how diversity can help save classical music

How Diversity Can Help Save Classical Music

©2016 Andrés T. Tapia

1

How Diversity Can Help Save Classical Music by Andrés T. Tapia

Senior Client Partner and Global Practice Leader Workforce Performance, Inclusion and Diversity Practice

Korn Ferry Hay Group

The soaring, elegiac strains of the iconic choral piece Carmina Burana emanate from

the Chicago Symphony Chorus´ throats under the direction of Riccardo Muti. Their

harmonic voices envelope the tens of thousands of concert goers at Millennium Park

huddled under a multicolor sea of umbrellas as a steady rain provides percussive

accompaniment.

To hear the thunderous ovation as the last note was extinguished and to witness the

multitudes at this free outdoor concert in the summer of 2012 that did not waver in its

presence despite the rain, was to experience a deep sense that classical music is alive

and quite well in the twenty-first century.

Unfortunately, it is not. For every full house standing ovation orchestras receive today,

there are troubling signs for the long-term sustainability of classical music.

While many reading this may be well familiar with the statistics that follow, in my

research I have found that there are still a surprising number who don´t. So for the sake

of completeness, let´s start with the current state and quickly move to how to bring

about change.

The Brutal Facts

Classical music faces an existential threat: its audiences decrease every year around

the world. According to two separate studies, one by the National Endowment for the

Arts and the other by the League of American Orchestras, this has led to a 30% decline

since 1982 in the number of adult Americans who go to classical concerts. And the

downward trend line shows no signs of stopping.1


©2016 Andrés T. Tapia 2

A classical music audience that is both shrinking and aging means a field-wide

challenge that must be addressed. Between 1982 and 2002 the portion of concertgoers

under 30 fell from 27 percent to 9 percent while the share of those over age 60 rose

from 16 percent to 30 percent. In 1982 the median age of a classical concertgoer was

40; by 2008 it was 49.2 If things continue as they are in the future this loss in audiences

won’t be replaced.

The causes for the decline have been dissected every which way in the past decade

and they are multiple. While many have been quick to blame it on the lack of classical

music in the schools this is far from the root cause. While there has indeed been a

diminishment in general in classical music instruction as arts budgets overall have been

cut or reduced, there have been more fundamental forces at work. Ravinia Festival´s

CEO Welz Kauffman lays out one piece of the downward spiral this way: “There´s the

death of recordings and hence the death of publicity machines, which lead to the death

of the ability to create new classical stars. This then led to the death of media coverage,

the death of record stores, and ad budgets.” Here´s a barometer for tracking this spiral:

the mainstream media icon Johnny Carson used to have classical stars on his show

once every two weeks. But his successor had significantly fewer.

And underneath it all, the main culprit is changing demographics. It is no secret that

classical music audiences in the US have been overwhelmingly white and older. This

runs counter to the nation becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. Already over a

third of the United States are people of color and they will be half of the nation by 2040.

These communities are also significantly younger than whites are (see table below).



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112 years old, Ravinia is the oldest outdoor musical festival in the U.S. and it´s the

summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. And the Chicago Sinfonietta,

founded by the late Maestro Paul Freeman, bills itself as the nation´s most diverse

orchestra.

Ravinia and the Sinfonietta´s approaches are not without controversy since they may

run counter to deeply held traditions that many may feel are immutable if classical music

is to retain its essence. But for classical music to achieve sustainability as a viable art

form the way things have been will not be enough. These two organizations have boldly

taken the challenge of attracting new audiences to experience the splendor of classical

music and, in the process, been willing to defy convention. In short, willing to defy

tradition, at times, to save tradition.

As we look at their stories we will see that Ravinia and the Sinfonietta – given different

histories and beginnings (the CSO is 125-years-old founded at the height of high-brow

culture, versus the Sinfonietta´s 25 years and founding by an African American), have

taken different paths toward the same goal of bringing new audiences to classical

music.

Ravinia has done so by keeping the musical performances framed within their traditional

musical structures but using its unique outdoor setting to completely change the context

in which classical music is heard. This, in essence, increases the number of motivations

by which concert goers will come into the performance space. In addition to it being

about experiencing the music, Ravinia´s space pulls in audiences who would likely not

come for the music alone, but instead come for the under-the-stars experience, the

gastronomic feast, the casual hanging out with friends and family.

