Viral marketing is a
way of attracting this younger demographic. Leveraging a corporate business
partner’s marketing strategy can be very beneficial and Arts in Motion have
demonstrated this point well, with their joint promotion with Red Bull for the
concerto for turntable.
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
Consumers need to identify with the message of the company and marketing
needs to reflect this (Kotler P. and Scheff 1997 p. 25). They make the point that
the ‘essence of art is in its communication with the audience’. By implementing
marketing strategies that balance the artistic decision-making process with
audience needs and preferences, the orchestra is more likely to generate a
positive result. Kotler and Scheff also discuss the factors that influence
consumer behaviour and the implications for arts marketing. Macro-
environmental trends, cultural factors, social, psychological and personal factors
all contribute to consumers’ decisions in attending and enjoying an event. For
example, they refer to the Atlanta Symphony’s campaign to attract Generation X
audiences with a series of coffeehouse discussions that aimed to portray classical
music composers’ human side and struggle for identity. Similarly, marketing to
more mature audiences who are more motivated by experience than the actual
product, according to Wolfe (1993), can be focused on experiential marketing
strategies.
Also in today’s global society, a company needs to ensure global exposure so
touring can be an important part of the strategy. The London Symphony
Orchestra (LSO) has found that by incorporating a large touring component in
their total number of concerts each year, this exposure to a wider audience has
increased revenues. The LSO is very well received in Germany and the U.S.
(Garbolinski 2006).
Vancouver Symphony’s Tovey comments that ‘you can simultaneously
challenge your audience by programming great works and expand your base
with savvy PR’ (MacDonald 2006) and this is borne out by the fact that their
average ticket buyer is a half decade younger than five years ago. LSO’s
Garbolinski states that it ‘is important to program a not too avant-garde mix and
keep prices competitive’.
A remarkably articulate and charismatic figure, Orchestra X’s Axelrod has
helped to develop the organisation’s brand, one that has adventurous programs
staged in non-traditional venues (Bambarger and Bradley 2000).
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
Research conducted by Kolb (2001 pp. 51-58) with the Philharmonia Orchestra
in the U.K. identified that specific targeted marketing for different niche markets
will attract new audiences for classical concerts. Many of the reasons that
audiences want to attend a concert are due to social and family links and so
orchestras should also ‘invest more heavily in family concerts and community
outreach’, Kolb found.
2.6.3 Entrepreneurial Management
Many companies can show the benefits of employing an entrepreneurial
approach to their business as Bhide’s research shows (Bhide 1994) and in the
arts and music field this is demonstrated by being innovative, visionary and
taking some risks with new ventures. New York Philharmonic’s (NYP)
executive director Zarin Mehta has been called ‘an audacious manager’
(Cardinal and Lapierre 2003 pp. 64 - 73). The NYP has successfully built up a
network of private donations and over half of its budget is derived from the box
office; it does not rely on public subsidy. The development of these private
donations has been greatly assisted by the personality and drive of Zarin Mehta.
He has also encouraged the greater use of information technology to attract a
greater number of subscribers. Another factor of his success is his good
communication with the musicians, something he considers to be ‘an essential
part of an executive director’s management of an orchestra’.
An entrepreneurial approach is supportive of the important ability to leverage
networks, by collaborating with the right partners and resources in the
development of new works and in the promotion of these works.
In the 21st century, there is a significant change in the structure of human
resource management. Some companies are taking a more flexible approach to
finding the best artists. Examples researched showed the benefits of a freelance
model for employment, which can have significant financial and other
advantages. The English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) (Chong and Trappey 2001)
and Canada’s Tafelmusik (Gainer 1999) successfully demonstrate this flexibility,
as they do the importance of a leadership, a facilitator and a mentor role within
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
the company. The ECO recognises the importance of each of the individual
players and each has their ‘unique personality’, something that is encouraged by
the orchestral manager, Ballardie. Ballardie, who is also the artistic director, has
been described as a dynamic and forceful leader and these characteristics have
contributed to the success of the ECO. Another innovative example of orchestral
management is from the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, which is successfully
self-governing and players make the decisions. This has ‘kept up motivation
amongst players and identification with what they are doing’ (Campbell 1995 p.
15).
The Steve Reich Ensemble is an example of a group that has employed a flexible
working style. As a composer-led ensemble, this has ‘altered the traditional
route by which classical composers disseminate and promote their music’ (Steve
Reich Musicians 2007). The size of the ensemble fluctuates depending on the
works to be performed, and in this way, produces an economically viable model.
Steve Reich’s music, which uses minimalism and has influences from different
cultures such as African rhythms, has been able to overcome the barrier between
high art and popular music and attracts a niche market audience.
2.6.4 Distribution Channels
The extensive U.S. classical music survey already discussed (Brown 2003)
showed that half of the people who most love classical music are not attending
live concerts with any regularity and consumers sustain and enhance their
interest through radio and recordings. Recognising the importance of recordings
and radio play and increasing internet distribution channels are therefore
essential strategies for the modern day orchestra.
The electronic media has become a much greater influence in people’s lives
today and the survey found that increasing ownership of radio and the use of
recordings is ‘strategic to the long-term vitality of the orchestra field’. The
success of Classic FM in the U.K. shows the potential of marketing and making
the music less elitist; there was a revenue increase of 23% over the year 2002
and the station has had success in attracting a younger audience. Classic FM
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
have tried to create an ‘inclusive culture around classical music’ and allow
audiences to go on an emotional journey with the music, thereby developing
greater connectivity with this style of music as Glover (2002) describes in his
article. The New York Philharmonic utilises both the radio and television media
to reach a greater number of listeners, with great effect. This brings up the
question of why other orchestras don’t consider owning or operating a music
radio station as a way of developing their marketing avenues.
Music accessed via the internet is the largest growing market for the music
industry, as shown by figures from The Recording Industry Association of
America (www.riaa.com, 2007). Websites that provide music downloads for
technology such as iPods are important to the younger generation, but it isn’t
only pop music that has the potential to benefit in this direction. When the BBC
offered free downloads of a piece by Beethoven, it was more popular than
expected (Beethoven is Download Favourite 2005). Many of the successful
orchestras offer their recordings to be available as mp3 downloads via the
internet, as they realise the importance of being part of this growing market and
its influence on the desired younger audience demographic. This growth in the
digital media also opens the door to promote more multi-media offerings to
potential audiences. As iPods now display the visual as well as the aural,
orchestras and classical music may need to follow this trend when considering
their market and promotion strategies for future recordings.
Interesting statistics on classical album sales in the U.S. showed that while sales
of albums were down 15% from 2004 to 2005, the number of digital downloads
of classical music was up 93.9 % during that same year (Tsioulcas 2006 pp. 44-
45). While still not as large an increase on other digital music sales, these
statistics demonstrate that classical music can find new markets and orchestras
wanting to promote their brand should employ the digital arena.
Orchestra X has independently produced its first CD, a live recording of
Prokofiev's Classical Symphony. Retailing for $10, the disc is available at
Houston-area outlets as well as direct from the orchestra. By aiming to capture
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
the Generation X audience demographic, the disc was not only manufactured in
a punk-looking X shape but mixed with an upfront, rock-oriented sonic model in
mind. With its merchandise sales, Orchestra X also seems more like a rock band
than an orchestra (Bambarger and Bradley 2000). LSO have also focused on a
number of live recordings, due to the popularity of this mode of recording
(Garbolinski 2006). Signings of CDs after a concert also encourages a stronger
connection with the audience and develops the persona of the orchestral
members with the public.
2.7 Conclusions from Literature
After identifying and analysing the key themes and attributes that are important
to the 21st century audience and therefore critical for orchestral organisations, a
model can be constructed that incorporates these themes and attributes. Based
on an interpretation of the findings, a combination of factors has been used to
construct a framework, designed to assist orchestras to achieve a sustainable
product and business. Given the relative lack of research within the orchestral
marketing field with regard to audience experiences, a new classification and
paradigm for orchestral marketing can be developed. This classification enables
the common themes and attributes to be divided into three broad categories; the
social and personal, the artistic and the economic. Employing a combination of
all these factors will involve some interaction between the different factors, so it
is important to consider the effect of the entire framework. This framework
could then be used by orchestral organisations to increase their level of audience
connectivity and it may contribute to orchestral sustainability.
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
Table 2: 21st Century Orchestral Sustainability Framework
Social/Personal Artistic
Economic
Performer/audience
interaction
Poly-stylistic music
genres
Networking/business
partnerships
Style of performance Blend of different
instruments and sounds
Strong branding and
marketing
Emotional and
psychological connection
Inter-sensory perception
using visuals and
theatre
Entrepreneurial
management
Musical Learning
Variety of distribution
channels
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 The Research Project
The methodology was designed to investigate if the combined elements of the
21st Century Orchestral Sustainability Framework contribute to an increased
audience connection with the orchestral performance and to test if this leads to a
model for orchestral sustainability. The research hypothesis is that: Increased
audience connectivity contributes to orchestral sustainability.
While each framework factor is considered independently in the research, it is
assumed that there is interaction and dependencies between the different factors.
Further research may investigate the importance of these interactions and
whether some factors are more important than others.
3.2 The Interpretative Paradigm
As there are many aspects to investigate within the hypothesis, I have chosen to
take a mixed paradigm view for interpretation of the research.
At this point, I should describe my background and how I believe this will bring
a particular perspective on the research. I have been involved with music from
an early age, primarily learning in the Western classical tradition. A pianist,
violinist and singer, I have experienced the enjoyment of playing in an orchestra
as well as in choirs, chamber groups and also as a soloist. In addition, I have
travelled widely and have seen how different cultures relate to and express
themselves through music. I have had direct experience of the barriers
constructed by participants in the classical music world and I believe that this
music was composed to be enjoyed and experienced by the general public, as
referred to by the term ‘musicking’ (Small 1998). The orchestral art form has
the potential to be discovered by a wider range of people, if these barriers can be
dismantled.
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
These personal and social factors have fused together to create a desire within
me to research and investigate ways for the orchestral art form to be opened up
to a wider audience and to give this new audience the opportunity to participate
in what can be great emotional experiences.
This background ontology is relevant as it will influence the qualitative research
approach I have taken. The research is framed in an ideology where a great
musical performance can be a transcendental experience; where the individual
and the collective audience members connect with the music and have the ability
to express themselves and their beliefs through the music. For this to occur, the
music performance must incorporate elements that are relevant for the personal,
social, artistic and cultural backgrounds of the 21st century audience.
An analysis of other existing orchestras and other forms of music performance
has helped build the factors in the Orchestral Sustainability Framework, and
therefore there is a strong constructivist paradigm to the research. As discussed
in the literature review, there is still little research on audience experiential
factors within orchestral performances. This has enabled this particular research
study to construct the framework of factors in a new environment and applying
new approaches, that is using a participatory constructivism from the audiences’
perspective. Patterns have been observed that lead to successful orchestral
performances and these have been used to form the main factors of the
framework. In taking this approach, the research draws on Schwandt’s concept
of ‘inventing concepts, models and schemes to make sense of experience’
(Schwandt 1994 p. 197). As the various factors in the framework are dependent
upon the context that they are observed, different geographies and cultural
influences, the construction of the framework is contingent and contextual
(Denzin and Lincoln 2000). The investigation of the elements of emotional and
psychological audience connectivity is dependent upon the way these elements
are measured and consequently there is some subjectivity to the analysis.
In considering how the research will fit within the various interpretative
paradigms, it is important to emphasise the relevance of data interpretation to the
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
research findings. Charmaz (2000 pp. 523-524) expresses it as: ‘Data do not
provide a window on reality. Rather the discovered reality arises from the
interactive process and it temporal, cultural and structural contexts. Researchers
and subjects frame that interaction and confer meaning upon it.’ This is true of
the research approach being taken, as the data from the various existing
orchestras and the prototype Deep Blue Orchestra are dependent upon the
cultural environment in which they perform, the audience demographics and
time and place; all of these aspects are continuously changing and so the
orchestral sustainability factors are relevant as long as these temporal, cultural
and structural contexts exist. In this way, the Orchestral Sustainability
Framework must be constantly re-interpreted to ensure it is relevant for a
dynamically changing 21st century society. Part of the research process will be
to continually reassess and refine concepts as investigations are conducted and
new data is obtained.
While there is an interpretive perspective for the research, there is also a part that
is more quantitative in nature. The audience survey data and box office
information have been used to show the impact of the orchestral sustainability
factors and their contribution to increasing profitability for the organisation.
Here a more objectivist methodology was employed by analysing the data to
determine the effect of the various orchestral sustainability factors. The
audience responses were measured in some questions using a Likert Scale
enabling the importance of the factors could be compared. Analysis of the
selected case study concert performances was undertaken, to determine the
percentage of the audience that liked the demonstration of the factors. For
example, questions were asked to the audience to assess their enjoyment of the
visual components of the performance. A high positive response on a factor
could then be interpreted to contribute to audience connectivity.
There is also an element of a cultural studies paradigm, since there is certainly a
dependency on different social fabrics and economic structures affecting the
audiences’ decision making preferences. The way different cultures experience
music and their music educational backgrounds have a large influence on
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
audiences’ appetite for certain styles of music performances. One of the factors
being investigated, the growth of poly-stylistic genres in music, also
demonstrates how the 21st century multi-cultural society is influencing the
musical repertoire. The importance of distribution channels for music through
the e-media has also opened up a much wider audience. The research
investigates if this means a more homogeneous style of performance is
demanded due to the effects of this globalization or if in fact, that niche markets
are more easily promoted and provided for.
As there are many perspectives and many different ways of looking at the data
within this study, the term bricolage can be used to reflect the approach. A
bricolage is ‘a construction that changes and takes new forms as different tools,
methods and techniques of representation and interpretation are added to the
puzzle’ (Weinstein and Weinstein 1991 p. 161). Using the bricolage concept, the
research study has gathered data from different perspectives to see the bigger
picture, rather than analysing the audience data in isolation. It was anticipated
that the Orchestral Sustainability Framework will be an evolving construct, with
its factors changing as the social, artistic and economic environments themselves
change over time.
It is also important to discuss the concept of crystallisation in relation to the
research study. As Richardson (1994 p. 522) describes, this process allows the
researcher to take a multi-dimensional approach to investigation and to see
through the ‘many facets’ that can influence the study. In this research, looking
at historical, sociological, psychological, economic and musical aspects will
acknowledge the influence from many diverse areas on the orchestral art form.
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
3.3 The Research Strategy
The methodology has followed primarily a qualitative methodology to interpret
and understand how the audiences connect with the music performance
experience in the context of orchestral performances. I have drawn on a variety
of empirical devices to conduct the research and these are:
• Case studies
• Action Research
• Interviews
• Participant observation
The case study has been chosen as the primary method of research, because in
this way patterns that have been identified as contributing to 21st century
orchestral success can be investigated more deeply and in the context of a
current and practical situation. Stake (2000 p. 448) expresses the use of case
studies as being of ‘value for refining theory and suggesting complexities for
further investigation, as well as helping to establish the limits of
generalisability’. The patterns identified in the literature review can be refined
through the particular case studies chosen and also it can be determined if the
factors can be applied in general, or if they are specific to a certain situation.
The diversity of data that results from a case study has helped to provide a
thorough understanding of the importance of the various Orchestral
Sustainability Framework factors and how a particular factor contributes to the
overall success of the organisation. Following the concept of crystallisation, the
opportunity that a case study provides to view the data in a multi-faceted way,
can bring a deeper understanding of the interaction of all the data. This has been
relevant to understand the interaction of the framework factors in each case
study.
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
In the case studies, data was gathered from face-to-face in-depth interviews,
audience focus groups and surveys, literature analysis and performance
observations. For the interviews, which included the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) or the Artistic Director of the chosen case study orchestra, questions were
asked relating to the social and personal, artistic and economic elements, as
described in the Orchestral Sustainability Framework. It is natural that some
bias will exist from the interviewees when discussing their organisations, so the
audience data is important to complement the internal data. For the audience
focus groups and surveys, these were implemented for a few chosen
performances, where the context reflected the integration of the framework
factors. One of these examples was TQO staging of its Sci-Fi extravaganza in
August 2006, which brought together visuals, new repertoire, theatrical elements
and promotion to a wider audience demographic. The choice of the participants
in the focus groups represents different demographics such as non-arts attendees,
traditional classical symphony attendees and a broad range of age groups. Focus
group discussions enable researchers to tie together clusters of behaviour that
relate to a given consumer decision or action (Debus 1996). Also, group
interaction can stimulate richer responses and new ideas can be generated from
this type of research. It is important not to just look at the box office attendance
figures but the aspects that encouraged the audience to attend the performance.
These post performance focus groups have not been widely used in Australia but
the method of audience reception studies as discussed in Sauter (1986) is
growing in popularity. The audience surveys have provided an element of
quantitative data and this has supported the qualitative responses. In the surveys,
a Likert scale was used to measure the audience engagement and connectivity
with some of the Orchestral Framework factors. I have generalised some of the
assumptions from the research found in one case study where possible. From
these generalisations, the relevance of the Orchestral Sustainability Framework
factors is assessed, in the context of the research hypothesis.
This research has also contributed to an Australia Research Council (ARC)
funded project. The partners contributing to the project are QUT, TQO, Creative
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
Media Warehouse and The Brisbane Festival. As the research assistant on the
project, one of the advantages was that I could contribute to the development of
a prototype orchestral model and use it to test the factors in my Orchestral
Sustainability Framework. This prototype is the Deep Blue Orchestra, which
‘explores orchestral futures, marrying the traditional string section of the
orchestra with the 5th section digital and electronics and it combines with a DJ
and VJ with cameras, screens and lighting’ (Brisbane Festival program 2006).
As part of this project, the research and in particular the audience focus groups
and surveys were used to influence the choices of repertoire and presentation
style for the Deep Blue Orchestra. As a participant observer, I was able to be
very involved in all aspects of the research and get a strong understanding of the
Deep Blue Orchestra’s objectives and the other people involved. Participant
observation can involve a ‘range of research methods such as informal
interviews, direct observation, participation in the life of the group, collective
discussions, analyses of personal documents produced within the group, self-
analysis, and life-histories’ (Wikipedia 2007). This involvement provided a
deeper understanding of the Deep Blue Orchestra performances.
