josephus07

I'm curious about putting on recitals outside of a school setting.

What kinds of things have worked for people in terms of:

Finding a location
Programming
Marketing / drawing people in.


It seems to me that there is a way to get an audience interested in anything you program:

Take 5 minutes or less before a piece to do one or more of the following:

-let the audience know what to listen for
-let the audience know why you picked the piece
-explain the piece in basic analytical terms
-explain the value
-explain the composer's intent
-relate the piece to something they may know.

Maybe we're not knowledgeable enough about what we are playing (we just know how to play it) or lack the communication skills to effectively engage an audience in aspects beyond what is actually coming out of our bells.

There is some music that, no matter how strong your musical intent or expression, people just won't get. But if we help them, maybe they'll come away with something other than, "That just sounded like noise," and maybe we can start creating a more educated listening audience.

I remember going to a Fulcrum Point concert (Steven Burns, Chicago) a few years back, and as a COMPOSITION major, my mind was wandering a bit. I don't think there was anything wrong with the programming and there certainly wasn't anything wrong with the playing or the music director (Mr. Burns), but I definitely could have benefitted from some more knowledge of the material.

This summer I saw Tim Adams give a recital (timpanist in the Pittsburgh Symphony). I think a big part of why the audience connected with him so well and why he had them captivated was because of the brief but pertinent information he offered about each piece.

I also think sometimes that as performers we create too much of a wall between stage and audience. I'm all for being completely engulfed in the music while I'm playing, but before and after...why be so "distant"?

Any thoughts?

Cornet1

Ok,...I'll bite!

My background is a lifetime in Uk brass bands from a small boy.

In case you don't know much about the brass band scene in England i should tell you that it's very insular and the majority of bands here play for their own satisfaction in performing to incredibly high musical and artistic standards with rigorous 'contesting' between bands carried out with utter ruthlessness! Mostly bands are not intersted in any paying audience other than when the particular band is short of money to go to the next contest!

For these reasons the audiences for brass band concerts has been steadily dwindling here, as have the bands themselves with currently only half the number in 1983, and there appears to be little take up in the younger age groups other than as players in the actual bands. Consequently, it is common, even usual, to find concertts where the average age of the audience is about 65 and the average age of the band is about 25 and the music while of fantastic standard, is simply tossed out at the audience as a means to an end,....many bands can easily do this because the selection from 'My Fair Lady' requires no rehearsal since it is laughably simple compared to the current test pieces!

In my own band, which was established in only 1999, as against 1899 for many of the others, we recognised from the outset that we had all had enough of the typical brass band environment and that we would try to take brass bands to all audience segments. With this in mind we have used our contesting skills to great effect in raising considerable money for local charities and worthy causes and hopefully raised the profile of brass music into the bargain!

The first precept is that we must entertain the audience and get their participation and interest,.......We are NOT there to educate them! Any given information is only to add interest,.....there is NO room for any pretentiousness when offering great brass music to all audience levels.

Secondly, we have done well with informal concert layout. We usually use audience seating around tables and encourage the audience to bring all family members including kids and grannies.

We have a splendid 'support group' who have home made cakes and delicacies on sale at excellent prices and in the interval band and audience can be seen munching side by side!

Thirdly, we keep the programme very well mixed with at least 4 soloists who will go among the audience to perform their solo pieces. we add a 'novelty' item such as 'The post horn Gallop' played on hosepipes and funnels.....We use 'high impact' items to start both halves of the concert and use big finale pieces to end both.

At two places in the evening there will be audience participation items of one sort or another,....last year, the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII we used a selection of WWII songs and tunes with a song sheet for the sudience and we were delighted with the response from ALL age groups in singing the 'Vera Lynn' numbers.

We also will feature at least one item for children and younger audience mambers and we have used the 'Instant Concert' type item with audience offered a small for prize for counting the right number of tunes within.

Don't think from what I have described that we are aiming at low audience intellect or tastes,...most of the music is performed to the highest standard we can possibly attain and audiences invariably show their approval be it renaisance pieces by Gabrielli or 'Bohemian Rhapsody'..

In addition to the above it's worth mentioning that we always use a compere who is not one of the band and he is carefully primed with info about the pieces and about the band. He has rehearsed with our MD who keeps eye contact with him during his addresses to audience. Over the last two years we have worked up the bands presentation drills and have found that this helps the concert to go really well and the bands musicians to perform well. We always keep an unusual feature item for our encore and usually end it with the whole band standing quietly for audience applause and neat exit from the stage.

I think that all of the above has worked well for us with audiences from very different social backgrounds and the proof is not merely the large amounts of money raised but that we have a keen audience of all ages who tend to follow the band to the various events and concerts. We recognise that complacency could all too easily creep in so the whole band actively looks for new ideas for concerts,...at the moment we are planning some 'altenative brass nights' with as many different and odd brass instruments as possible such as echo cornet solo and flugel choir etc.

josephus07

Thank you very much for the input, it is greatly appreciated.

I am going to re-read your post numerous times, to be sure.

Just to clarify for you or anyone else, I wasn't implying that the audience necessarily needs to be "educated" just for the sake of letting them know that you're smart, but that if one wants to program songs that aren't popular or already accepted by general audiences, perhaps it is our job to tell them why it is worth their time and listening efforts to give full attention to new and perhaps unconventional music.

How can we expect someone who has never been exposed to a particular kind of music and who hasn't lived with it as much as we have as performers to appreciate it or dare I say, even like it!

Thanks for the input.

ecarroll

David,

I appreciate your enthusiasm for the music that you present and also your desire to engage your audiences on many levels. I agree with our English friend, however. It's not our place to "educate" audiences...our highest, most profound, goal is to engage them aurally at the highest musical level that we can.

A great concert experience involves deep, concentrated, listening from each and every performer to engage the same from the audience. Include, if you'd like, a paragraph in the notes about why you picked a particular piece, but avoid, at all cost, lecturing them about a your perception of "value" (subjective), "composer's intent", or anything that smacks of analysis/talking down to the audience (done since the 70s and pretty much debunked, thankfully). Personally, I believe in saving any sort of discussion until after a performance has ended. Invite them to the stage for a chat afterwards, if you'd like, but don't spoil the moment by telling a listener what (s)he should be hearing or listening for.

Draw them in instead with the intensity of your shared listening experience. If you can do that, you'll build a loyal and voracious audience (and I'll be in the front row).

Fabulous topic.

EC

josephus07

Thanks for the info and perspective!