Brews and Britten
October 19, 2010
Walking downtown on a Wednesday night in the Gordon Arts Square District of Cleveland, Ohio, you decide to visit a local bar, the Happy Dog, to wind down from a long day at work. You walk in, take a seat at the expansive bar, and order your favorite brew, a large mug of Guiness Stout. As you sip the cold, foamy beverage, a small crowd begins to assemble around the small stage located in the center of the room, talking noisily as the band on stage finishes its warm up. The band is new, yet seems to hold the audiences’ attention. The band members signal that they are about to begin. The lead, a violinist in the Cleveland Orchestra, raises her bow, and jumps into a performance of a Britten chamber work as the crowd applauds and whistles.
The performance described above occurred this past Wednesday night as the first in a series of performances put together by local musicians from the Cleveland Orchestra. The second performance, scheduled for tonight, has already received over 100 RSVPs as of this past Friday.
How effective is performing classical music in a bar setting, and does it even make sense?
The musicians in the Happy Dog group, many whom are principles in the Orchestra, have said that the purpose of the shows is to get people excited about classical music in an environment where they can feel comfortable. Eating, drinking, and chatting, three things forbidden in a traditional concert hall, are highly encouraged at these performances. The hope is that the Happy Dog performances will attract a new audience to attend concerts in the traditional setting at Severance Hall.
Is an audience that enjoys and feels comfortable listening to classical music in the informal setting, willing to go out of its way to feel uncomfortable in the formal setting though?
Probably not.
City orchestras are facing increasingly bleak futures. Members of the Detroit Symphony are now in their third week of a strike opposing salary cuts as large as 30%-40% for existing players and new hires. The Cleveland Orchestra itself went on a 24-hour strike in January. With financial uncertainty looming in the distance, orchestras need to find new methods of attracting new audience members and subscribers. Inherit in this mission to revitalize the orchestra is the task of finding out what place classical music has in our society. That place is most certainly not in a stuffy concert hall.
Attendance to and buzz about events like the Happy Dog Orchestra nights and Casual Fridays hosted by the Cleveland Orchestra point to the future of classical music performances. These performances are more interactive, accessible, and give the consumer control of the listening experience. Other orchestras and classical music groups should take note of the success of informal performances, as they may provide the key to a bright future for classical music.
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2010/10/classical_musicians_bring_thei.html, http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2010/10/detroit_symphony_orchestra_str.html, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/weekinreview/17grist.html?scp=1&sq=happy%20dog&st=cse.