The selection of the case studies is integral to the research and here Stake (2000
p. 435 - 449) is referred to for a distinction between an intrinsic and an
instrumental case study. He defines a case study as being intrinsic if ‘the
researcher wants to gain a better understanding of the particular case’. This case
does not necessarily represent other orchestras but because of its uniqueness is
interesting to research. The Deep Blue Orchestra case study has this role in the
research. Stake also defines an instrumental case study, which ‘is examined
mainly to provide insight into an issue or to redraw a generalisation’. The
particular case studies have been chosen for the study because each of them
appears to display characteristics of at least some of the framework factors and
so should be representative of other orchestral groups demonstrating the same
characteristics. As the Deep Blue Orchestra was evolving over the research
period, it was possible to assess the impact of all the elements in the framework
with this orchestra and then generalise to other orchestras, where appropriate.
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
The Queensland Orchestra, being an established orchestra with a more defined
product and audience development strategies, was able to provide a different
perspective for the research study. Not all the framework factors were
observable in TQO case study and this brings out an important point about the
relationship between both case studies. Some of the framework factors could be
tested with the Deep Blue Orchestra and then TQO could determine the
suitability of these elements for its own product. However when there are
atypical features in a case study as Stake points out, it is not necessary to
generalise all the aspects of a particular situation. For example, the Deep Blue
Orchestra was used as part of the ARC research project and so many of the
initial artistic and development decisions may change over time, as the needs of
a commercial product outweigh the research objectives. Another aspect to
consider in the case selection is the opportunity to gain access to information,
which again refers to one of Stake’s criteria for selection. For this reason, TQO
is an important case, as due to proximity and partnership in the project, they can
provide access to depth of data gathered over a long period of time. This last
point refers to the importance of longitudinal research which allows for
establishing patterns of change over a period of time (Menard 1991). It also
highlights the advantage of using this case, where access to information not
available to an outsider can assist with the research analysis. Due to the time
frame over which the research has been conducted, it hasn’t been possible to
consider a longitudinal approach. This provides the opportunity to do further
research in the future that would consider the change in audience connectivity
before and after an orchestral framework factor was implemented.
One disadvantage of the case study approach can be observer bias and the fact
that the researcher must decide on the actual questions to ask. Part of this is
deciding on what data is relevant to investigate the particular research questions.
For this study, it must be acknowledged that the Orchestral Sustainability
Framework factors bring a certain focus to the analysis of the data. Therefore
some other aspects that influence the sustainability may not be investigated here.
While an in-depth negative case analysis may not be part of this thesis, the
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
Literature Review has drawn on some negative case examples to show situations
where the opposite effect occurs e.g. when audience connectivity is reduced.
The research study employed some elements of an Action Research approach
within the Deep Blue Orchestra case. Action Research can be described as a
‘spiral of self-reflective cycles’ which involves planning a change, implementing
this change, reflecting on the change and then re-planning etc (Kemmis and
McTaggart 2000 p. 595). The development of a prototype orchestra offers the
opportunity to test some of the Orchestral Sustainability Framework factors and
then refine them, depending on the reaction of the audiences. Action Research is
‘best undertaken collaboratively’, which allows for a ‘social process of learning’
as described by Kemmis and McTaggart. As there are a number of partners
involved with the Deep Blue Orchestra development, each can contribute, based
on their respective skills and knowledge. These contributions include input from
freelance musicians about performance styles, marketing strategies and branding
from Creative Media Warehouse, repertoire development and overall production
from QUT and audience reactions from the market research studies, which
should all be integrated to shape the evolution of this new orchestra. Using an
Action Research approach, which demonstrates the changing ways interaction
occurs within a musical organisation, perhaps could then be used as a model for
orchestral development itself, to help break-away from the hierarchical
operations of a traditional symphony orchestra.
In addition to the case studies and Action Research, some performance
observation experiences have been included in the analysis. Some examples of
these performances are:
• TQO Clocktower Series, which often demonstrates use of inter-sensory
perception with a combination of music and theatre
• The Chinese National Orchestra, which demonstrates the blend of
instruments and musical styles and performer/audience interaction
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
• The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s The Travellers concerts, which
demonstrates poly-stylistic repertoire, entrepreneurship and for me,
emotional connectivity
One innovative method employed in the collection of data in the Deep Blue
Orchestra case study was the use of SMS data to determine audience reactions to
the concert performances. Use of an SMS data survey to elicit feedback from a
concert audience is a relatively new concept but the Deep Blue Orchestra
research project aimed to try out new approaches in research methodology as
well as in artistic areas. SMS surveys are increasingly being used in advertising
for research (Balabanis and Mitchell 2007 pp. 369 - 385) but have not been
widely used in the performing arts as yet. Prior to the performance, the audience
were given information on how to SMS their response to the performance. They
were not given any specific questions to respond to but simply asked to SMS any
thoughts, feelings or observations that they had, at anytime during the
performance. When the SMS data was collated and analysed, it was possible to
associate an individual SMS with the time it was received and so comments
could be associated with a particular moment in the performance. This method
of analysing case study data brought a degree of flexibility and allowed for an
immediacy of response. It is important to consider whether the audience was
influenced by responding in this manner. By being asked to reflect on the
performance, it may have given them a different experience of the performance
than it would have done otherwise. The interactivity of the SMS method was
also in keeping with the aim of interactivity with the Deep Blue performance and
so in a way, this research methodology contributed to the theme and style of the
orchestra. It is important to consider some of the weaknesses of the SMS data
method. As SMS responses are usually quite succinct, the limited number of
words means that each word used can be very powerful and full of meaning.
However this also means that a misinterpretation of a particular word can affect
the data analysis and so there is a requirement for precision in interpretation and
therefore the possibility of researcher error. As the demographic for SMS use is
often higher in the younger male age group as Balabanis and Mitchell
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
discovered, this may bias the data, as the responses will not be coming from the
entire audience. In addition to the SMS data, another innovative method of
collating data was used. Audience members were encouraged to write their
thoughts on the tablecloths, as they sat and listened to the Deep Blue
performance. This also provided a free-form and anonymous way of assessing
people’s reactions to the performance.
In presenting the research findings, the issue of confidentiality needs to be
considered. For all interviews, focus groups and surveys, participants were
asked if they wished to contribute to the study and consent forms were signed.
However, if the results and analysis of the research show that a case-studied
orchestral organisation is not employing the best methods and strategies for
sustainability, this can possibly lead to some tension with the reporting of the
research findings.
Working as part of the ARC project has raised some issues about the different
objectives of the different participating partners in the research. After the Strong
Report and faced with concerns from government about funding requirements to
sustain the TQO, the management of the TQO were interested to understand how
their audience demographics could be extended to reach a wider range of people.
Creative Media Warehouse ultimately had a vision for the Deep Blue Orchestra
to become a successful commercial entity and believed that there were certain
elements required in the orchestra’s style and presentation to attract the targeted
audience demographic. QUT were also interested to see if there was a model
that could sustain orchestral musicians while promoting new technologies and
repertoires. The ARC project certainly did influence the choice of performances
and orchestras used as case studies for the research. However, it is important to
point out that the thesis research has focused on the particular area of interest to
me i.e. what aspects of performances enhance audience connectivity.
In conclusion then, this research study employs various paradigms and strategies
to endeavour to develop a new approach to the 21st century orchestra, with the
goal to contribute to a sustainable and revitalized art form.
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4 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Introduction to the Case Studies
As discussed in the methodology chapter, the research has followed primarily a
qualitative approach and the main vehicle for the analysis has been the case
study of the chosen orchestral organisations. As part of each case study,
interviews with the key artistic and organisational people were conducted,
audience and musicians focus groups and surveys were undertaken and my
personal observations of select performances have also supplemented the
research.
The Deep Blue Orchestra
The formation of the Deep Blue Orchestra was part of an ARC funded project
aimed at developing new and sustainable models appropriate for the 21st century
audience. The project aimed to look at new ways of audience engagement, new
repertoire to include digital and electronic components, new ways of orchestral
performance styles incorporating visual and movement and new ways of
orchestral business structure such as freelancing.
The Deep Blue Orchestra has been described by its creators as
a quest to develop an orchestral form that is sustainable in the 21st
century. It has no permanent players or traditional infrastructure but is a
dynamic community of writers, arrangers, sound visual and spatial
designers, researchers and other creative’s playing to enthusiastic
audiences – a 3D model – conceptual, human and technological that has
seized the initiative to question all parameters and forge a new entity – a
quantum leap for musicians but a logical next step for audience (Deep
Blue 2005).
Robert Davidson, one of the main composers of repertoire for the Brisbane
Festival performances described the project as ‘questioning and challenging the
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
existing character of an orchestra and throwing the theatrical side into the
foreground’ (Wills 2006).
Some other key concepts about the Deep Blue Orchestra project are described by
the CEO of Creative Media Warehouse, one of the main creators of the
orchestra:
‘It is as much about audience development as it is about artistic development.’
‘The Deep Blue Orchestra is an immersive and orchestral mix of electric and
acoustic textures.’
‘There is a merging of the traditional and the innovative, young and old with the
essential ingredients of emerging technology and contemporary culture.’
‘It is a new artistic business model for orchestras in the 21st century’
The Queensland Orchestra (TQO)
TQO was used for one of the case studies in the research due to a number of
factors such as location, accessibility and it being representative of an Australian
State symphony orchestra. Formed in 2001, from the merger of two previous
existing Queensland orchestras, TQO is still in a phase of formulating the
appropriate strategic approach to become a sustainable entity and meeting its
vision of ‘to touch the hearts and minds of Queenslanders’ (Annual Report
2004). Over the period of research study, TQO saw its box office revenue
increase by 19.9 % and this was helped by a number of initiatives such as:
• Building an interactive presence through new technologies
• Greater community advocacy and engagement through public awareness
and media
• Expanding its program to include a more diverse range of music and
performers such as Jazz meets the Symphony with James Morrison and
Lalo Schifrin
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
• Expanding the education program such as open rehearsals for schools and
concert audience discussions
• Building partnerships with a greater number of corporate and community
organisations
TQO has different styles of programs targeted to different audiences and for the
case study, I chose to compare the Maestro series, the Clocktower series and
another one-off event, Winners, a production for the 2006 Brisbane Festival.
The Maestro Series is aimed at the more traditional classical audience and
performs the main works of the symphony repertoire, the Clocktower Series is
aimed at a younger and less traditional audience with works including film music
and lighter classics. Winners was a multi-media production involving Japanese
drumming group TaikOz, TQO and Italy’s Fabrica Musica artistic director
Andrea Molino. The event integrated video footage about the effects of death,
war and ethnic conflicts with the orchestra providing an accompaniment to the
images and was one of the showcases of the festival.
Overview of Case Study Questions
The interviews with the CEO or artistic directors of both TQO and the Deep
Blue Orchestra were focused on investigating the concepts of new product, new
audience development strategies and new distribution and business models using
the three main components of the Orchestral Sustainability Framework; the
social, artistic and economic aspects influencing audience connection with the
performance. The questions were framed to gauge the impact of a new idea or
strategy by identifying the before and after situation. The audience surveys and
focus groups added another perspective to enrich the answers to these questions
by gathering some quantitative and qualitative data from the audience
themselves.
A number of key questions were used as the basis for the interviews and also
considered when assessing the survey data, focus group data and in the context
of the performance observations. The purpose of these questions was to
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
investigate and understand in the case studies the relevance of the research
questions. The questions covered the following areas:
Social
• Do the organisation’s performances aim for interaction between audience
and performers and how? Investigate examples of
o performers speaking to the audience
o improvisation during performance according to audience direction
o level of audience social interaction before, during and after
performance
• Does the organisation aim to connect emotionally and psychologically
with the audience? Investigate aspects such as
o Is a certain mood or imagined concept evoked
o Is there a mix of familiarity and new
o Is there a message, theme, social context for the performance
o How important are key musicians/conductor
o Does the performance result in a transformative experience for
the audience and how
• What are some innovative modes of performance used by the
organisation? Investigate if less formality, venue choices and humour
were a factor in the performances.
Artistic
• Does the choice of performance repertoire include poly-stylistic genres
and a blend of different sounds? What was the effect on the audience due
to these choices?
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
• Is inter-sensory perception important to the performances (e.g. visuals
and dance together with music) and what is the audience response?
Economic
• What networks/business relationships does the organisation rely upon
and how have these been created? Refer to both non-philanthropic and
philanthropic.
• How should classical music be marketed in the 21st century?
• Analyse successful strategies looking at costs and returns
• Understand target market segments, branding strategy, recordings and
distributions
• What is the management structure of the organisation? Investigate
examples of an entrepreneurial approach
• Analyse the organisation’s financials for the relevant performances
General
• What do the CEO and/or Artistic Director believe are the successful
characteristics for the 21st century orchestra?
• How does the organisation define itself? What makes it unique?
• Who is the target audience? This may be different for different concerts
• What is the background of the organisation and its evolution?
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4.2 Data Presentation – The Deep Blue Orchestra
The data for the Deep Blue Orchestra case study comprises the following:
1) Audience survey results from December 2005
2) Audience focus group responses from December 2005
3) Musicians focus group responses from December 2005
4) Audience survey results from July 2006
5) SMS data from July 2006
6) Interviews with key contributors during 2005 and 2006
7) Financial data for July 2006 and projections
4.2.1 Audience Survey Results - December 2005
This performance or showing was the culmination of a week of rehearsals, where
the first staging of the Deep Blue Orchestra initiative was “workshopped”.
During this week, the main objective was filming the production of a
promotional DVD and testing some of the project’s creative ideas musically,
visually, theatrically and process-wise. For this stage, greater emphasis was put
on the visual, rather than the sound production.
An eclectic selection of works was chosen according to criteria such as their
dramatic possibilities, their communicativeness, their practicality for staging and
suitability for the target demographic. The aim was to have the emotional
narrative of the music represented in the whole event. The works for the
audience performance were Elegy composed by Robert Davidson, Raising up
Water and Hong Kong Western composed by Phill Wilson, Chill composed by
Yanto Browning and Mars from The Planets by Holst, arranged by Robert
Davidson. The Deep Blue Orchestra team was comprised of string players and
electronic musicians and was accompanied by visual projections.
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
In total, about forty people attended the half hour showing of the four works.
The audience consisted of a number of different demographic and psychographic
groups; members of The Queensland Orchestra Guild, Creative Industries
students, traditionally non-classical concert attendees, music teachers and
musicians, friends and families. Although there was a slightly higher ratio of
females to males, compared to a typical classical music audience, the proportion
of male attendees was higher than usual.
This initial survey was designed as a pilot, which was then refined and
implemented on a larger scale with the Brisbane Festival performances. For the
initial survey, twenty-six audience members were involved in responding to the
questions. Nine people were from the 18 – 25 years age group, seven from the
26 – 35 years age group and ten people from the 56 years plus age group.
Occupations ranged from professional (eleven people), students (seven people)
and retired (six people). There were no responders in the 36 – 56 years age
group.
Survey Responses
The full survey and responses are detailed in the Appendix One. Following is a
summary of the responses to the December 2005 survey.
The first two demographic questions showed that nearly all of the responders
liked to hear music in their car and at home predominantly and that their
preferred style of music was classical music but also included a number of other
styles such as funk, blues, folk and electronica.
The next questions about what people liked best and least about the performance
and showed that the highest response was that the musicians/performers were the
best part of the performance, with ten people giving this answer. The least liked
element of the performance was the style of music.
When people were asked to describe the performance, there were some very
enthusiastic responses such as ‘modern, interesting, innovative, experimental,
exciting, and fun’. One responder said that it was ‘an amazing collaboration of
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
drama, lighting, costume and sound’. Apart from one response, everyone agreed
that they would come again to such a performance; however the greater
proportion of people said that they would not buy a recording of the
performance.
When asked to describe anything they would change about the performance,
many people responded about the style of music and the balance between the
instruments. A few responses referred to the need for a greater musical variety
and less emphasis on the repetitive percussion and bass. It should be noted that
these comments were taken constructively by the Deep Blue Orchestra and
future performances improved on these aspects.
The survey asked people to describe the role of the audience in a musical
performance and gave a variety of options for response. There was a very high
response for the choice ‘emotional listener’, which was also reflected in the next
question, about a musical performance evoking an emotional response.
The survey then asked some questions about style of performance and the
interaction of the audience with the performers. Responses showed that people
agreed or strongly agreed that interaction results in audience enjoyment and the
ambience and behaviour of the audience also contributes.
The last questions were relevant to the way a performance is marketed and
responses showed that the most popular ways to find out about music
performances are either by newspaper or through friends. The importance of the
social aspect of a performance was also highlighted by the response that the most
popular way to attend music performances is with friends.
4.2.2 Audience Focus Group Responses – December 2005
Focus Group Methodology and Questions
In addition to the audience survey, where all audience members were asked to
give their impressions about the event, an informal focus group was planned, so
a greater depth of responses about the event could be elicited. Focus group
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
research uses a qualitative approach, which allows for a greater understanding
than can be acquired through quantitative techniques alone. Focus group
discussions enable the researchers to tie together clusters of behaviour that relate
to a given consumer decision or action. Also, group interaction can stimulate
richer responses and new ideas can be generated from this type of research
(Debus 1996 p. 3).
As this was the first showing of the Deep Blue Orchestra concept to an audience,
it was very important that the creative and commercial team understood the
audience reaction. The responses from both the survey and focus groups
research could then contribute to the next phase of development and iteration in
the Deep Blue Orchestra project. Although this first focus group discussion was
quite short, being about 20 minutes in duration, the future focus group
discussions would be longer with a greater variety of questions.
Due to the time constraint, only a few questions were asked. These questions
were:
• What style of music do you normally prefer?
• What was your response to this performance?
• Would you come again to a performance like this?
The eight participants in the focus group were taken from the different audience
group members, as mentioned previously. There were two males and six
females. The two males were both musicians and in the age range 20 – 35 years.