The Sinfonietta has chosen a different path. While, in contrast to Ravinia, it performs in

the most traditional of spaces – Chicago´s Symphony Center on Michigan Avenue (the

hallowed home of the CSO during its regular season), it instead brings innovation and



artistic disruption into the musical structures themselves. For example, it embeds a tap

dancer into Stravinsky´s Firebird Suite, flamenco dancers into Rimsky-Korsakov´s

Scheherazade, and gospel music into a tribute to the U.S. armed forces between

movements of Dvorak's New World Symphony. It also creates original works such as

the Concertino for Cell Phones and Orchestra that invites concertgoers to turn their cell

phones on rather than turn them off.

In looking at these case studies of change, it´s important to keep in mind that every

symphony orchestra and the venues in which they play have their own unique histories,

assets, constraints, traditions, contractual arrangements, etc., where the innovations of

these two musical organizations may simply not be possible to implement by other

orchestras. Further, their strategic and opportunistic moves require an embracing of a

certain creative and bold direction that has the support and sponsorship of their Boards.

So read what follows with two minds: one, with the simple notion of what ideas your

organization can borrow and steal outright. But with the other, simply allow yourself to

be inspired about the kind of things that are possible when there is freedom to explore

new ways of thinking. The options here may not be tenable for your organization, but

your own creative and bold process can yield unexpected opportunities stemming from

your unique assets and circumstances.

Let´s look at each artistic organization in turn.

Ravinia: Creating Inclusion by Re-Imagining Spaces

The CSO has been encamping at its summer home in beautiful Ravinia Park twenty-five

miles from downtown Chicago continuously since 1936 with their first performances

being as an opera orchestra starting in 1905. This unique venue has a covered but

open pavilion with 3400 seats flanked by 36 acres of landscaped lawn where thousands

of classical music lovers relax on blankets, sipping wine and savoring Brie cheese on



sesame seed crackers humming to what on a given night could be the strains of

Vivaldi´s Four Seasons.

These idyllic scenes unfortunately are not enough to create a financially sustainable

structure for Ravinia and the CSO. Even as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is joined

by classical music greats such as Yo-Yo Ma, Plácido Domingo, Christopher Parkening,

and Itzhak Perlman, there simply are not enough people coming to enjoy the shows. As

across the country, the classical music audiences at Ravinia have been from the

shrinking mostly white and older demographic. Even the contributions from corporate

sponsorships and generous benefactors who are members of the same traditional

concert demographic help narrow the financial gap but it´s not enough by a long shot.



Welz Kauffman, Ravinia´s CEO, is fully aware of this. “While retaining our core

traditional audiences,” says Welz, “we must attract new audiences.”

To do so, Welz has -- through trial-and-error -- ended up executing on what organically

has ended up being the following five key strategies:

1. Develop new audiences through pop concerts.

2. Create special classical music events that attract new audiences.

3. Diversify the classical music musicians on stage with the CSO.

4. Create a low cost and attractive pricing structure for classical music

performances.

5. Go through the kids.

Develop new audiences through pop concerts

Ravinia has an unusual asset – a venue to also put on non-classical music concerts. In

fact, Ravinia originally was not built as a classical music venue but as an amusement

park. Due to this, Ravinia has had a long tradition of a mix of programming booking pop

acts across all musical genres from Peter, Paul and Mary to Lady Gaga and Tony

Bennett to Santana and Lenny Kravitz.

The pop acts also create an opportunity to multiply revenue streams by paying attention

to expanding the audiences coming to Ravinia by speaking to various different

demographics.

While over its lifetime Ravinia has had some legendary artists with racial crossover

audiences such as Ramsey Lewis, it was not until ten years ago that Ravinia began to

deliberately and consistently draw diverse audiences through acts that would appeal to

Blacks, Latinos, Asians, LGBT, and the young audiences of all ages, in contrast to the

classical audience which have always skewed older and white.



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Park, say, for Carrie Underwood to get intrigued about coming back the following week

for an advertised, low-ticket priced CSO evening due to some signage at the Park they

had seen on the way to get some beer.

But how to make classical music more appealing and accessible to the very audiences

the CSO has not been reaching: young people and those of color? For this, let´s look at

the other three strategies.

Create special classical music events that attract new audiences

Understanding what kind of experiences non-traditional audiences want has been the

secret to driving up the number of concert goers to CSO performances.

In focus groups and surveys, the Gen Xers´ greatest complaint about the Ravinia

experience on a classical music night have been the “shushers” – staff with a librarian´s

scowl carrying placards that read, “Quiet Please.” The Gen Xers have been frustrated

and surprised by their presence. Their many comments can be synthesized in the

following way: “I can´t think of a better way to expose my children to classical music

than at an outdoor venue in the middle of a beautiful summer night. The conditions are

perfect to bring them -- be with family, let the kids run around, listen to gorgeous music.

