It isn’t uncommon for one of Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) month’s contributors to play a little hypothetical artistic programming in his/her essay and for most, that’s as far as the exercise goes. But Sir Andrew Davis is a member of the limited club of music professionals who enjoys that responsibility on a regular basis and his contribution shares some real life experiences bringing newbies to concerts as well as having a little “what-if?” programming fun…
TAFTO
TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Brian Bell
When it comes to Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) 2009 contributions, listening is the new reading. Then again, why would anyone be surprised that someone with more than 30 years experience and hundreds of recorded interviews with classical musicians from all walks of life wouldn’t want to put his TAFTO contribution in recorded format? So give your eyes a rest and your ears a workout, here comes Brian Bell…
TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Alan Valentine
Just in case you’ve missed the point that what makes classical music enduring is its street cred built off of shocking the bourgeoisie before there was a bourgeoisie, Nashville Symphony President & CEO, Alan Valentine, steps in with a contemporary example of what history has been telling us for decades. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you stop trying to micro manage how your audience experiences classical music…
TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Giancarlo Guerrero
Now that we have a good idea of what makes classical music special and the importance of non-musical elements on the overall concert experience along with taking an amusing look at concertgoing stereotypes, it is time to hear from an artistic leader at an organization that has been successfully putting all of this into practice. Nashville Symphony music director, Giancarlo Guerrero, shares some recent experiences interacting with new and potential patrons in Music City, USA…
TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Molly Sheridan
If we could see tomorrow’s audience today, I hope it looks like Molly Sheridan. The new cultural countess of cool is always charming, infinitely intriguing, and – most importantly – never dull. Being the new media maven she is, Molly wasn’t content with writing something for this year’s Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) event; instead, she recorded a wonderfully satirical take on everything you need to know about the modern concertgoing experience…