Two of the females were mothers of Deep Blue Orchestra string musicians. Two
females were members of the Queensland Orchestra Guild and ranged in age
between 40 – 60 years. Another female was an ex-concert pianist and another
female was in the age range 20 – 35 years and was not a traditional classical
concert attendee.
As the focus group was conducted after the performance and in the same venue,
there was considerable noise from the other audience members and the Deep
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
Blue Orchestra team. The researchers learned from this experience and the
future focus groups would be arranged to provide a more private setting with less
outside influences.
Analysis of responses
All of the participants in the group said that they had quite a broad taste in
preferred style of music. One of the respondents said he had an ‘eclectic’ taste,
while one of the females mentioned that she did not like heavy metal music and
another that she did not like strong jazz and country music. Another said he
liked jazz and folk, as well as classical.
One participant said that he found the performance ‘intriguing’ and that there
was ‘a lot of energy’ in it. He liked the idea of not performing with the score
and the physical staging aspect.
Another participant was less enthusiastic, as he had heard this style of music
before and it was not new. He commented on other orchestral music that
incorporates an overlay of electronic instruments and uses rhythmic beats
influenced by rock, Latin or jungle style music. He wanted to hear new music,
written specifically for this group and not arrangements of existing works, such
as the Holst piece.
One of the participants said that she had ‘enjoyed’ the performance because there
was ‘interaction’ between the performers and the audience and there were no
barriers such as music stands or a conductor, so you could see everyone.
Another participant said that that the music was ‘really good, contemporary and
interesting’. She also had heard similar music, referring to ‘dance music’, but
only on radio and not live. She liked the experience of seeing it live and the
‘physical movement’ by the performers.
One of the participants said she knew the Holst work very well but to hear it with
the integration of electronic elements and rhythmic beats brought ‘an energy, an
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
excitement’ to it. She also commented on the lack of barriers in this
performance and the enthusiasm from the performers.
There was a comment that ‘I loved the way the music engaged you’. This
participant felt it was more of an ‘all around performance’, referring to all of the
elements which combined to make up the whole experience.
One participant however was more hesitant. She said that it was ‘interesting’
and liked the music but questioned how it could be extended for a larger
orchestral group. She felt that the visuals detracted from the music.
Another of the participants said that she often found traditional orchestral
concerts ‘boring’ and there was a need to be more challenged. She felt that life
and music were changing and so this should also be represented in the orchestral
music realm. She described the musicians as ‘almost being in a trance’, and she
was very engaged by this fact. She was not convinced about the absence of a
conductor. She felt that the conductor ‘joins everyone together’ and is not
distracting to the experience. She wanted to see more variety in the works
performed.
There was a very emphatic yes from most of the participants when asked if they
had a desire to come again to such a performance. Some qualifications to this
response were that original compositions were important, the idea of audience
communication could be developed further, other instruments could be included
and that it should be promoted as a large ensemble, not an orchestra.
Conclusions
Many of the group commented on the amount of energy generated by the
performance and how there was an animation from the musicians. This
interaction between the musicians and the audience was one of the elements
being tested in the Deep Blue Orchestra model, so it was important to see this
aspect picked up by the audience.
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The physical staging of the performance and the more informal approach of
presentation was another theme in the Deep Blue Orchestra approach that
brought positive comments from the audience and contributed to their
appreciation of the event.
There was a mixed response from the focus group to the style of works
performed. While some people commented that the integration of electronic
elements with acoustic instruments added to the enjoyment of the music, others
wanted to see more variety and something newer in style. This reflected some
similar comments from the audience survey data.
The positive response from the focus group about returning to see future
performances provided the Deep Blue Orchestra team with a strong basis from
which to further develop the 21st century orchestra model.
4.2.3 Musicians Focus Group Responses – December 2005
The Deep Blue Orchestra team was comprised of string players and electronic
musicians and was accompanied by visual projections. The musicians had not
played together before and had only been given the music a few days prior. One
of the selection criteria for the musicians was their ability to experiment with
different musical styles and be willing to engage in the physical performance of
the works.
Eight of the musicians from the December Deep Blue Orchestra participated in
this focus group. They included string players, percussion, electronic musicians
and composers.
As this was the first time the Deep Blue Orchestra concept was put into practice,
it was very important that the creative and commercial team understood the
musicians’ response to their involvement in the process and their reaction to the
Deep Blue Orchestra concept. One of the aims of the Deep Blue Orchestra
model is to make the ‘musicking’ (using Small’s terminology) process less
hierarchical and so contributions from the musicians and their feedback were
important to the overall development of the model.
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The specific questions asked of the group were:
• Where does the audience “fit” in the musicians’ view of a performance?
Musicians could refer to both the Deep Blue Orchestra and their other
performance experience.
• Describe the role of the classical musician working with digital,
electronic effects. How is it different?
• What did you like best about this Deep Blue Orchestra experience? What
did you like least?
• What will be the kind of orchestra that will sustain audiences of the
future?
• What is the role of the audience in a musical performance?
Analysis of responses
All the musicians believed in some way in the importance of audience/performer
interaction. One participant said that ‘everyone who chooses to be a performer
must consider the audience. Being a performer is about sharing what you are
doing and thinking musically’. Performances are about entertaining the audience
the musicians felt, and they liked the Deep Blue Orchestra project for trying to
explore this aspect. One participant mentioned that he preferred a more
interactive audience: ‘if the audience is going berserk, then the musicians can
react even more, play harder – ‘a reactive loop’ happens. These are the best
performances’. Audiences respond better when the musicians are enjoying
themselves. Another musician said that ‘some of my performances involve the
audience clapping their hands and the dancers and audience surround the
musicians. The length of the performance is adjusted according to what people
want. It is much more enjoyable’. Another participant mentioned the visual
aspect of the Deep Blue Orchestra performance, which makes it more of an
experience for the audience. However one participant was of the view that the
most important part of performing was ‘making music ultimately for yourself’.
Participants talked about the increased ability that the Deep Blue Orchestra was
giving them to extend beyond the traditional orchestra repertoire and
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
instruments. They felt that there was the opportunity for experimentation and
artistic freedom with this orchestra. One musician said that ‘with many classical
performances, I get bored because there is a set way to do it and I am looking for
a different way that challenges the traditional. With Deep Blue, there is more to
satisfy the audience’s senses such as visuals’. However one participant was
more negative because he felt that the Deep Blue Orchestra performances did not
put so much emphasis on the music. He said that there was a greater separation
between electronic and traditional instruments with the Deep Blue Orchestra
than in other pop groups and ‘the sounds are too separate’.
Participants liked the chance to play with different types of instruments, as they
may not normally have the opportunity to do this. For example, the drummer
enjoyed the opportunity to play with string instruments and the strings liked to
combine with the electronic instruments. One of the other things people
commented about was that there was a ‘relaxed feel’ to the rehearsals that was
enjoyable, with one comment being ‘there is an open vibe and people are
involved’.
Some of the musicians did comment that they would have liked to contribute
more to the artistic input and wanted to take more of a workshop approach,
where different ways of playing and performing could be developed. This would
not normally happen in a traditional orchestra but as the Deep Blue Orchestra
was aiming to be more innovative and inclusive in their approach, the participant
felt that this should be further explored.
When asked about the orchestra of the future, there was a common theme to
allow the Deep Blue Orchestra to be even more interactive. The musicians felt
in general that the Deep Blue Orchestra is an interesting concept and should
continue. There were some comments about the combination of visuals and
music being more integrated and also that a wider variety of musical styles could
be explored with more coherence in musical styles. There was also discussion
about the importance of marketing correctly for it to become successful.
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There were differing responses to the question about the role of the audience in a
performance. One of the musicians felt that sometimes the audience wants to be
involved and at others, they just want to understand and experience the
performance. Another commented that it is a very individual and personal
experience for the audience, and so it is different for everyone. One participant
thought that the audience could have a ‘cohesive experience’.
There were different perspectives on their Deep Blue Orchestra involvement
from the musicians, as shown by the focus group responses. However, one
common element that was obvious from observing the week of rehearsals and
performances and the attitude of the musicians, was their enjoyment in their
participation. Comments from the focus group reflected this interest to
experiment with something
different from a traditional
classical orchestra.
Another theme that
emerges from these
responses is the importance
of interactivity for the
musicians and their view of
the audiences.
There were also a number
of requests to further
develop the concept by
integrating different
musical styles and
instruments, which would
bring a more cohesive and
distinctive style to the Deep
Blue Orchestra image.
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4.2.4 Audience Survey Results – July 2006
Description of Performance
The performances during the last week in July 2006 were part of the Brisbane
Festival program. The Deep Blue Orchestra had been advertised in the Festival
program and tickets were available to purchase at $15 each. The program was
advertised as
a marrying of the traditional string section of the orchestra with a 5th
section; digital and electronics. Combined with a DJ and VJ with
cameras, screens and lighting the result is an environment of immense
emotional power and great potential.
The program consisted of the following music:
Perpetuum Mobile, from The Penguin Café Orchestra
Raising Up Water, by Phill Wilson and composed specifically for the Deep Blue
Orchestra
Elegy, by Robert Davidson
Vienna by Ultravox
Theme from American Beauty, by Thomas Montgomery Newman
String Quartet in F, by Maurice Ravel
Popcorn, by Gershon Kingsley
Excerpt from Symphony No. 5, 4th Movement, by Gustav Mahler
Misirlou, from a Greek song arranged by Dick Dale
Red Room Revolution, by Phill Wilson and composed specifically for Deep Blue
Flying Dream, by Ian Grandage
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In a Summer Place, by Max Steiner
Tomorrow Never Knows, by the Beatles
Off the Planet, arrangement of Holst’s Planet suite – Mars.
The performance had a strong theatrical element to it, as each piece was
expressed by not only the music but included visuals and the performers’
actions. The program was designed to take the audience on an emotional
journey, with the program covering a variety of pieces, from the traditional
classical and modern classical to popular film themes and popular songs. There
were poignant elements such as the scene using American Beauty that depicted
homeless people in the snow, sheltering under the Brooklyn Bridge and
humorous elements such as Misirlou, where the musicians all wore dark
sunglasses and two violinists gave the impression of surfing a wave by playing
each other’s violins. The musicians and electronic performers adopted different
personas for the different pieces of music, such as wearing wide-brimmed
Western hats and high boots for Popcorn.
The performance took place in The Block venue in the Creative Industries
Precinct at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane and lasted just over
an hour, without an interval. The audience were seated at tables, as in the style
of a club and there was even a bar where people could buy drinks, on one side of
the room. The performers used both the front of the room and the back of the
room for stages and in fact, walked through the audience space at one point. The
performers aimed to engage the audience with these interactive components and
as will be shown by the survey comments and results, this goal was achieved in
many respects.
Audience Description
The audience had a proportion of people that were invited by the performers and
organizers and were therefore non-paying. The first performance on the Tuesday
evening was a preview and all tickets were free. Most evenings the venue was
full, so the audience consisted of approximately 150 people.
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The audience consisted of a number of different demographic and psychographic
groups; the age groups were quite evenly dispersed but there was a greater
concentration of students and professionals in terms of occupation. Due to the
invited audience component, the audience also included members of The
Queensland Orchestra Guild, Creative Industries students, traditionally non-
classical concert attendees, music teachers and musicians, friends and families.
220 audience members completed the survey over the week of performances and
the detailed data is recorded in Appendix Two.
Analysis of Survey Questions
The first demographic question showed that the most popular place that
responders liked to hear music is firstly in their own place, in their car, followed
by the concert hall.
The second question’s results showed that the greatest number of people in the
audience preferred classical music but this was closely followed by rock and
jazz. This result is not surprising considering that the Deep Blue Orchestra
program was advertised during the Brisbane Festival, where audiences are often
experienced in classical music. Furthermore, it would be expected that the style
of program for the Deep Blue Orchestra performances would probably attract
people that didn’t only like classical e.g. rock and jazz.
As with the previous December performance, the highest response was that the
musicians/performers were the best part of the performance, with 47% of those
surveyed selecting this answer. This result shows that the audience found that
the way that the musicians interacted with them contributed to their enjoyment of
the performance. By the musicians/performers taking on a character and
individuality, audience engagement was high.
When asked about the worst thing about the performance, there was a mixed
response, as reflected by ‘other’ receiving the highest response with 51%. There
were a few common themes, with people saying that the performance was ‘too
short’ and many not being happy with the comfort of the venue. However many
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people responded with saying ‘nothing’. The next highest response was that the
visuals were the element that the responders liked least, with 17% of people
giving this answer. As visuals are not a traditional component of an orchestral
performance, some people may have found this detracting from the music. The
visuals were not designed in conjunction with the music composition, but done
after the fact. This may have contributed to people feeling that the visuals did
not enhance the performance. This conclusion is perhaps more realistic, as the
responses to a further question revealed. 72% of people selected either the
‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ response to the question that ‘integration of visual
images and sound facilitates a greater enjoyment of music’.
The question about how people would describe the performance elicited a
number of very positive responses from people. Many people described the
performance as innovative, emotionally evocative and exciting. The comments
support the belief that the audience was emotionally engaged and that the
innovative nature of the performance was a highlight that people enjoyed.
There was a more positive response about whether people would buy a recording
of the performance than from the December survey results. 58% of responders
answered that they would buy a CD/DVD this time. As this is not a very high
proportion, it does indicate that the audience felt that one of the important
elements of the performance was the live and interactive component, and this
cannot be reproduced by watching or listening to a CD/DVD. It also is an
important indicator when considering the different distribution channels to
promote the Deep Blue Orchestra.
There was a very high response of 96% of responders saying that they would
come again to such a performance. This shows that despite some components of
the Deep Blue Orchestral model not appealing to the audience, the combination
of all the elements of the performance working together gave the audience cause
to return to similar future performances.
The surveys responders gave a variety of responses to what they would like to
change about the performance, which probably reflected the wide tastes of the
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audience and expectations about the performance. One common theme with the
comments was that the performance should have been longer and that the venue
should have been more comfortable. There were also a number of negative
comments with respect to the visuals, saying that they did not complement the
music. While in the December performance, there were many comments about
the style of the music and the mix of electronic and traditional, this also was true
of the July performances but to a lesser extent. These comments usually
reflected an audience member’s personal taste. This data implies that the
changes and improvement that were made to the instrument mix and the
increased variety of musical compositions for the July performances received a
positive reaction from people.
As with the December performances, there was also a high response for the
‘emotional listener’ choice about the audience role in a performance, with 64%
giving this answer. This correlates with the responses for the following question,
which shows that people strongly believe that musical performances evoke
emotional responses. People could select more than one choice in this question,
so there were differing points of view about the role of the audience with 31% of
responders believing that the audience has a ‘spectator’ role, but 25% believing
that the audience is ‘an active participant’. The Deep Blue Orchestra
performances aimed to provide the audience with more of a participant role than
a spectator, so this result may suggest that audiences do not need the participant
role to engage and enjoy the performance. The following table shows the
different survey responses to the audience role in a performance.
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Figure 2: Deep Blue Orchestra Audience Role
Role of the audience in a performance
010203040506070
Audienceis
spectator
Audienceis
emotionallistener
Audienceis passivelistener
Audienceis co-
producer
Audienceis active
participant
Audiencehas
anotherrole
% o
f res
pond
ees
Role of the audience
N=220
The encouraging point about much of the data from the survey, in regard to
assessing the validity of the 21st Century Orchestral Framework factors, is that
nearly all of the responses supported the key elements in the framework. The
performer/audience interaction element scored strongly as did the importance of
an emotional connection. The importance of education or musical background
was also supported as being an essential element for the audience’s improved
enjoyment.
For the last two questions, responses showed that the most popular ways to find
out about music performances are firstly by friends (42%), followed by
newspapers (22%). This response shows the importance of the social network in
attending concert performances. Additionally, responses showed that the most
popular way to attend music performances is with friends (75%).
Some observations on correlation of survey data
The preferred style of music (question 2) was cross-tabulated with the best and
worst thing about the performance (question 3 and 4). This analysis was done
particularly to see if there was any bias from the audience members that were
classical music listeners. The interesting result here was that the
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
musicians/performers were always rated the best thing about the performance,
irrespective of the style of music preferred by the survey responders. This data
supports the view that the Deep Blue Orchestra performance can appeal to a
wide variety of musical tastes and differing opinions about what constitutes a
good performance experience. It certainly highlights the importance of the
musicians’ engagement with the audience.
The style of music preferred was also cross-tabulated with the role of the
audience (question 9). These results further support the importance of emotional
engagement, with the ‘emotional listener’ achieving the highest response,
irrespective of the style of music preferred. The role of the audience was then
cross-tabulated with age group (question 13) and again the emotional listener
was always the highest response. These results are positive when looking at the
21st Century Orchestral Framework and show the importance of the emotional
engagement element, irrespective of age, musical tastes and audience perception
of a performance.
It was believed by the creative team of the Deep Blue Orchestra that certain
aspects of the performance would appeal to the younger age group 18 – 25 years
in particular. One of these aspects was the visual element and so cross-
tabulation analysis was done to determine the level of this appeal. The data
showed that there is really only a significant difference in the older 56+ years
age group; an average 80% of responders in the other age groups, selected an
agree or strongly agree to the question ‘integration of visual and sound facilitates
the enjoyment of music’.
There was one area where there was a differentiation in age groups and that was
in relation to how people get information about the performance (question 11).
The data showed that the 18 – 25 year olds have the highest proportion of
information from friends (59%) but that email is also an important source across
all age groups.
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4.2.5 SMS Data – July 2006
While this was a different method to elicit feedback from the audience, it
provided a way for people to give their opinions quickly and anonymously and
proved a good reinforcement of the data received in the more traditional formats
of surveys and audience focus groups. The audience was told at the beginning of
the evening that they could text their opinions about the performance at any time
throughout the performance. This style of feedback reflected the more
innovative and technologically focused approach of the performance and would
appeal to the younger audience members. Over 100 text messages were received
over the five evenings.