But the shushers just put a damper on the whole thing. Why would we want to come

again?”

So Kids Lawn was born. Sensibly at the back end of the park, with oversized play

musical instruments to interact pre-concert … and no shushers. Kids Lawn has become

a very popular feature though it is still too early to have a true measure of whether this

has led to greater attendance on a sustained basis.

Then for the Millennials and the Gen Xers without kids -- or who wanted to leave them

at home for an evening – there are the not-to-be-missed social events sponsored the

Ravinia´s Associate Board (made up of young professionals ages 25-40 committed to



helping raise funds for Ravinia) such as Beer, Brats & Beethoven. The night is all

classical music, but the social context is different including different tolerances to chit

chat noise levels completely different from the traditional concert going behaviors.

BB&B was followed the next year with Classical Strings and Chicken Wings. Each time

the crowds of young attendees have been large.

Finally, there are the movie nights. Imagine being out on the lawn surrounded by friends

and family, participating in a picnic feast while watching Titanic, Lord of the Rings,

Gladiator, Star Trek or Fantasia on huge screens on the lawn, subtitles running, and the

CSO playing the musical score live. It´s not without controversy where some classical

musicians feel this may trivialize the classical music listening experience. Nevertheless

these movie nights are the CSO´s biggest nights by far of the summer.

Diversify the classical music musicians on stage

Ravinia has done this in two ways. One is by ensuring the CSO performances on a

regular basis feature guest conductors and solo artists that reflect the full diversity of

available artists. This has meant conductors from Mexico, Venezuela, and Taiwan as

well as those who are African American and Latino such as Carlos Miguel Prieto, Rafael

Payare, Mei-Ann Chen, Gabriela Montero, and Bobby McFerrin.

The other is by bringing contemporary original operas created in cultures not

traditionally in the pantheon of classical music. One example is the first African opera

"Princess Magogo" with music shaped by local traditions and a libretto written in Zulu. In

its review of that 2004 concert, the Chicago Tribune reported that Welz saw Princess

Magogo as an opportunity to open Ravinia's gates to an even more ethnically and

culturally diverse public: "It's a piece that's emblematic of everything we're trying to do

at Ravinia these days in terms of community outreach and education, even as it

reminds people of Ravinia's heritage as an opera presenter.”4



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Along the way, there have been myriad field trips onboard yellow school busses for the

Chicago students and their parents to experience classical music at Ravinia.

Ironically, however, Ravinia had not yet reached out to underserved communities in its

own backyard. Largely due to the belief that Lake County was wealthy, led by such

suburbs as Lake Forest and Lake Bluff. In reality, there is a large low-income and even

homeless population.

Within its vital 25-mile radius, from which the bulk of its audiences come from, there are

hundreds of thousands of Latinos, many but not all of them, working class. Their

exposure to classical music has been limited or nonexistent plus most do not know

about Ravinia or, if they do, often do not feel it is a place where they and their families

would feel welcome. In part, Ravinia´s manicured lawns, high hedges and fence around

its perimeter, and on classical nights, the lack of diversity of its audiences, contribute to

this feeling.

Then, this year, breakthrough.

Sistema Ravinia was inaugurated in 2016 for Lake County, the geography in which

Ravinia has its footprint. But this time, due to proximity, the after school, four-times-a-

week, two-hours-a-day coming together, can happen at Ravinia itself. This turned out to

be a game changer which Ravinia capitalized on. In its first year, the program already

has involved five schools, two hundred children, and twenty teachers and principals

involved.

For the inaugural kickoff, there was a half day of activities on the Ravinia grounds. The

kids showed up with their parents. There was first a tour of the grounds introducing

families to the pavilion, the lawn, the food stands, and the various different music stages

throughout. Then a concert by fourteen-year-old piano prodigy, Mexican-American

Daniela Liebman Martínez, followed by a Q&A with her. And then to Bennett Gordon

Hall auditorium for an explanation of how the program would work.



Once that was complete the kids were released into the foyer where volunteers were

holding signs announcing Trumpets, Violins, Oboes, etc. And here, as the students were

given their instruments which they will be able to keep for good, most touched a classical

music instrument for the very first time. Faces lit up and voices squealed with delight at the

first musical note they elicited from their instruments.

