Posted by Mary Ann on October 24, 2000 at 10:42:59:
In Reply to: Are orchestras dying? posted by Scott Roeder on October 24, 2000 at 07:15:43:
Here in Tucson it's much the same, usually. A large part of all audiences for classical concerts is in the blue-hair age range, and there are empty seats scattered all over the auditorium. Of course, Tucson is a popular retirement community, so we have a large blue hair population. Last weekend's TSO concert was different, however. The theme was "Mexican Flair," and all the pieces on the program were by Mexican composers. I saw a completely different component in the audience....entire families had driven up from Mexico to come to the concert, and the hall had a lot fewer empty seats than usual. There was wild cheering after the last piece, which had dance rhythms in it. Those of us who grew up with the old warhorse standards may love and appreciate them, but if we want to preserve symphonies we're going to have to broaden our audience base by playing different kinds of music.