A lot of people simply texted a single word such as ‘hot’, ‘beautiful’ , ‘wicked’
or ‘awesome’. In some cases, there was a particular pattern to the timings of the
texts, so it was possible to identify which opinions referred to a particular
moment in the performance. For example, the audience was very responsive to
Danielle’s ‘cello solo and the string quartet section also elicited many comments.
The texts gave people the opportunity to specifically praise or criticize an aspect
of the performance, and this they did. For example, a text of ‘drums on the wall
- fantastic’ referred to the part in the performance where the drummer was
playing to the beat of the music on a projected visual image of a drum on the
back wall of the venue. Or in another example, a text of ‘the bass is grouse – I
want to sit on the speakers’, which was opposite to comments from the surveys
about the percussion beats not blending well with the overall soundscape.
There were some common themes from the SMS data. There were good
comments from a number of people about the song Popcorn and about the
quartet of musicians ‘rocking out’ and undressing and about their wearing hats.
This showed that the audience was also considering the theatrical aspect of the
show.
Quite a few texts referred to the sexiness of the musicians. Examples of this
were ‘funky girl up back’, ‘very sexy’, ‘Dannii and Sally are hot’. One of the
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aims of the performance was for the audience to connect with the musicians so it
seems they were certainly doing this!
Overall the SMS data produced some very positive feedback. There were some
passionate comments which showed people were moved by the performance,
which was the aim. As the SMS format encourages people to be succinct and
comment with only a few words, the responses are often very emotive and
instinctive. This form of survey was appropriate then to the style of the Deep
Blue Orchestra performances, which aimed to engage the audience’s emotions.
4.2.6 Interviews
During the rehearsal period for December and the following July performances, I
spoke to a number of the key collaborators in the Deep Blue Orchestra project to
gain an insight into the development of the orchestra. The following interviews
reflect the findings and how they relate to the 21st Century Orchestral
Sustainability Framework.
Theatrical Director interview
The theatrical director was asked by the two Deep Blue Orchestra creators, to
work with the musicians to develop their performance style and choreograph the
performance for the initial pilot in December 2005 and then for the Brisbane
Festival performance in July 2006.
As the plan was to have no conductor and no music stands, the musicians would
be given a greater role to interact with the audience. The theatrical director felt
that the main goal for the performance was ‘to engage the audience’. He
believed that as this was an evolving project and there would be surveyed
audience responses, this presented an opportunity to trial a number of different
approaches. This was the aim of an action research methodology. He wanted to
‘question traditions, be flexible and have an open approach’.
He treated the orchestra as a ‘theatrical space’ and wanted to bring across not
just the aural aspect but the visual components. In fact for the December pilot,
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the aim was to produce a promotional DVD of the Deep Blue Orchestra. For this
reason there was more of a focus on the visual than the aural side. He looked at
the dramatic possibilities and the practicality for staging when choreographing
the performance.
The theatrical director’s view was that ‘the musicians are there to create the
emotion in the audience’ and emotions can come ‘from the architecture of the
space’. By creating the different stagings for each different piece of music, the
dynamics of the performance space are changed. Together with the audience,
who can also change the performance space dynamics, the concept ‘allows for
different layers of images and the creation of different emotions’.
The theatrical director’s approach demonstrates well the importance of the
emotional connection element in the Orchestral Sustainability Framework. In
his words, he was ‘trying to find the human connection with the performance’.
Each piece of music was staged to demonstrate a particular story and took the
audience on ‘an emotional journey’, with the story linking the different musical
works in the performance. The intention here was to guide people to have a
similar emotional journey. He also believed in the ability of an audience to have
a ‘collective emotional experience’. As discussed in the literature review, this is
something normally more attributed to rock concerts than classical concerts. It
was an ambitious goal to try and achieve this for the Deep Blue Orchestra.
Composer interview
There were a number of works by this composer for the December Deep Blue
Orchestra performance, such as Raising up Water and Hong Kong Revolution.
In the interview, the composer expressed his point of view about the need for the
musicians to ‘put in a lot of energy’ into the performance, in order to create a
strong electricity between them. He talked about the importance of connection
between the musicians and this contributing to a greater connection with the
audience. He believed it was important to rehearse in this manner, with good
visual connection between musicians and facial and body expressions displayed.
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The Deep Blue Orchestra was aiming to allow the musicians to ‘show their
personality through their instruments’ in a way more akin to jazz and rock
musicians.
In composing the music, he drew on the idea of the Deep Blue Orchestra being
associated with water and hence led to the work Raising up Water. For Hong
Kong Revolution he drew on his knowledge of Canto pop and composed a work
designed to represent a fusion of these cultures. When he was composing these
works, he thought about the target audience for the Deep Blue Orchestra as being
predominantly in the 18 – 35 year age group. Another consideration for him was
how the works should aim to inspire the audience.
The Deep Blue Orchestra musician interview
One of the musicians in the Deep Blue Orchestra, the lead cellist, talked about
the requirement for the musicians to develop trust and respect for each other.
She believed that a rehearsal environment which encourages experimentation
and that is democratic not hierarchical, allows the musicians to contribute new
ideas and feel valued.
She also said that a performance should be about how the musicians are
connecting with the audience; the musicians need to understand what the
audience wants in order to develop this connection.
Director, Creative Media Warehouse interview
One of the co-creators of the Deep Blue Orchestra, the Director has a strong
background as a music entrepreneur and he brought many of these aspects to the
project. He wanted to bring some of the successful characteristics of the
pop/rock music model to the orchestral form. He talked about the fact that
business skills and entrepreneurship are not so usual in the classical music world
but these skills are important to promote and sustain a commercially successful
music organisation.
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There were a few main elements that the Director wanted to ensure were part of
the Deep Blue Orchestra: creativity and a democratic model to allow ideas to
develop. He felt that in existing models of the traditional classical orchestra,
creativity was often stifled. The Deep Blue Orchestra would probably combine
many elements that exist already in other music performances such as the
staging, costumes and video, but it would be the combination of all these
elements in this democratic model that would allow creativity to flourish.
He also wanted to use the concept of social marketing to promote the Deep Blue
Orchestra. He realised that to target the younger and more “hip” audience
demographic, marketing must include a strong emphasis on the social aspect of a
performance.
Composer and arranger interview
One of the main arrangers and composers for the initial Deep Blue Orchestra
performance stated that the music chosen for the orchestra ultimately had to have
‘an emotional connection with the audience’. He felt that some of the criteria
required to achieve this were the work’s:
• ability to be communicative and stylistically distinctive;
• practicality for staging;
• dramatic possibilities, and
• suitability for the target audience demographic.
He also felt that assessing how all the works in a performance relate to each
other would contribute to creating that audience connection.
Musical director and producer interview
In this interview, the Musical Director and Producer discussed his vision of the
Deep Blue Orchestra performance. He wanted the audience to be transported
through a range of emotions. To do this, he felt it was important to start the
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performance with the more traditional and familiar works and then progress to
more challenging works for the audience to hear. For example, a more
traditional piece for orchestra such as the Mars suite from Holst’s The Planets
would start the program and then the ‘emotional dynamic’ would change as the
program progressed. It is interesting to note that although this was the original
intention, in fact the order of the program for the July performances was
different.
The Producer wanted the repertoire to consist of quite well-known pieces but
played in a way that would not represent a traditional orchestra. This blend of
sounds would include electronic components and percussion together with the
strings. The program would include a variety of genres and some fusion. He felt
it was also important for the performers to be highlighted, rather than just the
music. In this way a solo or virtuoso element could be utilised to connect the
audience with the performers. All of these aspects were demonstrated in the
actual performances in July.
He felt that the program should be
aimed at an audience demographic
representing the baby boomers.
However, earlier discussions had also
focused on a separate younger target
demographic of 18 – 35 year olds.
A strong theatrical element was also
important for the performance, the
producer felt. The performances
were designed to take place in a café-
style setting, with people sitting
around tables, a bar and people free
to move around like in a club or pop
concert.
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4.2.7 Reflections on Financial Data - 2006
As the Deep Blue Orchestra performances were part of the Brisbane Festival and
funded by the Australian Research Council and the Queensland University of
Technology, there was a considerable amount of sponsorship funding for the
performances. In addition there were a number of tickets to the performances
which were given as complementary. For these reasons, it is not possible to
analyse the profitability of these concerts in terms of purely box office revenue
and the appeal to a mass or niche market consumer demographic.
However, projections for the Deep Blue Orchestra have been compiled to
determine the commercial profitability for future concerts and touring. While
this data is yet to prove its viability, the forecasts show that it is possible to
achieve a healthy profit from the Deep Blue Orchestra box office. However this
is dependent on achieving full houses with a high audience capacity and so the
development of the commercialisation phase can be quite high risk. These
projections calculate both revenue and costs. The costs include distribution
costs, venue hire, employment costs for musicians, composers, technical staff
and directors, business development costs of advertising, promotion and travel
costs, and other overheads. Revenue has been calculated on a differing ticket
costs basis for corporate performances and public performances at venues of up
to 1500 capacity.
The assumption is that the Deep Blue Orchestra will function as a commercial
entity and rely on box office income as opposed to a sponsorship funding model.
It is an advocate for a profitable, consumer focused model, with an appeal to a
particular target market.
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The table below shows the projected profit and break-even analysis as prepared
by Dmand.
Table 3: Deep Blue Orchestra Financial Projections
Breakeven Income Level Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Total Income 848,880 3,616,880 6,644,532
Variable Costs 376,956 1,606,680 3,141,408
Contribution 471,924 2,010,200 3,503,124
Contribution Margin % 56% 56% 53%
Fixed CostsEmployment Expenses 93,575 410,400 768,900Business Development 16,900 50,700 76,050Overheads 152,362 457,086 675,629
Total Fixed Costs 262,837 918,186 1,520,579
Breakeven Income Required 472,782 1,652,059 2,884,151
Percentage of Forecast Income 56% 46% 43%
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4.3 Data Presentation - The Queensland Orchestra
The data for The Queensland Orchestra (TQO) case study comprises the
following:
1) Audience survey results from Maestro Concert
2) Audience focus group from Maestro Concert
3) Audience survey results from Sci-Fi Concert
4) Audience focus group from Sci-Fi Concert
5) Audience Focus Group Winners Concert
6) TQO Musicians focus group responses 2006
7) Interview with CEO
8) Reflections on selected financial data
4.3.1 Audience Survey Results - October 2006
Description of Performance - Maestro Concert, The Pines of Rome –
October 27th 2006
This performance was part of the TQO Maestro Series. This series of concerts
aims to provide the most traditional orchestral works to their audiences and is
particularly targeted towards audiences who prefer this style of music. The
Maestro audience includes the greatest number of subscription patrons out of all
the styles of TQO concerts.
This evening’s concert program was the Brahms Violin Concerto in D major,
Ligeti’s Concert Romanesc and Respighi’s Pines of Rome symphonic poem.
The concert was held in the Concert Hall at QPAC, and the venue was almost
full. The audience included only a very small percentage of younger people,
which demonstrates the bias for Maestro concerts appeal towards the older age
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group; out of a total of 45 people who completed the survey, 73% were in the
56+ years age group and 13% in the 46-55 years age group. The occupation of
this audience sample was also mostly professional or retired.
The audience seemed to enjoy the concert, demonstrated by the enthusiastic
applause at the end. From a personal standpoint, I particularly enjoyed the
intensity of emotion showed by the Japanese soloist Kyoko Takezawa, in her
playing of the Brahms. For the Pines of Rome, there was an extended orchestra
and the full symphonic sound was impressive, with the trumpeters playing in an
elevated position and in- the- round.
The orchestra was very traditionally dressed, that is in formal black and white,
and did not really acknowledge the audience, being completely focused on their
music stands. However, the conductor did recognise the applause of some
audience members who “incorrectly” applauded during movements.
Analysis of Survey questions
As with the Deep Blue Orchestra concert, the first question showed that most
people liked to hear music in their own place, but the concert hall and the car
were also highly scored. However, unlike the Deep Blue Orchestra audience, the
results showed that 95% of people surveyed preferred classical music, which was
an expected result, considering that this is a Maestro audience. About 50% of
people also indicated that jazz was also a preferred style.
The best thing about the performance was the musicians/performers, which rated
a very high response with 70.7%, indicating that Maestro audiences do want to
connect with the performers and that the other elements of a performance are of
lesser importance. This rating was in fact higher than the Deep Blue Orchestra
audiences, which is an interesting result.
Many people did not select an answer for what they felt was the worst thing
about the performance. It was also interesting to note that a number of people
were not happy at other people coughing and talking in the audience; they felt a
Maestro concert must be listened to in silence. This is a very different
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expectation to the Deep Blue Orchestra concerts and the Sci-Fi concert, where
noise was welcomed.
There were many enthusiastic comments about the performance such as
‘wonderful’, ‘spectacular’, ‘exciting’, ‘moving’ and ‘amazing’. The violinist
was mentioned a few times as being a ‘great soloist’. This is also supported by
other responses that showed that the concert performance was correctly targeted
to the audience, with an overwhelmingly positive response of 97.7% saying that
they would come again to a performance like this.
67.5% of people responded that they would not buy a CD/DVD, maybe
indicating the value of a live performance for the Maestro audience. This could
also point to the audience enjoying the whole experience of attending a live
concert, which cannot be replaced by a recording.
Most people surveyed said that they would change ‘nothing’ about the
performance. One person said ‘leave out the Brahms’, while one person thought
the ‘ear piercing percussion’ too loud. These last two comments show that
Maestro audiences do have different tastes, although both of these people said
they would come again.
The questions about the role of the audience produced some interesting data.
The highest response was for the ‘emotional listener’ choice with 73.8%
responders giving this answer. This was also supported by the subsequent
question, where people strongly agreed that musical performances evoke
emotional responses. The importance of the emotional connection was rated
more highly in the Maestro concert than in the Deep Blue Orchestra concert,
showing that this is in fact a very important element for the more traditional
audience. The survey responses for this question are shown in the following
diagram.
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Figure 3: The Queensland Orchestra Maestro Audience Role
Role of the audience in a performance
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Responses on the visual question indicated that the Maestro audience is not
strongly in favour of supplementing the concert experience with visuals.
Interestingly, this survey data supported the interaction between audience and
performer, not something that is traditionally associated with the formal Maestro
concert style.
Newspapers and friends were both the most popular way of finding out about
performances, each with a score of 48.8%. The importance of the social network
in attendance at performances is reflected in this result. As the Maestro audience
is of an older age group, this lessens the impact of email and internet forms of
media distribution. Responses showed that the most popular way to attend
music performances is with friends (77.7%).
Maestro concerts appear to be attended by people that also like to attend other
TQO concerts, with 85% of people responding that they do attend other concerts.
The greater proportion of these concerts however is within the Maestro series, so
they are of a similar style.
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As shown by the above results, the audience for the Maestro concert did not
contain a great range of age groups or musical tastes. As the demographics are
very narrow, this prevented any further conclusions being drawn when analysing
the correlation between answers to different questions.
4.3.2 Audience Focus Group – October 2006
This evening the focus group consisted of a selected eight people from the
audience who attended the Pines of Rome concert. These participants had been
chosen to give a representation of people with different concert attending habits
and the group also included a variety of different age groups. Some participants
had not attended a Maestro concert before, whereas others were regular
subscribers.
Firstly people were asked about their preferred style of music and most
responded that they liked light classical or classical music with popular
composers such as Mozart, Bach and Beethoven being mentioned. One younger
male participant replied that he liked modern music such as pop and rock. This
preference for classical music would be expected as this fits the demographic for
the Maestro audience.
There were a few common themes in the responses about what people liked best
about the performance. The concert program was thought to contain a good
variety of works and the ‘diversity of the program’ was seen to be a highlight.
The Brahms violin concerto and the violinist was the most popular answer, with
people saying that the ‘soloist was superb’ and that violinists ‘really get to me’.
This was demonstrated by the soloist Kyoko Takezawa, who was very
expressive and emotional with her playing. This point emphasises the
importance of performer/audience interaction and the need for the audience to
connect with the performers. Many people discussed this emotional connection
with the performance, with comments that The Pines of Rome ‘brought tears to
my eyes’, ‘it carried me to another world’ and that ‘I felt good and very involved
with the music’. The tempo and volume of The Pines of Rome builds to an
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intense crescendo towards the end of the piece and this stirred some of the
participants.
There were very few negative comments about the performance, demonstrating
that this audience found the style and program of the concert to match their
expectations.
People then discussed their views on the role of the audience in a performance.
One aspect that was felt to be important was that a concert gives the audience the
opportunity to simply relax and enjoy themselves. This can develop into a
deeper experience with the performance when people are ‘transported
somewhere else through the music’. Another aspect mentioned was the ability
of the performers to communicate to the audience and vice versa when they feel
the audience reaction to their performance. One person said that she benefited
from the collective experience of attending a concert as she felt other people’s
responses and she enjoyed that. This point was also supported by another
comment: as a member of an audience, you were able to be part of a number of
people enjoying the performance and that the orchestra was not just performing
for the individual. One participant said that the audience ‘creates the atmosphere
at a concert and even in their silence, they are communicating that they are
enjoying it’. There is a difference between the response of a pop audience where
shouting and clapping are accepted as the way for the audience to show its
appreciation and the respectful silence which characterises classical concerts.
There were comments from participants that although this may make some
people feel more constrained in a classical environment, it nevertheless was a
form of appreciation.
Everyone responded that they would come again to such a performance and this
also reflects the strong audience survey data on this important question.
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4.3.3 Audience Survey Results – August 2006
Description of Performance
Sci-Fi Concert, Clocktower Series – August 25th 2006
The performance was advertised to evoke an atmosphere and experience of the
Sci-Fi world; ‘Escape to a musical galaxy far, far away in a concert spectacular
that boldly goes where no concert has gone before! Watch aerial artists fall from
the sky as TQO presents legendary music from your favourite Sci-Fi classics’.
