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Newent Orchestral
Society Bill's Musical Notes, Feb., 2009 Audiences - Are They Important? Making a success of running an amateur orchestra depends on getting several factors in balance that can be in conflict with one another. For example, the Newent Orchestra caters for players with a wide range of abilities. This means that the music chosen for rehearsal must be easy enough to be playable by all but complex enough so that players don't get bored with it. Then there is the need to match pieces of music with the current membership. It's no good working on a piece scored for instruments that simply aren't available. And then rehearsal pieces must form a whole in a form that will, finally, result in a crowd-pleasing performance. Many orchestras are losing audiences, and find it hard to meet their financial obligations. Costs are high for professional and large amateur orchestras, but the problem may also be compounded by difficulty in programming for successful concerts. Pre-twentieth century music can be hackneyed - you can hear daily performances on radio, cd and the internet. Even 30 years ago that easy access was not an option for potential audiences. Why go to a concert when you can listen anytime from the comfort of an armchair and with the quality of hi fi? Much music written in the 20th C, and beyond, is not to the taste of many listeners and indeed some composers even scorned audiences altogether. They have given the rest of the moderns a bad name where musical entertainment is concerned. A pity, as there is a fantastic amount of new music to explore. Our age is characterised by the availability of all types, all genres, music of all ages - it's all there for the listening. The Newent Orchestra's audiences have increased in recent years. Why, when it can't hope to compete with the professionals? It's probably much to do with getting those balances right. The conductor of another much larger orchestra once said to me that the NO was important to the survival of "classical" music because it represented not the flowering of music but its roots (sounds a bit grand, but I took the point). We have encouraged, for example, young soloists and recently successfully performed a new piece by a local eighteen-year-old composer. The orchestra promotes a real sense of commitment, both by its members to their music, and by the members to its audience and local community. And live performances mean direct contact with real live people, whether in the audience or in the orchestra. You can't get that experience from your armchair. Further progress will come by emphasising the orchestra/audience relationship. It's only in the last few hundred years that strict concert formalities came into being, and that needs to be reversed to some extent, so that non-players can become more connected with not only the music but with music making. Our conductor talks to the audience between pieces, encouraging engagement and clarifying the value in each piece of live music. And I'm sure that some in our audiences feel either regret at not playing an instrument themselves, or would really like to have a go. So, if you have an instrument tucked at the back of a cupboard that you haven't played for some time, pluck up the courage, and give it a tune-up. You won't regret it.
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Bill Anderton, February, 2009