Field Note · · 2 min read
Programming by the Numbers: Holding Myself Accountable
A transparent audit of one MSO season — ethnicity, gender, living composers, and the budget it takes to program them.
Field Note · Backfilled · · 1 min read
Stop Shaming First-Time Concertgoers
If we shame first-time visitors with archaic rules, they will not come back.
I go out of my way to make people feel welcome at Mesquite Symphony Orchestra and East Texas Youth Orchestra concerts. If we shame first-time visitors with archaic and – frankly – stupid “rules”, THEY WILL NOT COME BACK!
Want to use your phone during concerts to look at the program book or tell someone how much fun you’re having at the symphony? Go for it. Want to take pictures, post them, and tag us? Go for it! (It’s free publicity!) Want to clap between movements because what you heard was so moving or exciting you don’t want to wait 45 minutes to express yourself? Go for it!
Classical music needs to be more exciting and so compelling that people can’t see themselves making any other decision than to go to a concert!