The pre-concert foyer provided a fun environment, with many people dressed as
characters from famous Sci-Fi films, such as Darth Vader, Jedi knights and
Storm Troopers and food and drink available. There were a large number of
children in the audience and City Hall, where the concert was held, was almost
full. The audience demographics showed that out of 24 people surveyed, 33%
were in the 56+ years age group, with the rest evenly dispersed across the age
groups. Over half of the audience described themselves as professional, with the
rest specifying their occupation as management or home duties.
The program started with 2001, a Space Odyssey. As the hall darkened, stars
were projected onto the auditorium ceiling and a recorded voice set the theme by
an introduction from ‘aliens speaking to earthlings’.
While some of the music was played by the orchestra, some of whom were also
dressed in the Sci-Fi theme, acrobats performed in time with the music.
In between some of the musical items, there was a compère speaking in the style
of the narrator from Star Trek and a re-enactment of some scenes from other Sci-
Fi movies. This created interaction with the audience and there was also a
costume competition for the best dressed Sci-Fi character.
Other non-traditional classical orchestral instruments were also integrated into
the performance such as a bass guitarist, electronics and sticks waved to create
different harmonics.
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Although this performance was trying to create a more interactive experience for
the audience, there was an obvious disconnect with many of the orchestral
players, who simply looked embarrassed or bored and the comedic aspects of the
performance were not timed well. While some very popular pieces of music
were played, such as the Superman’s theme, ET theme and Star Trek theme, not
all the pieces were suited to a full orchestral scoring.
Despite some of these negative points, the concert was attended by an audience
that appreciated the whole experience. Overall there was a very positive
response as described in the audience surveys conducted and the discussion with
focus group.
Analysis of Survey Questions
In this concert, the audience preference for how they liked to listen to music was
firstly in the concert hall (95%), closely followed by in the car and in their own
place (both 91%).
Classical music was still the most preferred style of music with 95% of
respondents. Although the Sci-Fi concert was part of the Clocktower series of
concerts, this data shows that the audience is still predominantly influenced by
the classical genre.
As with all the other concerts analysed, the musicians/performers rated the
highest, with 65% choosing this response.
This concert was designed to use theatrical elements to enhance the musical
enjoyment of the performance, and so the audience surveyed obviously did not
feel that this goal was achieved, with 33.3% of people saying that this was the
worst thing about the performance. This response is supported by comments that
the dialogue was too long and boring, demonstrating that Clocktower audiences
do want other elements to a performance, but that they want it to be integrated
well and it must be of a high standard.
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The responses were very positive to this concert, with many people describing
the performance as ‘fun, a great night out, exciting, different, entertaining,
spectacular’. A few people commented that the dialogue elements were too long
and distracted from the music. However, the audience had a very positive view
of this performance, with 91% of people responding that they would come again.
This indicates that the concert was targeted to the correct demographic.
While only 47% of respondents said that they would buy a CD/DVD, this could
reflect the fact that a great part of the enjoyment of performance is that it is live
and the other visual elements would not be captured to the same extent with a
CD/DVD.
The Clocktower concerts are designed to be more participatory for the audience,
so it is interesting to see that the role of the audience was still seen as ‘emotional
listener’ receiving the highest score with 77% and following the same pattern as
the other concerts surveyed. The ‘passive listener’ and ‘co-producer’ choices did
not score highly.
As could be expected from an audience attending this style of concert, the
importance of interactivity with the performers rated highly and it was also
interesting to find that the context (venue, ambience, behaviour of audience)
contributed strongly to the meaning of a music performance for the audience.
The Clocktower series are designed to be a holistic experience and so it confirms
that the audience wants these aspects, rather than the music being the only
priority.
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Figure 4: The Queensland Orchestra Clocktower Audience Role
Role of the audience in a performance
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As with the other concerts surveyed, information about performances is most
likely sourced from friends and again, attending concerts ‘with friends’ scored
the highest with 54%, reflecting the importance of the concerts as a social
occasion.
The Sci-Fi audience was more open to attending other styles of orchestral
concerts than the Maestro audience with 68% of people responding that they did
attend other TQO concerts and the most popular were firstly Proms, followed by
Maestro.
The surveyed number for this concert was low, so it is difficult to draw any
accurate conclusions from correlated data. However, as with the other concerts,
there were two outstanding points from this analysis: people regarded themselves
highly as ‘emotional listeners’, irrespective of age and style of music preferred
and the musicians/performers were rated the best thing about the performance,
which was also irrespective of age and style of music preferred. The importance
of relating to the musicians/performers is demonstrated in the diagram below,
which shows the comparative results from all three audience surveys.
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Figure 5: Audience Preferences: A Comparison by Concert
Comparison of Best Thing about Performance
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The m
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Deep BlueMaestroSci-Fi
4.3.4 Audience Focus Group – August 2006
The focus group was held in the foyer of City Hall after the concert and TQO
staff had organized a select group of 10 people to participate. The group
comprised of a wide range of age groups from teenagers to retired people and
included some family groups and couples. A few people had not attended an
orchestral concert before so this was a new experience for them and including
these people helped make this analysis more objective.
As could be expected from an audience of a Clocktower series concert, there was
a broad range of tastes in their preferred style of music and classical music was
not always the first preference, as was the case with the Maestro series audience.
Preferred styles of music included electronic, rock, opera, soundtracks, 80’s
music, country, Latin jazz, techno, classical and ‘anything but heavy metal’.
Comments about the performance reflected some themes from the 21st Century
Orchestral Framework. Some of these points were again highlighted when
people discussed their opinion of the best and worst things about the
performance.
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Participants talked about the good audience participation and interaction with the
performance and that the MC had facilitated this aspect. This was mentioned as
one of the best things about the performance, described by one participant as ‘the
interplay between the orchestra and the conductor and the audience’.
The concert was ‘fun’ and to be able to laugh and enjoy the performance was
important. There was less formality in the way the orchestra played and they
were more relaxed than in a traditional classical performance. This was seen as
a positive, given that this was an after work concert on a Friday. A few people
talked about the costume competition being great and adding to the atmosphere.
Some orchestra members also dressed in costume and people saw this as a good
thing and that it showed they were having fun. The ‘character of the conductor’
was also highlighted as one of the best elements of the performance and it was
good to see that taking a less conservative approach helped some people engage
more.
As many of the musical works were familiar to people, this contributed to their
enjoyment of the evening and it was a unique opportunity to hear this type of
music performed live (it is usually heard on CD or film soundtrack). In this way
the music was ‘related to other areas of people’s lives’ and consequently they
felt a stronger connection with it. If people had an interest in film or Sci-Fi for
example, then they would be more likely to enjoy the concert. Participants felt
that this style of concert was a way of bringing the orchestra to a wider group of
people and to people who normally may not believe that they would like to
attend an orchestral concert.
There were critical comments about the dialogue element of the performance and
it was felt that this part was ‘too drawn out’ and ‘had a cringe factor’. People
liked the idea but felt it needed to be done in a tighter and more integrated
fashion.
The aerial artists choreography was ‘beautiful’ and the interplay of the
movement with the music contributed to the impact and meaning of the music.
Many of the boys in the focus group said that the attractive aerial performers
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were the best thing about the performance, although one person mentioned that
they distracted her attention from the music.
A greater use of non-traditional instruments was mentioned as an element of the
concert that created interest. The electronic instruments that were needed in the
orchestration to emphasis the Sci-Fi style, the harp solo that ‘really stood out’
and the use of the organ at the opening all contributed to a variety of
instrumentation and interest for the audience.
While participants encouraged the use of all the theatrical elements, it was felt
that much more could have been done to enhance the concert experience. The
opening that used lighting effects to project stars onto the ceiling of the
auditorium was good but people felt that the lighting effects could have been
more professional and followed more of a rock concert standard.
The role of the audience in a concert performance was discussed and some
differences were identified between this style of concert and a more traditional
Maestro concert. The musical background of the audience was felt to be
important to their expectations. In the case of the Sci-Fi concert where it was not
a ‘serious classical concert’ and the target audience included children and non-
orchestral attendees, one participant felt it was essential that the theatrical
elements and interactive style assist the audience to deepen their engagement
with the performance.
The importance of marketing orchestral performances to the appropriate
audience was also mentioned as a success factor for a concert. It was suggested
that not all orchestral concerts will appeal to everyone and that the audience that
attended the Sci-Fi concert, may not be interested in a Maestro concert. As the
Sci-Fi concert encourages younger audiences to attend, then the method of
marketing should utilise the electronic media to a greater extent. If potential
audiences are more aware of what the orchestra offers, then their expectations of
concerts will change and it should encourage them to attend more concerts.
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Overall, the participants in the focus group enjoyed the concert and all said that
they would come again to such a performance. They would not necessarily buy
a CD/DVD of the performance because much of the attraction of the concert was
in experiencing it live and participating in the event.
In conclusion, this focus group highlighted a number of important themes for
success in an orchestral concert and this was also supported by the audience
surveys for this concert.
4.3.5 Audience Focus Group – July 2006
Description of the performance - Winners Concert - July 2006
The Winners Concert was part of the Brisbane Festival 2006 and was a
collaboration between the Italian organisation Fabrica, TQO and TaikOz. It was
designed to be a one night event only and one of the main feature works of the
festival. The promotion for the concert gives an overview of what the audience
could expect:
Winners is a multimedia music action created by Fabrica and Brisbane
Festival 2006. For one night only in QPAC’s concert hall the world
comes to Brisbane for this world premiere event.
Through music and interactive media, singers, musicians and performers
in different location around the globe….. – will be part of an event that
unites the global community.
Andrea Molino’s vibrant score framed by extraordinary images, sounds,
text, lighting…..
As with the media build up to the performance, the opening kept expectations
high with dramatic drumming and showmanship from TaikOz. Then video
screens showing excerpts of interviews with people from around the world
talking about their experiences of trauma were projected, while the orchestra
provided a musical accompaniment. Also included in the work but via video
link-up were different musicians playing instruments such as the tabla (from
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Bangladesh) the saxophone (from U.S.) and xylophone and drums (from South
Africa). Two saxophone players on stage played in a way that created different
sounds that emulated speech.
The performance’s main focus was not the music and in fact the orchestra
musicians were hidden behind a mesh screen. The music was more of an
accompaniment to the spoken word and in my opinion became quite repetitive as
the performance continued. The heavy subject matter created a subdued and
depressed atmosphere amongst the audience and despite the auditorium being
almost full, there was little applause at the end of the performance.
Although not surveyed, from my observations I found the audience to consist of
a broad range of age groups and a variety of different socio-economic groups.
Focus Group Responses
There were eight participants in the focus group and the group consisted of
students, professionals and retired people. All of the people in the group were
invited to the performance, so the responses may be different to a paying
audience focus group. Two people that were originally invited to be part of the
focus group left during the performance as they were ‘bored’ and said they
didn’t like the performance, so did not attend the focus group meeting.
When asked about their preferred style of music, classical music was selected
most frequently but some people also selected electronic, jazz, eclectic, chill-out,
top 40 and minimalism.
Many of the participants commented about the thrilling opening with the TaikOz
drums and that had created ‘a lot of energy’. The concept was thought to be
‘bold’, ‘different’ and ‘exciting’ but again a few participants felt that it had not
really worked. People felt that the concert had started strongly and then ‘fell
away’. Some commented that the momentum was lost during the second half
due to the repetition of the trauma theme and lack of variety in the music. A
positive note was the integration of the different textures such as the interplay of
the visuals with the sound.
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Everyone felt that the drumming was the best thing about the performance. The
visuals were also a highlight for a few people despite the despondent subject
matter. One participant commented that ‘many symphony concerts are one
dimensional, but this concert built up many dimensions and affected the
emotions.’ This supports the importance of the emotional connection and the
benefits of using multi-media for this effect.
There were some negative comments about the sound quality and that it would
have worked better with surround sound and more amplification. Comments that
the orchestra was ‘lost’ and ‘sounded tired’ may have resulted because the
orchestra only had a minor role to play in the whole event. Its role was to
accompany the visuals and other feature instruments: ‘the music was simply
there to fill in the void’. As the orchestra was behind a screen, people felt
‘disconnected’ from the music.
Some participants said that they didn’t enjoy the evening very much and that
they felt the theme was a ‘bit preachy and formulaic’. This shows the
implications of dwelling on a sensitive theme such as death, which can cause
strong emotions in people.
One participant felt that the concept could have worked better as a cinema event.
In this way, the integration of visuals and sound could work in a more intimate
environment and without the large cost of this evening’s performance.
The orchestra did not take a bow at the end of the performance and this may
have contributed to the lack of applause at the end of the concert. One
participant said that they felt they didn’t have the opportunity to applaud. This
highlights the importance of people wanting to engage with the performers and
in Winners it was left to TaikOz to be the performers to take on this role.
There was a mixed response from participants when asked if they would come
again to such a performance, reflecting some of the reservations people
expressed about the Winners concert.
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Winners was an ambitious project and tried to extend the boundaries of what an
orchestral concert could be. It did demonstrate many of the elements being
reviewed in the 21st Century Orchestral Framework but based on the comments
of the focus group, there are questions about whether it succeeded. Using the
model of a one-off spectacular event within a festival, a broader audience can be
attracted to attend. However this audience needs to connect with the
performance and the orchestra’s involvement should be given a greater role if
people want to relate their experience of the event with the orchestra’s
capabilities. After the Brisbane Festival performance, Winners was again
performed in the Pompidou Centre in Paris as a one-off event.
4.3.6 TQO Musicians Focus Group
A week after the Winners concert performance, I attended the TQO artistic
committee meeting, which was attended by 6 people that day. A number of the
section leaders of the orchestra were part of this group, including the
concertmaster. Similar questions were asked to the ones that had been discussed
previously with the Deep Blue Orchestra musicians.
Firstly, they were asked specifically about the Winners concert and what they as
musicians liked best and least about the performance and the process they had
experienced. Most of the musicians commented that they had enjoyed the
performance, but the elements that contributed to their enjoyment had been
working with the skilful artistic director Andrea Molino, and that their parts were
‘challenging’, so they were not bored. However they didn’t really ‘like the
music’ although they felt it was ‘effective’. They felt once a year was fine for
this type of a performance, as it was an ‘exciting event’.
Many commented that they liked playing with the drumming group TaikOz. This
had been a novelty for the orchestra and added a different element to their
traditional instruments.
The musicians were asked for their opinions on the role of the audience in
traditional concerts versus less traditional concerts. Comments included that the
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audience ‘is necessarily passive’ in a traditional concert and efforts in less
traditional concerts for interactivity often come across as ‘forced’ or ‘fake’.
They did mention an exception to this in Nigel Kennedy, the popular violinist,
who inspires audience interaction. Also there was a comment that different
styles of concerts mean audiences will be engaged with the music in a different
way.
A question was posed that referred to the audience reaction and if it changes the
way that the musicians play e.g. do they feed off the audience response? All the
musicians replied that they are so engaged in their playing and that they only
recognise the audience at the end when they applaud. One commented that the
‘last thing you think about is how the audience is reacting’. The emphasis was
on their own performance and skill and if they play badly, a good audience
response will not make them feel better.
They believed that the role of a musician in a traditional classical concert versus
a multi-media concert did differ. They ‘liked the variety’ and the ‘intricacies
involved in a multi-media event’. They understood that the latter was not purely
an orchestral concert and felt it was important the audience understood this also.
The question about what type of orchestra would sustain audiences for the future
provoked a good discussion. It obviously was something they were concerned
about. They said that while there will still be a few traditional tastes, many
people are being influenced by the media and pop culture. In this way, they are
more likely to enjoy something they know or have heard before and if the
orchestra plays this type of music, it will increase their popularity. Another
comment was about the recognition that attending a concert has a social
importance and orchestras needed to emphasise this aspect.
There was a concern amongst the musicians that the ‘cross-over genre is
becoming the staple of the orchestral repertoire’ and that this could damage the
quality of the orchestra. There was a comment that orchestras need to keep their
‘core product of a high quality’. Again, the feeling amongst the group was that
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orchestras need to remember what their core product is, despite having concerts
which target different audience tastes.
Some of the attitudes displayed by the musicians in this interview demonstrate
the difficulty in changing the culture of the traditional classical orchestral
institution. These issues will be discussed in more detail in the conclusion
section and what this means for the implications to the research hypothesis.
4.3.7 Interview with CEO, The Queensland Orchestra – April 2006
A meeting was arranged with the CEO, to elicit her opinions on the social,
artistic and economic questions outlined in the data summary section. Her
opinions could then be considered together with the focus group and audience
survey responses to see how closely they aligned or not.
To begin, she discussed what she believed the successful characteristics are for
the 21st century orchestra. She replied that an orchestra needed to be ‘multi-
faceted’ but the first objective should be a commitment to quality playing. She
put this requirement first, before the audience desires. She also mentioned the
necessity to have a strong importance on marketing.
Her description of what makes the TQO unique however showed that the
organisation is focused on trying to build different audiences and cater for the
different community groups in Brisbane. She referred to the Clocktower Series
of concerts which aimed to be more informal and draw in audiences that may not
usually go to a classical concert and also a concert at the Greek Club, which
developed a strong community engagement. This focus on providing a different
product for different audience demographics was very important and TQO
research and program their concerts accordingly. She stated that TQO ‘tries to
sell the experience to the audience’. Again she mentioned that the musicians
need to have a balance of work satisfaction, highlighting that they preferred
doing the more serious and traditional works.
The TQO relies on government funding to a large extent and is trying to increase
its private and corporate sponsorship. The CEO mentioned that over the last year
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there had been a 55% increase in private and corporate funding. She stressed the
importance of the corporate sponsor having an alignment in objectives with TQO
and that ‘purely philanthropic relationships don’t exist’.
We talked about the use of experiential marketing in the TQO strategy and how
marketing material should aim to ‘create an emotional experience’, rather than
simply list the specifics of the program. The marketers and the programmers
work together from the start to find the right way to communicate to the targeted
audience demographic. TQO use radio and e-marketing strategies. On average
they require 25% of the budget to be allocated to marketing but for popular
artists such as Nigel Kennedy, the marketing spend will be much less.
The CEO also felt that a more entrepreneurial style of management was essential
for a successful orchestra and that the image of the TQO as depicted in the
Strong Report (2005) was not correct. She said that there was a commercial
focus within management and that there was a workable ‘flat team structure’.
