Why do we have performing ensembles? The answer is in the title.
The audience is the only true assessor of our work. Not the principal, not the superintendent; it’s the audience.
There’s nothing I hate more than to go to a public concert and hear an experiment rather than a show, especially if it funded by my tax dollars. If I want to hear that I’ll go to a college recital (and in my opinion that’s really not the best venue for it either).
But we have student bands, so we’re allowed to experiment right? We’re exempt from having to be entertaining right? I mean, we have to buy every crappy new arrangement on JW Pepper so that we can mix it up and always have something fresh, right? And we absolutely must play, at least once, Techeli’s 10 minute long “Blue Shades”. Everyone knows that one, it’s an absolute crowd pleaser…right?
My cynicism is routed in love. I love the opportunity that our students have to perform for the public. They are the shiny beacon of music education advocacy. But if we are not audience centric, we lose the audience. Without the audience, we lose our advocates.
So, how do we build and keep an audience?
Here are some strategies that are used by U.S. military bands when programing for audiences around the world.
1. The audience comes first. They’re the taxpayers and the voters. