Understand the mindset of classical and baroque music concert attendees and how to develop the interest for millennials and beyond. That is what many programmers and orchestra managers would like to be able to do effectively.

What does the audience want from classical music, what do they expect from a concert, and what can musicians do about it?

4 Dimensions of Classical & Baroque Music Concerts

Here are the four aspects that affect the relationship with the public in a live concert.

• The Repertoire: Established vs. New

The established repertoire is the usual of the main concert halls. The new repertoire includes that of living composers, perhaps less known to the general public.

• Predictable vs. Unpredictable

In a concert of classical music, there are a lot of anticipated details: the arrangement of the performers, clothing, etc. What would happen if we changed the conventions, and there were shifts of lights and creative set design?

• Impersonal vs. Personal

The relationship established between the performer and the public is, in many cases, cold and distant, even the facial expressiveness of musicians is limited in many cases. When the emotional attitude is different, a smile on the face illuminated, and the act of communication with the public takes place, we turn the concert experience into something more personal.

• Passive vs. Active

Usually, the public is a passive character, a “humble receiver” quiet, and subject to authority. Could there be a participatory audience that shows its spontaneity and can move freely to the sound of music?

Classical Music and Other Arts

Concerning other arts such as theater, popular music, or institutions such as museums, classical music is governed by more rigid, predictable, well established, impersonal canons that foster a passive attitude.

As an example, here is a comment from a novel person to classical music who after a concert said:

“At the Barbican Center (London Symphony Orchestra), it was as if they were playing, but the feeling was that, if we hadn’t been there, it would have been the same.”

Undoubtedly a more usual reaction than desired that clearly shows the distance between the novel audience and the classical music concert. How to attract today’s audiences?

New Audiences for Classical & Baroque Music

For the goal of attracting today’s public to classical music concerts, the four traditionally established dimensions mentioned above must be questioned. 

Try something new for a change and observe public behavior in the face of the changes that occur in the traditional model. Organizes concerts in which classical music is improvised, and include activities so that the public is a participant in the show. Choosing pieces performed at concerts in which the same work is performed twice but with a different interpretation offers valuable attendee data.

By changing the traditional models, for example, getting an emotional connection with the public (more personal), making them a participant of the experience (more active audience), with a current repertoire (new music) and varied staging (unpredictable). This strategy favors the development of new audiences for classical music concerts.

We hope that both musicians and institutions continue to implement new methods to connect with our society and enable the exponential growth of classical and baroque music across Millennials, Gen Z, Alpha and beyond.