For example, some musicians were represented on the artistic committee, which
makes decisions about programming and marketing.
Concerts that have an interactive component were mentioned and she said that
the traditional Maestro audience did not want this but that it worked well for the
more informal concerts. She agreed that the social interaction was an important
element and that TQO could invest more in this aspect to build audiences.
TQO have programmed more poly-stylistic concerts and are finding that many
pop and rock artists want to work with the orchestra. They have integrated
dance and visual mediums into their concerts. A good example of the cross-over
with different sounds was William Barton’s didgeridoo playing with the
orchestra.
The ultimate aim for audiences, according to the CEO, was that they ‘have a
transformative experience’ and that they enjoy it, but she did not really explain
how this would be achieved.
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4.3.8 Financial Reflections on Selected Concerts
Data was available for the two concerts in the case study, The Pines of Rome and
the Sounds of Sci-Fi and to enhance the research, data was also requested for
another special concert, Jazz meets the Symphony, to provide a comparison.
The box office revenue for the latter concert was $99,000, which was much
higher than the Maestro concert which generated $69,000, and the Clocktower
concert which only generated $27,000. This data reflects the popularity of the
Jazz meets the Symphony concert, which involved the high profile jazz
trumpeter James Morrison and was completely sold out. The Maestro concert
relied heavily on subscription tickets and although not completely at capacity,
was able to generate a reasonable income. The Sounds of Sci-Fi was held in a
different venue with a more limited capacity and the tickets costs were much
lower, so these factors contributed to the lower revenue for this concert.
While artist costs, direct marketing and venue costs were higher for Jazz meets
the Symphony, the concert was still profitable. Similarly the Maestro concert
also resulted in a small profit. The Clocktower concert realised a loss, due to
proportionally higher marketing costs and production costs for the extra
technology required.
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5 CONCLUSION
The purpose of this chapter is to consider the findings from the research in
relation to the 21st Century Orchestral Framework developed from the literature
and demonstrate how the research case study data supported the validity of the
elements in this framework.
The research study has explored a new arts marketing paradigm where the
audience is at the centre of the orchestral model and investigated whether
essential aspects of an orchestral performance increase audience connectivity
and thereby lead to a strengthened and broadened audience base. The hypothesis
is that this should result in a more sustainable future for the contemporary
orchestra.
5.1 Key findings from the research data
5.1.1 Interactivity
In all concerts, the primary research showed that when the audience was asked to
identify the best thing about the performance, the majority’s response was the
musicians/performers. This indicates that irrespective of the different audience
demographics and concert styles, it is important for people to connect and
engage with the performing artists. In fact, the TQO concerts had a higher
percentage response than the Deep Blue Orchestra concert. This shows that
traditional classical audiences do need to relate to the performers and concert
enjoyment is linked to the performers and not just the repertoire. This data
supports the attraction of attending a live event over listening to a recording.
The result is very positive when assessing the objective of the Deep Blue
Orchestra and audience development strategies for the organisation. Audience
engagement was one of the priorities for this production and this result shows
that the audience felt that the way the musicians interacted with them contributed
to their enjoyment of the performance. By the musicians/performers taking on a
character and individuality, audience engagement was high. The Deep Blue
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Orchestra results showed that for an audience to engage and enjoy a performance
the audience role does not need to be one of an active participant. Ultimately it
is the emotional engagement that is the strongest component. It also
demonstrates that if classical musicians were able to demonstrate a greater
connection with their audience, rather than just sitting behind their music stands,
this could help to raise audience numbers. The fact is that the traditional concert
environment presents a barrier between audience and performers, therefore it
does not allow these audiences to fully exploit their desire to interact more with
the performers.
There was a good response in the case study data from all concerts concerning
performer and audience interaction and this supports one of the hypotheses
questions formed in the 21st Century Orchestral Framework. In fact, the Maestro
audience scored highest for this point, indicating that interaction could be
developed more for a traditional audience, as well as for the Deep Blue
Orchestra style concert. The band U2’s description of the benefits of the
collective audience/performer experience are interesting to compare to the
comments from the Maestro audience focus group. In this focus group,
participants also discussed the importance of being part of the collective
audience experience and how it enhanced their enjoyment. The Clocktower
concert data showed that with this style of concert, audience interactivity is very
important. While the Maestro audience wants to include elements of audience
interaction in a more subtle way than a Clocktower audience, the research
demonstrated that it is still an important aspect to them.
The importance of performer or audience interactivity was also revealed in the
literature review. The popularity of well-known musicians/soloists and their
ability to attract an audience and the identification of a particular style and
personality is one of the elements being employed successfully by some
orchestras, such as the ACO and the New York Philharmonic.
One of the issues with increasing audience/performer interactivity is the differing
attitudes of the classical musicians. In the Deep Blue Orchestra, the musicians
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revealed that responding to the audience reaction was very important and it
helped them to develop their mutual connection with the audience. However, in
the TQO musician focus group, they did not believe the audience response was
the main emphasis, but instead it was their own level of skill and ability to
perform the works. Overcoming this attitude in the traditional classical music
world may further develop the level of audience engagement and connectivity
with the orchestra.
5.1.2 Style of performance
The importance of context (venue, ambience, behaviour of audience) on the
meaning of a performance was high for all the concerts. It is this element,
therefore, that needs to be considered when planning orchestral performances
and determining what constitutes specific orchestral products for individual
organisations. People attend concerts not only for just the music. It is the
holistic experience that is important. This is true for the more traditional style of
concert audience, such as the Maestro series, where the importance of keeping
all the ritualistic and formal elements of the performance style was demonstrated
from the research. However, while the style of performance was very different
to a concert by the Deep Blue Orchestra, it was also shown to contribute to the
audience enjoyment and connection. In this case, the more informal style of
performance, venue and social occasion were important to make the audience
feel involved, so the audience’s values contribute to their level of involvement in
a performance. In particular, the physical staging of the performance brought an
added dimension to the experience for the audience and as the Deep Blue
Orchestra Theatrical Director said, it allowed ‘the dynamics of the performance
space to change’ and hence created ‘layers of different emotions’ within the
audience. Overall, the data demonstrated that the particular style of a concert is
related to the particular audience it is aiming to attract and the concert style does
play a big part in the overall audience experience.
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5.1.3 Emotional connection
One of the highest rating positive responses was the role of the audience. Most
people indicated that they were ‘emotional listeners’. Although all the concerts
were quite different, an emotional connection was established with the audience,
irrespective of the style of music and performance. The Deep Blue Orchestra
concerts were designed to take the audience on an emotional journey by
integrating a theme and story-line to the collection of musical works, which
brought out a variety of emotions such as sadness, excitement and fun. From the
research data, this aim was shown to be successful. The Clocktower concert also
used a theme and story-line with the music and was able to draw on people’s
interest with the Sci-Fi theme to develop the emotional connection with the
performance. The Maestro concert audience rated the importance of an
emotional response the highest of all the surveys and the focus group comments
also showed how strong the emotional connection was with the performance.
This concert included The Pines of Rome, which was a particularly emotive
work, and people discussed how the ‘crescendo of emotions’ was built up in this
music. Emotions can have the opposite effect of distancing people from a
performance if it becomes too overwhelming, as was the case with the Winners
concert and its audience response to the theme of death, loss and tragedy.
While the research data showed that an emotional connection was one of the
main reasons that people attend an orchestral concert, this connection was
formed via different ways for different audiences. This finding supports
Colbert’s view that audiences have different subjective experiences at a
performance that is related to personal meaning (Colbert 2007 p. 112). This is
an important point to understand in relation to the research hypothesis and
Orchestral Sustainability Framework. If this ability to derive an emotional
connection in a traditional classical orchestral concert was shown to a wider
audience than currently, it could help with the perception and the attraction of
this style of concert and assist in audience development strategies. As many
authors commented on in the literature, classical composers also display great
social and personal messages and depth of emotion in their works and opening
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up these orchestral works to a different audience could bring about an increased
popularity for these performances.
5.1.4 Poly-stylistic genres
There was an important difference between the TQO concert audiences and the
Deep Blue audience in regard to their preferred style of music. While the Deep
Blue audience still had classical music as the highest selection, there was also a
high number of people preferring jazz and rock music, whilst the TQO audiences
predominantly preferred classical music. This shows that a choice of poly-
stylistic music repertoire would be more of a success in a Deep Blue Orchestra
concert than in a TQO concert, given their different target audiences. The
differentiation in orchestral product is an important factor for audience
connectivity.
The Deep Blue Orchestra concert data research highlighted the interest in the
blend of different sounds and the importance of using modern instruments in an
orchestral performance. The use of the electronic and the percussion together
with the more traditional sounding strings, attracted a broader audience and in
particular provided a sense of the familiar to the younger age group, who are
used to hearing these sounds in the other genres of music listened to today.
While the research data showed that the Maestro audiences want to hear their
preferred standard repertoire of works, other orchestral concert audiences want
to hear a broader repertoire that includes pop, rock, jazz and world music
integrated with the classical style. The success of the Adelaide Symphony
Orchestra with The Edge and the ACO program repertoire demonstrates that
there is a new audience for this type of music and it provides a way for
orchestras to expand their traditional audience demographic.
5.1.5 Distribution
The research study brought up an interesting issue about the importance of
recordings versus the attraction of live performances. Much of the literature
showed that people with an interest in classical and orchestral music sustained
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this interest by listening to radio and more recently, by downloading the
increasing number of recordings available on the internet. This point emphasizes
the importance of distribution strategies to the success of an orchestral
organisation. The younger generation accessing the internet recordings for
classical music, which provides the opportunity for building their own individual
play-lists is an encouraging sign and provides another avenue for orchestras to
promote their work and develop a wider audience.
However, the question in the research study about buying a CD/DVD of the
performance showed that for all the concerts, this was not a very high priority for
the audience. This could demonstrate that people do actually prefer to attend a
live performance if they have the choice. It highlights the importance of
attending a live performance to people, as the live performance can provide more
of an “experience” and the relevance of other factors such as the social occasion
and connection with the performers.
Despite the low response in the surveys on the interest in the recordings, this
method of distribution and promotion for an orchestra could provide another way
to bring their work to a different market. The younger internet generation is one
that could be targeted with a variety of cross-marketing methods. Internet sites
could suggest these orchestral recordings to people when they have an interest in
other similar musical styles or tastes, and this is a way to introduce a new
audience for the orchestra. As Kolb (2000 p. 208) discusses, technological
developments and possibilities for audience decisions on how the art product
will be consumed, is important for the development of arts organisations.
5.1.6 Inter-sensory perception
Williams (2003) has discussed the strong focus on the visual and the influence
on the music world, in particular the impact on the ‘MTV generation’. This
importance on the visual is also highlighted by a number of other authors. Some
orchestras have tried to explore this phenomenon and it is interesting to see the
different audience responses to performances which include visual and
sometimes theatrical elements. The literature review showed that multi-media
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performances may increase the attraction for some audiences but for the more
traditional concerts, it was not popular. This pattern was supported by the
research case studies. Again this supports the argument that the orchestral
product needs to be specific for different audience tastes. The importance of
including visual or theatrical elements in a performance was a question that
showed some different results for each of the concerts. As the Maestro audience
was a more traditional classical music audience, it is not surprising that they
scored lower than the Sci-Fi and Deep Blue Orchestra audiences. While there
were some negative comments about visuals and theatrics from these latter two
concerts, it was more about the quality and integration with the music rather than
an objection to their inclusion in the performance. These latter audiences
appreciated that they were experiencing a different and more innovative style of
presentation to the traditional concert and so were generally encouraging of the
attempt.
5.1.7 Marketing and Promotion
Many of the orchestras using a successful marketing strategy to reach their target
audiences were aware of the importance of promoting themselves in a unique
way. Developing the unique style and brand of the orchestra is a way to attract
and retain the niche targeted audience, as demonstrated well by Houston’s
Orchestra X. The pop music world has shown the benefits that can come from
marketing strategies aimed at an audience with a target set of common values,
such as the Spice Girls and their promotion of ‘girl power’ (Harris 2004), which
was aimed at a young, female demographic. One of the objectives of the
marketing strategy of the Deep Blue Orchestra was to promote the group as
being ‘hip’ and innovative and to ‘reinvent the traditional orchestra’ (Deep Blue
promotional video, 2006). In this way, the marketing strategy was aimed at
audiences who liked this style and could identify and relate to these objectives.
Supporting the findings from the research data that showed audiences identified
with charismatic and well-known performers, were the results of some of the
TQO marketing campaigns. In the case of the Jazz meets the Symphony concert
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and the promotion of well-known musician James Morrison, the marketing
spend required to attract a sell-out audience for this concert was smaller than for
other less popular artists and repertoire. This fact highlights the importance of
promoting the individuality and personality of orchestral performers to provide
an opportunity for improved audience connectivity.
In understanding the importance of the emotional connection for an audience,
many orchestras are using experiential marketing strategies to attract people.
TQO demonstrated this point with campaigns that focused on how people would
feel if they attended a concert, drawing on its vision to ‘touch the hearts and
minds of Queenslanders’ (The Queensland Orchestra 2007).
The research study showed how the social aspect can be important in the
marketing of an orchestral performance. The influence of the social network
was demonstrated by the way people find out about a concert and also in the way
they attend a concert. Attending the concert with friends was the most popular
way for all three concert audiences. This information could be used to better
identify ways of encouraging people to attend future concerts. The most popular
way to find out about music performances was from friends and this shows the
importance of the social network in attending concert performances. The
secondary research; the 2001 Saatchi and Saatchi Report, Australians and the
Arts and the Classical Music Consumer Segmentation Study from the Knight
Foundation in 2002, all supported this finding. Many people will attend a
concert because they are asked by friends and not primarily because they are
interested or aware of this concert performance. Understanding the social
networking aspects can assist orchestras in their marketing strategies, by
focusing on the social benefits of attendance when they are looking to attract
future audiences.
5.1.8 Business Partnerships
The TQO aimed to increase its private and corporate sponsorship, and over the
2005-2006 year found an increase in funding of 55% due to these relationships.
The Deep Blue Orchestra relied on funding from a variety of partners for its
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launch at the Brisbane Festival. The Deep Blue Orchestra, as a smaller ensemble
which would travel frequently, has different cost requirements to a large city
orchestra such as TQO and consequently the requirements for the financial
support of both orchestras is different. TQO will continue to require more
funding to survive, whereas the Deep Blue Orchestra aims to become financially
sustainable from primarily box office income. These specific funding
requirements are demonstrated more generically by other examples in the
literature review. The large symphony orchestras all require some element of
funding from either private or government sources but more flexible, smaller
orchestral ensembles such as Steve Reich Ensemble and Kronos Quartet are able
to be commercially self-sufficient.
5.2 Conclusions
Overall, all the case study concerts were a success in that most of the audiences
responded that they would come again to such a performance. These concerts
were able to demonstrate a level of audience connectivity, by illustrating the
audience’s ability and interest to relate to and be involved with the music
performance and the orchestra. This also indicates that all the concerts were
correctly targeted to their respective audiences. A conclusion that can be drawn
from this data is given the different audience demographics, it is important to
cater for a variety of different niche markets. In this context, the definition of
“niche” is a group of people who have a continuing loyalty to a particular style
or orchestra and which defines a specific target audience for concerts.
The example can be demonstrated by the Maestro concert audience, who were
very specific in their orchestral tastes and did not attend other styles of concerts.
Niche markets are discussed as growing in importance in the 21st century by
Anderson with his concept of ‘The Long Tail’ (Anderson 2004). This point of
view says that ‘popularity no longer has a lock on profitability’ and that
organisations should embrace niche markets. Anderson talks about how the
digital world can provide a much greater opportunity for exposure to different
musical styles and groups.
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If this concept is extended to the orchestral world, it means that there is a
demand for different orchestral products each with different styles and
repertoires and a broader audience can be captured by catering for these various
niche markets. Audience connectivity can therefore be achieved in a variety of
ways, as long as the performance is appropriate for its individual niche market
audience characteristics. This research study found that in fact many orchestras
are providing different concert programs and styles for their different niche
audiences. These orchestras are targeting a consumer market model but a niche
market, not a mass market. The business model for the orchestra is still box
office driven but each style of concert is targeted differently for a different niche.
While this business model may demonstrate strong audience connectivity, there
is still a question about whether this leads to orchestral sustainability. Not all of
these niche market concerts can realise a profit due entirely to box office
receipts. This was shown in the research by the TQO’s Clocktower series
concerts. There may be a requirement for other funding such as private and
corporate sponsorship, to sustain all the niche market projects of an orchestra.
However, an orchestra that attempts to attract these various niche markets is
connecting with a much broader audience than if it only provided a single style
of program.
In the context of niche markets, the Winners concert performance was designed
as a one-off multi-media event as part of a festival. Using this business model of
a one-off spectacular event within a festival, a broader audience can be attracted
to attend, one that may not usually attend orchestral performances. However,
while the factors to ensure audience connectivity can be present, this model is
different to the box office driven niche consumer market. The commercial
realities of this type of concert are based on receiving funding from festival and
other partners, so the financial profitability of such a performance should be
analysed on a different basis to the other TQO and the Deep Blue Orchestra
concerts. A sustainable model for this type of event may be possible if private
and or public funding is always part of the model.
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The research also demonstrated that connectivity exists with a variety of
audiences but it often is not identified and promoted to achieve the best effect for
both the audience and the performers. The numerous emotional listener results
showed that emotion is a very important reason why audiences choose to attend
a concert. Emotional connection plays a big part in audience connectivity.
Audience connectivity through emotion does exist for the more traditional
concerts as well as for the more innovative style concerts, as the research
concluded and this presents an opportunity for orchestral groups to firstly
understand this in greater depth and utilise the information in a beneficial way.
Using strategic repertoire selections, presentation styles and audience
development and marketing strategies, orchestral management can exploit this
knowledge more and draw in new audiences for classical orchestras. Using
experiential marketing strategies is a good example of accessing people’s desire
for the emotional and how they will feel if they attend an orchestral performance.