Here´s the clincher. In addition to the obvious impact of Sistema Ravinia on these kids´

musical experiences, Ravinia Park has suddenly become accessible to hundreds of Latino

families. Not only are the children coming to Ravinia weekly, the recitals will be taking place

on Ravinia stages.

So when a classical or pop concert is announced and publicized, for many of these Latino

families rather than ignoring the marketing as something not pertaining to them, the story

will now be different. “Tigres del Norte at Ravinia? Ah, that´s where my kid plays.”

All this sets things up for a major inflection point where in the next few years Ravinia will be

creating and building what it refers currently to “the experience center,” a multisensory, high-

tech classical music experience designed with the most contemporary audience



engagement approaches. It´s aim is to attract by the thousands the captive audience in the

park who are on the lawn hours before a pop or classical concert is to begin,

Having explored the ways in which Ravinia has been helping the sustainability of

classical music by tapping diversity through inclusion, let´s turn our attention to how the

Chicago Sinfonietta is achieving the same result but with some different strategies.

Again, note in their story how vital it is to, paradoxically, question and affirm an

orchestra´s unique legacy assets to generate the new and different that will bring new

paying audiences through the doors.



The Chicago Sinfonietta: Diversity as a Catalyst for Innovation

It´s Carmen Remixed, where multiple interpretations of George Bizet’s classic romantic

opera are played by-the-book, reverently, and then reinterpreted, at times irreverently,

through the arms, hands, and mouths of the multiracial, multiethnic Sinfonietta,

performing alongside the Chicago-based alternative rock band Poi Dog Pondering.

By combining the ancient and genteel sounds of winds and strings with the rebellious

rhythms of rock ’n’ roll, the Chicago Sinfonietta creates an exquisite, stirring, insightful,

and redemptive musical experience that brings down the house. By the final crash of

cymbals, old and new, traditional and alternative, control and exuberance are on full

display as point and complementary counterpoint. For the Sinfonietta diversity is not just

something different to appreciate, but the vital ingredient in a never-before-experienced

event.

An Orchestra Born from Diversity

From its beginnings in 1987, the Sinfonietta was about getting the mix — diversity —

into one of the most segregated forums in the Western World, the symphony orchestra.

And while the story of how they did it demonstrates how difficult this can be, they also

found how much more powerful inclusion — making the mix work — can be. Maestro

Paul Freeman, the Sinfonietta’s founder and conductor (until 2011) and its Board

figured out that it needed to embrace what I refer to as the inclusion paradox — that is,

the need to call out differences among its members and among different musical styles

in order to create true inclusion.

But first, the mix. Since childhood, Maestro Paul Freeman pursued classical music

passionately through the clarinet and the cello. In public, however, he had to listen to

the Richmond Symphony Orchestra from the segregated black balcony. He vowed then

to someday be part of breaking through this color barrier.



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creativity and innovation. He recognized that calling out differences, rather than

minimizing them, would enable him to exploit the power of the diverse symphony he had

created. The results have been mind-bending and exhilarating. Said Freeman, “It was

not only about bringing down barriers, obliterating presuppositions, knocking down

stereotypes, but the question we sought to answer was, what will be different now that

we are more diverse. So what?”

That so what led to what if. What if instead of cell phones being the enemy in the

concert hall, they were part of the experience? This led to the penning of the Concertino

for Cell Phones and Orchestra by the late African-American composer David Baker — a

work where audience members were asked to make their phones ring and then to listen

to their pitch and tone. In this way, the audience was given their own part to play.

As Frans Johansson writes in The Medici Effect, “the greatest innovations happen when

unrelated things, such as spiders’ silk and goats’ milk, are combined, resulting in a

material that’s stronger than steel.” And so it goes. The Sinfonietta gives us Tango

Beethoven as well as a Global Dance Party with Indian DJ Rekha spinning techno

alongside classical strings and winds. They make the mix work by offering paradox,

duality, and unexpected syncretism.

In the process, the past is honored, as Bach, Beethoven, and Strauss are played to

perfection according to traditional interpretation. Then they go into an innovative space

where tradition and legacy, technique and innovation blend and create something new

and powerful and beautiful. Fusion means first mastering the core essence of each of

the musical forms about to be fused. Master the rules before breaking them.

The impact of all this? Today the Sinfonietta´s fastest growing audience segments are

diverse women 35-59 and both single ticket (up 108% since 2013) and subscription (up

14%) sales are on the increase. Their audiences is racially diverse with over 37% of

attendees being people of color. And in 2016 they were granted the MacArthur Award



for Creative and Effective Institutions – the “Genius Award” for non-profit organization of

$625,000.

