Encourage or stifling Audience participation

I stumbled upon this worthwhile blog post musing by a mid-western orchestra musician - via Orchestra Canada's Facebook presence. The discussion in the symphonic world continues unresolved.

For some time I have wondered about the desire for audience participation, audience loyalty, audience engagement that does not go beyond what an orchestra/ music director/ musician might want from that audience. That is that it appears as though the concepts of participation, engagement, loyalty are great as long as they are delivered on the orchestra's terms rather than on a give a take between audience and orchestra.

I suspect that the habits, the deference, the stifling of the audience's participation that classical music performance has earned a reputation for are difficult to sell to a savvy, media-enriched and fully empowered, performing arts attending audience of Gen Xers (the oldest Gen Xers are about 45 now). This is an independent generation; they create and engage but not in one-way sort of set up. They are sophisticated consumers as consumers; whether they know much about the classics is not what it's about.

A line from a piece I wrote 5 years ago while assembling generational profiles to inform marketing decisions jumped out at me again: "Gen Xers tend to look to be entertained in a friendly atmosphere rather than simply accepting others authority and doing as they are told without understanding why."

They know they can spend their 24 hours every day in ways they find highly rewarding and appealing without being told when to clap, when to be quiet, when to be in awe, when to engage. What will it take for classical music to break through its well-earned reputation that somehow places the service to the music above the service to the audience?

Studying the Value of Presenting in Canada

Spring often marks new beginnings. This May has proven momentous for Strategic Moves: I am now leading a two-year long, ambitious project to shed new light on Arts Presenting and Presenters in Canada. (Full news release.)

To do this major initiative justice, I have formed a bilingual, bicultural consulting team from Ontario and Quebec. And we have partnered with  EKOS Research for the necessary quantitative surveys.

I had the chance to give a presentation and Q&A session at the national meeting of Regional Presenting Networks organized by the Canadian Arts Presenting Association (CAPACOA). This is the group we are doing this work for and with. This session was followed by a successful kick-off meeting with the national Advisory Committee on May 5.

Since then, I have been working on all the necessary start up activities from briefing the rest of the team and getting the work underway to researching solutions for a collaborative online space dedicated to this project to building the project schedule for the first year of research and consulting activities.

Canada’s performing arts scene boasts some of the world’s most celebrated musicians, dancers, actors and performers. Yet, the purpose and the work of arts presenters in building Canada’s cultural fabric, preparing the stage for diverse artistic expression and developing engaged audiences are little known or understood. In a rapidly evolving world, arts presenters seek to affirm their role in the creative chain coherently and with purpose.

During the next two years together with the presenting field across Canada and related sectors we will:

• identify, understand and communicate the value and benefits of presenting for Canadians
• envision the presenters’ evolving role in our changing world
• raise awareness of the role of the live performing arts presenter in the creative chain, in communities and in society.

I am excited to work with CAPACOA, the advisory committee and the many outstanding people that work in the arts and in the presenting field in particular.

I plan to occasionally share observations on this blog. Perhaps more important, I will share the url for the project space where presenters and the interested public can check in on - and contribute to - our progress.

Storytellers of Canada Yellowknife conference

Last year, I worked with SC-CC, a national arts service organization, to develop an external communications strategy. This year, I was invited as part of efforts to build capacity and skill to lead a full-day communications workshop at the association's annual conference in Yellowknife.

It's been fascinating to design this custom workshop. Storytellers by definition are communicators. And yet, when turning the attention to communications activities for the purpose of marketing, raising awareness and selling tickets it becomes apparent that there is quite a different skill set at work.

I have been reviewing the workshop design and content with a storyteller who has considerable marketing and communications skills gained through various jobs and initiatives. Together, I think we make a good team to bring  valuable insights, information and experience to this workshop on the 26th of May. An added bonus, I get to go to Yellowknife for a few days and experience part of Canada's North for the first time.