There is still a strong desire from people to attend live orchestral performances.
Many examples of this point came through the focus group discussions, such as
drawing on the collective audience experience and the opportunity of relating to
the performers. Despite the growing influence of technology, the importance of
live events is still evident. While it is useful for orchestras to utilise the digital
media for distribution and exposure to a wider audience, it was shown that
audience connectivity can be enhanced by attendance at a live concert.
Orchestras need to respond to changing markets to remain competitive. The
change in musical genres, the fast pace of technological change and demographic
changes has made it imperative that orchestras are cognoscente of these changes.
Orchestral organisations and their product need to change along side these
societal changes and not stand still, or they face the danger of remaining stuck in
the past. A good example of this is the use of the digital distribution channels to
develop a new audience. Successful business models are focused on innovation
and as Pink (2005) suggests, the difference between successful enterprises and
failing ones is the extent of their creativity and their ability to come up with new
ideas. While there may still be much experimentation on how to present the
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most engaging concert to draw in audiences, it is important that orchestras try
different strategies to remain competitive and to stay in touch with the demands
of new audiences. One thing that new audiences want is innovation, as
demonstrated by the Deep Blue Orchestra research.
The research conclusions in this chapter show the relevance of the various
elements in the 21st Century Orchestral Framework in relation to the research
hypothesis in this study. The aim of the research was to analyse the various
elements of the Orchestral Sustainability Framework and determine if these
contribute to increased audience connectivity with the orchestral performance. It
has been shown that some of the elements in the framework strongly result in
increased audience connectivity. In particular, the elements of
performer/audience interactivity, emotional connection, performance style and
strong branding/marketing all helped build audience connectivity. The research
data also showed there were other elements such as education, poly-stylistic
genres and distribution channels which also contribute to audience connectivity
but in these cases, it was more closely dependent on the target audience
demographic and concert style. For example, when the effect of musical
learning on building audience connectivity was analysed, the research showed
that this was dependent on the specific audience type. In the case of the Maestro
audiences, musical learning was a factor that helped them understand and enjoy
the performance, whereas with the Deep Blue Orchestra concerts, many of the
non-arts attendees did not require this educational background to connect with
the performance. As the framework has evolved over the course of this study,
the original framework factor of ‘entrepreneurial management’ has now been
included under ‘business partnerships’, and the ‘blends of instruments and
sounds’ is incorporated under ‘poly-stylistic genres’.
The following diagram shows the attributes of audience connectivity as revealed
by the research. The attributes which are relevant for all types of concerts and
orchestras are differentiated from the ones relevant for specific niche markets,
which are in italics.
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
Figure 6: Attributes of Connectivity
The 21st Century Orchestral Sustainability Framework can now be revisited, to
determine how the results from the research have impacted on it. The conclusion
that orchestras need to cater for a variety of different niche markets is important
when assessing the relevance of the various factors in the framework. As
discussed, some of the factors are relevant for all audiences, while others are
specific to a particular concert style. Repertoire using poly-stylistic music
genres and inter-sensory perception are more applicable for audience niches
similar to the Deep Blue Orchestra audience and musical learning is more
applicable for traditional orchestral audiences. Consequently, the framework
now incorporates a classification for traditional orchestral performances and for
contemporary orchestral performances, such as the Deep Blue Orchestra. The
emphasis of the research on audience connectivity has lead to a revision of the
framework and to the construction of an ‘Audience Connectivity Model for
Orchestras’, as shown here:
Audience Connectivity
Marketing
Business Partnerships
Attributes of Connectivity
Distribution Channels
Musical Learning
Performance Style
Interactivity
Poly-stylistic Genres
Emotional Engagement
Inter-sensory Perception
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Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
Figure 7: Audience Connectivity Model for 21st Century Orchestras
REQUIRED ELEMENT
AUDIENCE NICHE
Contemporary All niches Traditional
Performer/audience
interaction
● ● ●
Performance style ● ● ●
Emotional
engagement
● ● ●
Musical Learning ●
Poly-stylistic music
genres
●
Inter-sensory
perception using
visuals and theatre
●
Business
partnerships
● ● ●
Strong branding
and marketing
● ● ●
Variety of
distribution
channels
● ● ●
The figure illustrates that different audience connectivity factors are relevant for
different audience niches. This has implications on the choices orchestras make
about their product, their audience development strategies and their distribution
models. The research has shown that audience connectivity has an impact on all
these choices and that putting the audience at the centre of the orchestral model
brings a different perspective to their approach and business model. Despite the
different audience niches, there is still a need for audience connectivity across all
Audience connectivity in orchestral performances Page 119
Shari Lindblom Master of Arts (Research), 2009
types of performances. The first part of the research hypothesis that the
orchestral sustainability elements help build audience connectivity, has therefore
been supported in this study.
The research hypothesis assumed increased audience connectivity contributes to
orchestral sustainability, as it has specifically been defined in this study. The
contribution of audience connectivity towards orchestral sustainability is yet to
be supported . It is logical to deduce that the more connectivity offered and
presented, the more audiences increase their participation and attendance. This
can lead to sustainability for the orchestra. Sustainability was defined as the
situation when an orchestra produces an artistic product to satisfy its audience,
which results in a combination of box office income and sponsorship funding.
The research study has shown that orchestras can produce an artistic product to
satisfy a variety of niche markets. Since the case study was undertaken, the Deep
Blue Orchestra has built a niche market and a defined audience connection
during the initial stages of its commercialisation. Although this study was not
able to investigate fully the contribution of this audience connectivity on the box
office income, a logical deduction is that this will contribute to box office
revenue generation. For true sustainability however, there is a requirement for
the organisation to be financially viable. This financial viability may come from
a number of sources such as box office revenue and private and public funding.
The relationship between box office revenue, sponsorship requirements and their
dependency on audience connectivity can then be explored further. The research
hypothesis in this thesis then leads to a suggestion of orchestral sustainability.
Not all of the factors in the Orchestral Sustainability Framework were able to be
fully investigated in this research study and therefore there is still opportunity to
understand this framework more deeply and the relevance to audience
connectivity and orchestral sustainability. From the research, it has appeared
that there are many interactions and dependencies between all the framework
factors and that some factors may have greater impact than others. This could be
further explored in future research, allowing for a refinement of the Attributes of
Connectivity, and the 21st Century Orchestral Sustainability Framework.
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Finally, by putting the research findings in the context of the current state of the
orchestral industry, it is useful to consider an article in the Weekend Australian
(Wynhausen 2007). This article discusses some of the issues, already presented
in this research study, that the Australian orchestras have faced and comments
that over the last few years there has been a small, but inspiring rejuvenation in
their audience numbers. By employing some of the strategies discussed in this
study, orchestras are growing their audiences ‘incrementally but steadily’. This
article talks about one of the main reasons for this situation and according to
some leading orchestral industry people, it is because ‘orchestras are bringing in
fresh audiences with well thought out niche programming’. These comments are
very encouraging in the light of the research findings. In many ways, the lessons
learnt from new contemporary orchestras such as the Deep Blue Orchestra can
be applied to the more established ones to realize greater audience diversity and
assist with audience development strategies.
This research study has provided a very strong basis from which to view the
future of the orchestral art form. The next decade will provide an interesting
opportunity to observe how orchestras continue to face the challenges and
rewards of a dynamically changing industry and audiences.
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Caru, A. and B. Cova. 2005. The Impact of Service Elements on the Artistic Experience: The Case of Classical Music Concerts. International Journal of Arts Management, 7 (2): 39 - 51. Charmaz, K. 2000. Grounded Theory: Objectivist and Constructivist Methods. In The Handbook of Qualitative Research, eds. N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, 524. California: SAGE Publications. Chong, D. and R. J. Trappey. 2001. Privately Held and Managing well: The English Chamber Orchestra at 40. International Journal of Arts Management, 3 (2): 16 - 26. Colbert, F. 2007. Marketing Culture and the Arts. Third ed. Montreal: HEC Montreal. The Collaborative Orchestra, Koch Label. 2005. www.emusic.com (accessed Oct 2005). Cook, N. 1990. Music, imagination and culture. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Cook, N. 1998. Analysing Musical multimedia. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Csikszentmihalyi, M. 1990. Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Collins. Darso, L. 2003. Learning Tales of Arts in Business. Copenhagen: Samfundslitteratur Debus, M. 1996. Handbook for Excellence in Focus Group Research: Porter Novelli. Deep Blue. 2005. www.creativemediawarehouse.com Denzin, N. K. and Y. S. Lincoln. 2000. Interpretation, Evaluation and Representation. In Handbook of Qualitative Research, eds. N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, 986. California: Sage Publications. Dewey, J. 1934. Art is Experience. New York: Capricorn Books. Financial Condition of Symphony Orchestras. 1992. The Wolf Organisation, Inc. Gainer, B. 1999. Achieving stability and success in crowded markets: The Case of Tafelmusik. International Journal of Arts Management, 2 (1): 77 - 87. Garbolinski, R. 2006. Interview with LSO [Interview with S. Lindblom]
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Gillies, M. 2005. The Orchestras We Need. In Music Council of Australia, 4th Annual Lecture. Brisbane. Glover, G. 2002. 'Broadband Radio': Classic FM Review. The Scotsman. Haeker, E. 2005. Interview with Arts in Motion.[Interview with S. Lindblom] Harris, A. 2004. All about the Girl: Culture, Power and Identity: Routledge. Hill, L., C. O'Sullivan and T. O'Sullivan. 1995. Creative Arts Marketing: Butterworth Heinemann. Improving the Condition of School Music Education Across Australia. 2005. Australian Council of State School Organisations. Juslin, P. N. and J. A. Sloboda. 2004. Music and emotion. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kemmis, S. and R. McTaggart. 2000. Participatory Action Research. In Handbook of Qualitative Research, eds. N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, 595-598. California: SAGE Publications. Kennedy, M. 1995. Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music. Oxford University Press Kolb, B. M. 2000. Marketing Cultural Organisations New strategies for attracting audiences to classical music, dance, museums, theatre and opera. Dublin: Oak Tree Press. Kolb, B. M. 2001. The decline of the subscriber base; A study of the Philharmonia Orchestra Audience. International Journal of Arts Management, 3 (2): 51 - 58. Kotler P. and J. Scheff. 1997. Standing Room Only. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Kronos Quartet. 2006. www.kronosquartet.org (accessed 01/02/2006). Lampel, Lant and Shamsie. 2000. Balancing Act: Learning from Organising Practices in Cultural Industries. Organisational Science, 11 (3). Langer, S. K. 1953. Feeling and Form: Charles Scribner & Sons. Lasserman, D. 2002. Are concerts killing music? The Guardian.
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Lebrecht, N. 1996. When the music stops..... Managers, maestros and the corporate murder of classical music. London: Simon & Schuster. Lee, I. 1998. Modulations: Caipirinha Productions [Film]. Letts, R. 2003. The Effects of Globalisation on Music in Five Contrasting Countries: Music Council of Australia. Lewis, D. and D. Bridger. 2001. The Soul of the New Consumer. London: Nicholas Brealy Publishing. MacDonald, N. 2006. A symphony for you and me. Macleans, 119 (8): 52. McLean, J. 1999. Strategic Alliances for Aesthetic Product. In YPPPA. Melbourne. Menard, S. 1991. Longitudinal Research. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2003. Edited by S. Stanley and J. Tyrrel. 2nd ed: Oxford University Press. Nugent, H. 2003. Securing the Future Major Performing Arts Inquiry Report: Department of CITA, Australian Government. Oestrich, J. R. 2004. When Styles Jockey for Juxtaposition. New York Times, August 30, 2005. Orchestral Statistical Report. 2005. American Symphony Orchestra League. www.americanorchestras.org (accessed Dec 2005). Philip Glass's Orion. 2005. In Melbourne International Arts Festival Brochure. Pink, D. 2005. A Whole New Mind. New York: Penguin Books. Pleasers: ASO and Tonhalle. 2007. The Strad, January, 2007. Pogrebin, R. 2004. For Symphony Fans, The Touch of MTV. New York Times, February 23rd. Preece, S. B. 2001. Chamber Music Presentation: An alternative approach. In AIMAC. Brisbane. The Queensland Orchestra. 2007. www.queenslandorchestra.com.au (accessed Jan 2007).
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Radbourne, J. 2005. Interview with Ensemble Intercontemporain. Paris. Rentschler, R. 2002. Innovative Arts Marketing: Allen & Unwin Academic. Richardson, L. 1994. Writing: A method of inquiry. In Handbook of Qualitative Research, eds. N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, 522. California: SAGE Publications. Ropo, A. and E. Sauer. 2003. Partnerships of Orchestras: Towards Shared Leadership. International Journal of Arts Management, 5 (2): 44 - 54. Saatchi & Saatchi and P. Costantoura. 2001. Australians and the arts. Sydney: Federation Press. Sandow, G. 2005. Some New Spins on Classical Music. Wall Street Journal, 13/10/2005. Sauter, W. 1986. 'Theatre Talks: Or How to Find Out What the Specator Thinks'. Nordic Theatre Studies: Advances in Reception and Audience Research, 5: 136-145. Schwandt, T. A. 1994. Constructivist, interpretivist approaches to human inquiry. In Handbook of Qualitative Research, eds. N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, 197. California: Sage Publications. Seabrook, J. 2001. Nobrow: The Culture of Marketing - the Marketing of Culture. New York: Vintage. Shepherd, J. 1991. Music as Social Text. Cambridge: Polity Press. Sigur Ros Reviews. 2005. www.sigur-ros.co.uk (accessed August 2005). Small, C. 1998. Musicking. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press. Solomon, M., G. Bamossy and S. Askegaard. 2002. Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective: Prentice Hall. Stake, R. E. 2000. Case Studies. In Handbook of Qualitative Research, eds. N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln, 435-448. California: Sage Publications. Stearns, D. P. 2004. Classical Buffs Wary of Letting Eyes Have It. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Steve Reich Musicians. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Reich (accessed Dec 2007).
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Strong, J. 2005. A new era Report of the Orchestras Review 2005: Department CITA, Australian Government. Trans Siberian Orchestra. 2005. www.trans-siberian.com (accessed 20/11/2005). Tremblay, J. 2004. Klaus Zehelein and the Stuttgart State Opera: When Tradition and innovation go hand and hand. International Journal of Arts Management, 6 (3): 60 - 67. Tsioulcas, A. 2006. Classical Takes Digital Leap. Billboard, 118: 44-45. Visual Music: Press Quotes. 2005. www.kronosquartet.org (accessed 30/08/2005). Weinstein, D. and M. A. Weinstein. 1991. Georg Simmel: Sociological flanceur bricoleur. Theory, Culture and Society, 8: 161. Wikipedia. 2007. Participant Observation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participant_observation (accessed Nov 2007). Williams, K. 2003. Why I (Still) Want My MTV Music Video and Aesthetic Communication. Cresskill, New Jersey: Hampton Press. Wills, G. 2006. Diving into the Blue. The Courier Mail, July 23, 2006. Winkler, T. 1998. Composing Interactive Music: MIT Press. Winzenried, R. 2006. See the Colours, Hear the Music. www.symphony.org (accessed 20/10/2006). Wolf, M. J. 1999. The Entertainment Economy: Times Publication. Wolfe, D. 1993. Marketing to boomers and beyond: strategies for reaching America's wealthiest market. New York: McGraw-Hill. Wynhausen, E. 2007. Back from the brink. Weekend Australian, 17/03/2007, 4-5.
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APPENDIX ONE
DEEP BLUE ORCHESTRA AUDIENCE SURVEY – December 2005
Q1. Do you like to hear music
in the car □ You may tick more than one
a concert hall □
a pub □
your own place □
some other
place □ specify
24
2112
24
9
in the cara concert halla pubyour own placesome other place
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q2. Which style of music do you prefer
classical □ You may tick more than one
rock □
jazz □
country □
other □ specify
19
13
15
1
13
classicalrockjazzcountryother
Q3. What did you like best about this performance/showing. Select only one box.
the musicians/performers □ the style of music □
the visual elements □ the conductor □
the sound production □ how it made you
feel □
The highest response was that the musicians/performers were the best part of the
performance, with 10 people giving this answer, followed by the sound
production, with 7 responses.
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q4. What did you like least about this performance/showing. Select only one box.
the musicians □ the style of music □
the visual elements □ the conductor □
the sound production □ how it made you
feel □
The highest response was that the style of music was the element that the
responders liked least, with 8 people giving this answer.
Q5. How will you describe the performance to people at work tomorrow or the next time you
meet.
This question elicited a number of varied responses such as
‘experimental and innovative’
‘awesome production and great musicianship’
‘fun and new look’
‘an orchestra with costumes and choreography’
‘exciting and moving, new’
‘contemporary orchestra’
‘music that would be good in a movie’
‘modern, interesting, innovative’
‘contemporary and encapsulating’
‘different to what use to but enjoyable’
‘amazing collaboration of drama, lighting, costume, sound production. Loved
every piece’
‘mood well created with sound and lighting’
‘interesting’
‘break away from traditional ways of experiencing a performance’
‘refreshing, innovative, explorative but boundaries can still be extended’
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Q6. Would you buy a CD of this performance.
The greater proportion of people said that they would not buy a CD, with 17
responders giving this answer.
Q7. Would you come again to a performance like this.
The very positive response to this question was that everyone would come
again, with the exception of only one responder.
Q8. If you could change anything about this performance, what would it be
Many of the responses here were concerning the style of music presented and
the balance between the instruments. Responses included ‘try and make the
electronic and percussion components a bit more subtle’, ‘the beats were a little
80’s sounding’, ‘lame techno sounds’, ‘less electronics’, ‘keep recorded music
quieter’, ‘a little more of a break away from classical required, integrate a
variety of other styles’, ‘greater musical variety, wider range of instruments’,
‘more variety, less repetition’, ‘more sense of journey’, ‘music didn’t really
push what could be done in terms of style’.
Other comments were about ‘better speaker presentations’, ‘let the musicians
move around more’ and ‘an area for audience to move to the music’.
