Stalking Orchestra 2

So last weekend I went to check out two community orchestras' concerts to get a sense of how good a fit they might be for me. My impressions of Orchestra 2 were pretty much the same as my impressions of Orchestra 1. One important difference is that Orchestra 2 has fewer violins, so maybe they have more room for me!

I also noticed significant differences between Orchestras 1 and 2 on a front I had not expected to consider: funding and audience. Presumably each orchestra needs to rent the hall for their four or five concerts per year and pay the conductors. (Maybe they each pay section leaders too--it wasn't clear from the programs.) Both orchestras charge for at least some of their tickets, and both get financial support from a mixture of local businesses, state and regional agencies, and individual donors (i.e., some subset of the audience). 

At Orchestra 1's concert, the audience was big, but it definitely skewed old. At 41, I think I was younger than 80% of the audience. To me, the program seemed to reflect a very traditional symphony orchestra atmosphere. It listed named chairs at the head of every section, the program notes had a rather sober tone, etc. 

At Orchestra 2's concert, the audience was maybe a quarter smaller than the Orchestra 1 audience, but definitely younger. The program had more ads, and rather than just slapping ads in there, it actually had a couple of nice tie-in offers from local businesses. The program notes and conductor bio included bits of corny humor--corny, but enthusiastic! Orchestra 2 also clearly has connections to school music programs--maybe that's where the younger audience came from.

I don't mean to make more of this than I should--this is just me looking for a place to exercise a hobby. However, knowing how members of arts organizations (or sports teams, or education institutions, or, or, or...) get drafted into fundraising efforts, I find the long-term prospects of an orchestra worth noticing.

In the meantime, I also got a response to my email from Orchestra 2. It was a very cheerful and welcoming message, so I look forward to finding out more about the audition process. However, there is one significant hitch: they rehearse on the night that my second language conversation group meets. We've been getting a great turnout for the conversation table on that night, so I hesitate to ask fellow regulars to move it. I don't want to give it up, either. Sigh. I guess I will figure that out later. 

Maybe Orchestra 1 will offer an alternative--assuming, of course, that my audition(s) give me that option. Forget critiquing programs or analyzing marketing...I should be practicing.