Conclusion: Everyone Is Welcome

As I wrap this up, I have a confession to make. As a Latino, tail-end Boomer, I am a

member of those new targeted audiences who for most of my life has not been a

classical music fan. While I superficially enjoyed having it as background music I did not

understand the music, I found myself fidgeting in my seat during long slow movements,

and I chafed judgmentally at not been able to burst into exuberant cheering after an

explosive final note that albeit was in between movements.

But today I consider myself a new fan, slowly deepening my knowledge of the art from,

its history, its evolution, and of the long standing and up-and-coming virtuosos. I now

listen to recorded classical music and attend live concerts more than I ever have in my

life. And this is due directly to my having been seduced by Ravinia´s and the

Sinfonietta´s efforts to reach new audience members like me.

Tellingly, the turning point for me was a pop concert at Ravinia. I am a Peruvian who

having grown up in the sprawling and chaotic metropolis of Lima I had come to the U.S.

for college. Once married, an opportunity had presented itself to rent a wonderful starter

house in Highland Park on Pleasant Avenue, a five-minute walk from Ravinia´s main

entrance. Highland Park has many attractive amenities that make it a great place to

live, but I was not so sure my Latino self really fit in this new community. After a few

years as renters, we had the opportunity to buy the house which we did even as I had

mixed feelings about this being a place I would feel welcome enough to plant my roots.

But then on the evening on the day we closed on the sale of the house, we heard

syncopating rhythms emanating from Ravinia Festival clambering up over the trees and

filling the air as we stood on the front yard of our newly bought home. And then and



there in the city of Highland Park, Illinois, my wife Lori and I danced salsa. And I knew

that I could call this place my new home.

Since then over the years, we became Ravinia regulars. Santana. Earth Wind and Fire,

Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Sting, Los Lobos, Los Lonely Boys, The Gypsy Kings and on.

And then, Luciano Pavarotti’s tenor voice accompanied us while on a walk around the

neighborhood like a musical score in a movie. The virtuosic Yo-Yo Ma shows up with

the CSO and suddenly it becomes a can´t miss. And at the end of the summer, why not,

its Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Spectacular with live cannons. I became hooked to the classical

music canon.

In effect, it was a Latin salsa band that opened the doors for me to discover the joys of

Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Liszt, Mozart, Handel. Rather than an elitist, closed

experience, classical music performance has become for me a wide open, inspirational

uplifting inclusive experience where everyone is welcome. ■

The Arts and Diversity How closely related are the arts and diversity?

Consider the following characteristics about art:

Art exists in all cultures.

Art challenges us to see others and ourselves in new ways.

Art helps us face difficult truths.

Art provokes.

Art inspires.

Art reveals what is hidden.

Art teaches.

Art creates something new.

Art brings down barriers.

Now read the list again and substitute “art” with “diversity.”



Sources 1 NEA Report: Arts Audiences Grow More Diverse Amid Declines, WQXR Blog, September 26, 2013 http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/nea-report-

arts-audiences-grow-more-diverse/ 2Requiem: Classical music in America is dead by Mark Vanhoenacker, January. 21 2014

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/01/classical_music_sales_decline_is_classical_on_death_s_door.html 3 OrchestrasFightHardTimesThroughBankruptcySeekingNewModelhttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-08-21/orchestras-fight-

hard-times-through-bankruptcy-seeking-new-model 4 http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-05-30/news/0405300405_1_south-african-zulu-ravinia-festival-performances 5 http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-06-16/features/0606150335_1_ainadamar-golijov-margarita-xirgu 6 http://markoconnorblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/why-symphony-orchestras-never-got-darker.html as well as John Von Rhein, “Sphinx Looks

to Change Makeup of U.S. Orchestras,” Chicago Tribune, October 3, 2008; John Von Rhein, “Latino Composers Pull the Right Strings, Horns in Seven Free Shows,” Chicago Tribune, October 26, 2008; and John Von Rhein, “Latino Composers Pull the Right Strings, Horns Percussion,” Newsday, March 18, 2007.

7 John Von Rhein, “Sphinx Looks to Change Makeup of U.S. Orchestras,” Chicago Tribune, October 3, 2008; John Von Rhein, “Latino Composers Pull the Right Strings,” Chicago Tribune, October 27, 2007; and John Von Rhein, “Latino Composers Pull the Right Strings, Horns, Percussion,” Newsday, March 18, 2007.

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