Many people did respond with ‘nothing’.
Q9. How would you describe the role of the audience in a musical performance.
spectator □ co-producer □
emotional listener □ active participant □
passive listener □ other (specify)
There was a high response for the ‘emotional listener’ choice, with 19
responders giving this answer.
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Q10. Rate the level you agree with the following statements. Where 1 is strongly disagree and
5 is strongly agree.
Integration of visual images and sound facilitates a deeper
understanding of music.
1 2 3 4 5
A person’s musical background and experience influences their
expectations of a musical performance.
1 2 3 4 5
A musical performance evokes an emotional response in the
audience.
1 2 3 4 5
Pre-performance information is important to enjoyment of a
musical performance.
1 2 3 4 5
The context (venue, ambience, behaviour of audience)
contributes to the meaning of a music performance.
1 2 3 4 5
Interaction between the audience and performers results in
audience enjoyment.
1 2 3 4 5
Responses on the visual question indicated that the audience mostly agreed with
this statement, with 27% of responders strongly agreeing.
Reponses on the influences on expectations question also showed that the
audience mostly agreed with this statement, with 38% of responders strongly
agreeing.
The emotional response question got the highest response with 77% of
responders either agreeing or strongly agreeing.
The pre-performance information question elicited a more mixed response and
had the highest number of people (30%) disagree with the statement.
Both the context and the interaction questions had a positive response, with 66%
of people in either agreement or strong agreement.
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q11. How do you usually find out about music performances.
newspaper □ Television □
email □ Friends □
Internet search □ personal
invitation □
33%
8%
5%8%
32%
14%
newspaperemailInternet searchtelevisionfriendspersonal invitation
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q12. Do you like to attend music performances.
solo □ with family □
with friends □ never □
17%
61%
22%0%
solo
with friends
with family
never
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
APPENDIX TWO
DEEP BLUE ORCHESTRA AUDIENCE SURVEY – July 2006
Q1. Do you like to hear music
in the car □ You may tick more than one
a concert hall □
a pub □
your own place □
some other
place □ specify
Preferred place to hear music
0102030405060708090
100
Like tohear music
in car
Like tohear musicin concert
hall
Like tohear music
in pub
Like tohear music
in ow nplace
Like tohear music
in someother place
% o
f tot
al re
spon
dees
Preferred place to hearmusic
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q2. Which style of music do you prefer
classical □ You may tick more than one
rock □
jazz □
country □
other □ specify
The results showed that the greatest number of people in the audience
preferred classical music but this was closely followed by rock and jazz.
Q3. What did you like best about this performance/showing. Select only one box.
the musicians/performers □ the style of
music □
the visual elements □ how it made you
feel □
the sound production □ Other □
Best thing about performance
05
101520253035404550
The m
usici
ans/p
erfor
mers
Visua l e
lemen
ts
Sound pr
oducti
on
Style of
music
The place
How it
made you
feel
Other
% o
f res
pond
ees
Best thing aboutperformance
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q4. What did you like least about this performance/showing. Select only one box.
the musicians □ the style of music □
the visual elements □ how it made you
feel □
the sound production □ Other □
There were a variety of responses in this question, as reflected by ‘other’
receiving the highest response with 51%. There were a few common
themes from these responses, with people saying that the performance was
‘too short’ and many not being happy with the comfort of the venue.
However many people responded with saying ‘nothing’.
Q5. How will you describe the performance to people at work tomorrow or the next time you
meet.
Some of the highlights are reported below:
‘Fabulous innovative exciting fresh’
‘Mesmerizing, involving the audience the whole time’
‘Emotional. Uplifting and diverse.’
‘A mixture of contemporary music and visual theatre. Astounding’
‘Exciting, engaging, great to listen to and see.’
‘New era in classical music.’
Q6. Would you buy a CD/DVD of this performance.
There was a more positive response to this question than from the
December performance survey results. 58% of responders answered that
they would buy a CD/DVD this time.
Q7. Would you come again to a performance like this.
The very high positive response to this question resulted in 96% of
responders saying ‘yes’
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q8. If you could change anything about this performance, what would it be
Q9. How would you describe the role of the audience in a musical performance.
spectator □ co-producer □
emotional listener □ active participant □
passive listener □ other (specify)
As with the December performances, there was also a high response for
the ‘emotional listener’ choice, with 64% responders giving this answer.
This correlates with the responses for Q10, which show musical
performances evoking emotional responses.
Q10. Rate the level you agree with the following statements. Where 1 is strongly disagree and
5 is strongly agree.
Integration of visual images and sound facilitates a deeper
understanding of music.
1 2 3 4 5
A person’s musical background and experience influences their
expectations of a musical performance.
1 2 3 4 5
A musical performance evokes an emotional response in the
audience.
1 2 3 4 5
Pre-performance information is important to enjoyment of a
musical performance.
1 2 3 4 5
The context (venue, ambience, behaviour of audience)
contributes to the meaning of a music performance.
1 2 3 4 5
Interaction between the audience and performers results in
audience enjoyment.
1 2 3 4 5
Responses on the visual question indicated that the audience mostly
agreed with this statement, with an average response of 3.75.
Reponses on the influences on expectations question also showed that the
audience mostly agreed with this statement, with an average response of
3.69.
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
The emotional response question got the highest response with an average
response of 4.05 and this was also the highest scorer in the December
survey.
The pre-performance information question elicited a more mixed response
and scored an average of 2.69
The importance of context question scored an average of 3.95.
The interaction between audience and performer question also had a
positive response, with an average of 3.57.
Histograms showing the frequency of responses from strongly disagree to
strongly agree are shown below.
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Q11. How do you usually find out about music performances.
newspaper □ Television □
email □ Friends □
Internet search □ personal
invitation □
Responses show that the most popular ways to find out about music
performances are firstly by friends (42%) followed by newspapers (22%).
Source of Performance Information
05
1015202530354045
Newsp
aper
Intern
et
Televis
ion
Friend
s
Person
al invit
ation
% o
f res
pond
ees
Where information issourced
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q12. Do you like to attend music performances.
solo □ with family □
with friends □ never □
Responses show that the most popular way to attend music performances
is with friends(75%) and this response corresponds to the previous
question, when people showed the importance of finding out about
performances from friends.
Performance attendance
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Solo With Friends With Family
% o
f tot
al r
espo
ndee
s
Performance attendance
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Cross-Tabulation of Survey Results Age group * Integration of visual and sound for enjoyment of music Cross tabulation
Integration of visual and sound for enjoyment of music Total
0 1 2 3 4 5
Age group 1 Count 2 4 3 1 17 24 51
% of Total 1.0% 2.0% 1.5% .5% 8.5% 11.9% 25.4%
2 Count 1 3 1 2 10 20 37
% of Total .5% 1.5% .5% 1.0% 5.0% 10.0% 18.4%
3 Count 2 3 0 5 13 20 43
% of Total 1.0% 1.5% .0% 2.5% 6.5% 10.0% 21.4%
4 Count 1 1 0 6 15 14 37
% of Total .5% .5% .0% 3.0% 7.5% 7.0% 18.4%
5 Count 2 2 2 7 10 10 33
% of Total 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 3.5% 5.0% 5.0% 16.4%
Total Count 8 13 6 21 65 88 201
% of Total 4.0% 6.5% 3.0% 10.4% 32.3% 43.8% 100.0%
Information about performance * Age group Cross tabulation
Age group Total
1 2 3 4 5
Information about performance
1 Count 6 12 10 11 11 50
% of Total 3.0% 6.0% 5.0% 5.5% 5.5% 25.1%
2 Count 5 2 5 1 1 14
% of Total 2.5% 1.0% 2.5% .5% .5% 7.0%
3 Count 3 7 4 2 1 17
% of Total 1.5% 3.5% 2.0% 1.0% .5% 8.5%
4 Count 2 1 2 0 1 6
% of Total 1.0% .5% 1.0% .0% .5% 3.0%
5 Count 30 12 18 16 10 86
% of Total 15.1% 6.0% 9.0% 8.0% 5.0% 43.2%
6 Count 5 3 3 7 8 26
% of Total 2.5% 1.5% 1.5% 3.5% 4.0% 13.1%
Total Count 51 37 42 37 32 199
% of Total 25.6% 18.6% 21.1% 18.6% 16.1% 100.0%
Audience connectivity in orchestral performances Page 145
Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
APPENDIX THREE
Queensland Orchestra – Maestro Concert Audience Survey
Q1. Do you like to hear music
in the car □ You may tick more than one
a concert hall □
a pub □
your own
place □
some other
place □ specify
Preferred place to hear music
020406080
100120
Like tohear
music incar
Like tohear
music inconcert
hall
Like tohear
music inown place
Like tohear
music inpub
Like tohear
music insomeotherplace
% o
f tot
al re
spon
dees
Preferred place to hearmusic
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Q2. Which style of music do you prefer
classical □ You may tick more than one
rock □
jazz □
country □
other □ specify
Preferred style of music
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Preferclassicalstyle ofmusic
Preferrock styleof music
Preferjazz styleof music
Prefercountrystyle ofmusic
Preferother styleof music
% o
f tot
al re
spon
dees
Preferred style of music
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Q3. What did you like best about this performance/showing. Select only one box.
the musicians/performers □ how it made you feel □
the sound production □ The place □
the style of music □ Other □
Best thing about performance
01020304050607080
The musicia
ns/perform
ers
Sound production
Style of music
The place
How it made you fe
el
% o
f res
pond
ees
Best thing about performance
Q4. What did you like least about this performance/showing. Select only one box. Choices as
in Q3
Many people did not select an answer for this question.
Q5. How will you describe the performance to people at work tomorrow or the next time you
meet.
Q6. Would you buy a CD/DVD of this performance.
67.5% of people responded that they would not buy a CD/DVD,
maybe indicating the value of a live performance for the Maestro
audience.
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q7. Would you come again to a performance like this.
The concert performance was correctly targeted to the audience,
with an overwhelmingly positive response of 97.7% saying that
they would come again to a performance like this.
Q8. If you could change anything about this performance, what would it be
Most people surveyed said that they would change ‘nothing’ about
the performance
Q9. How would you describe the role of the audience in a musical performance.
spectator □ co-producer □
emotional listener □ active participant □
passive listener □ other (specify)
The highest response was for the ‘emotional listener’ choice with
73.8% responders giving this answer. This correlates with the
responses for Q10, which shows musical performances evoking
emotional responses.
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Q10. Rate the level you agree with the following statements. Where 1 is strongly disagree and
5 is strongly agree.
Integration of visual images and sound facilitates a deeper
understanding of music.
1 2 3 4 5
A person’s musical background and experience influences their
expectations of a musical performance.
1 2 3 4 5
A musical performance evokes an emotional response in the
audience.
1 2 3 4 5
Pre-performance information is important to enjoyment of a
musical performance.
1 2 3 4 5
The context (venue, ambience, behaviour of audience) contributes
to the meaning of a music performance.
1 2 3 4 5
Interaction between the audience and performers results in
audience enjoyment.
1 2 3 4 5
Responses on the visual question indicated that the audience was neutral
about this statement, with an average response of 2.93, indicating that the
Maestro audience is not strongly in favour of supplementing the concert
experience with visuals.
Reponses on the influences on expectations question also showed that the
audience mostly agreed with this statement, with an average response of
3.82. Maestro audiences tend to have a greater musical knowledge than
other TQO concerts.
The emotional response question got the highest response with an average
response of 4.49.
The pre-performance information question elicited a more mixed response
and scored an average of 2.95.
The importance of context question scored an average of 4.27,
demonstrating that this is important to the Maestro audience and supports
the fact that these audiences do like the holistic concert experience.
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
The interaction between audience and performer question also had a
positive response, with an average of 3.93. This data supports the
responses to question 3, where the importance of the
musicians/performers was identified.
Q11. How do you usually find out about music performances.
newspaper □ Television □
email □ Friends □
Internet search □ personal invitation □
Sources of Performance Information
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Newspaper Email Internet Television Friends Personalinvitation
% o
f res
pond
ees
Where information issourced
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q12. Do you like to attend music performances.
solo □ with family □
with friends □ never □
Performance attendance
0102030405060708090
Solo With friends With family
% o
f tot
al re
spon
dees
Performanceattendance
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Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q13. Do you attend other Queensland Orchestra concerts
And if so, which ones
Maestro □ Tea and Symphony □
Music on Sundays □ Intimate Classics □
Proms □
Maestro concerts appear to be attended by people that also like to attend
other TQO concerts, with 85% of people responding that they do attend
other concerts.
The greater proportion of these concerts however is within the Maestro
series, with 94.7% attending these. The Intimate Classics and Music on
Sundays are also attended.
Other TQO Concert Attendance
0102030405060708090
100
AttendMaestro
AttendMusic onSundays
AttendProms
Attend Teaand
Symphony
AttendIntimateClassics
% o
f res
pond
ees
TQO Concerts
Audience connectivity in orchestral performances Page 153
Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
APPENDIX FOUR
The Queensland Orchestra – Sci-Fi Concert Audience Survey
Q1. Do you like to hear music
in the car □ You may tick more than one
a concert hall □
a pub □
your own
place □
some other
place □ specify
Preferred place to hear music
020406080
100120
Like tohear
music incar
Like tohear
music inpub
Like tohear
music inown
place
Like tohear
music inconcert
hall
Like tohear
music insomeotherplace
% o
f res
pond
ees
Preferred place to hearmusic
Audience connectivity in orchestral performances Page 154
Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q2. Which style of music do you prefer
classical □ You may tick more than one
rock □
jazz □
country □
other □ specify
Preferred style of music
020406080
100120
Preferclassicalstyle ofmusic
Prefer rockstyle ofmusic
Prefer jazzstyle ofmusic
Prefercountrystyle ofmusic
Prefer otherstyle ofmusic
Preferred style of music
Audience connectivity in orchestral performances Page 155
Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q3. What did you like best about this performance/showing. Select only one box.
the musicians/performers □ the style of
music □
the visual elements □ the place □
the sound production □ how it made you
feel □
Best thing about performance
010203040506070
The musicians/p
erform
ers
The visual elements
The sound p
roduction
Style of m
usic
The place
How it m
ade you fe
el
Best thing aboutperformance
Q4. What did you like least about this performance/showing. Select only one box.
the musicians □ the style of music □
the theatrical
elements □
the place □
the sound production □ how it made you
feel □
This concert was designed to use theatrical elements to enhance the
musical enjoyment of the performance, and so the audience
surveyed obviously did not feel that this goal was achieved, with
33.3% of people saying that this was the worst thing.
Audience connectivity in orchestral performances Page 156
Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q5. How will you describe the performance to people at work tomorrow or the next time you
meet.
Q6. Would you buy a CD/DVD of this performance.
While only 47% of respondents said that they would buy a
CD/DVD, this could reflect the fact that a great part of the
enjoyment of performance is that is live and the other visual
elements would not be captured to the same extent.
Q7. Would you come again to a performance like this.
The audience had a very positive view of this performance, with
91% of people responding in the affirmative. This indicates that the
concert was targeted to the correct demographic.
Q8. If you could change anything about this performance, what would it be
Not everyone responded to this question but of those that did, many
commented that the dialogue between the music was too long,
boring or distracting. A couple of responders indicted that they
would like the prices of the concert to be cheaper.
Q9. How would you describe the role of the audience in a musical performance.
spectator □ co-producer □
emotional listener □ active participant □
passive listener □ other (specify)
As with all the other concerts surveyed, ‘emotional listener’
received the highest score with 77%.
Audience connectivity in orchestral performances Page 157
Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q10. Rate the level you agree with the following statements. Where 1 is strongly disagree and
5 is strongly agree.
Integration of visual images and sound facilitates a deeper
understanding of music.
1 2 3 4 5
A person’s musical background and experience influences their
expectations of a musical performance.
1 2 3 4 5
A musical performance evokes an emotional response in the
audience.
1 2 3 4 5
Pre-performance information is important to enjoyment of a
musical performance.
1 2 3 4 5
The context (venue, ambience, behaviour of audience)
contributes to the meaning of a music performance.
1 2 3 4 5
Interaction between the audience and performers results in
audience enjoyment.
1 2 3 4 5
Responses on the visual question indicated that the audience mostly
agreed with this statement, with an average response of 3.96.
Reponses on the influences on expectations question also showed that the
audience mostly agreed with this statement, with an average response of
3.625.
The emotional response question got the highest response with an average
response of 4.41.
The pre-performance information question elicited a more mixed response
and scored an average of 2.96.
The importance of context question scored a high average of 4.125.
The interaction between audience and performer question also had a
positive response, with an average of 4.04.
Audience connectivity in orchestral performances Page 158
Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q11. How do you usually find out about music performances.
newspaper □ Television □
email □ Friends □
Internet search □ personal
invitation □
Where information is sourced
05
101520253035
Newspape
rEmail
Intern
et
Televis
ion
Friends
Person
al invit
ation
% o
f res
pond
ees
Where information issourced
As with the other concerts surveyed, information about performances is
most likely sourced from friends.
Audience connectivity in orchestral performances Page 159
Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q12. Do you like to attend music performances.
solo □ with family □
with friends □ never □
Again ‘with friends’ is scored the highest with 54%, reflecting the
importance of the concerts as a social occasion.
Performance attendance
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Solo With friends With family
% o
f res
pond
ees
Performance attendance
Audience connectivity in orchestral performances Page 160
Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
Q13. Do you attend other Queensland Orchestra concerts
And if so, which ones
Maestro □ Tea and Symphony □
Music on Sundays □ Intimate Classics □
Proms □
68% of people responded that they did attend other TQO concerts
and the most popular were firstly Proms, followed by Maestro.
Other TQO concert attendance
0102030405060
Attend M
aestro
Attend M
usic on Sundays
Attend Proms
Attend Tea an
d Symphony
Attend In
timate
Classics
% o
f res
pond
ees
Other TQO concertattendance
Audience connectivity in orchestral performances Page 161
Shari Lindblom Masters of Arts (Research), 2009
APPENDIX FIVE
Deep Blue Orchestra Video
Go to link:
www.deepblueorchestra.com/media.html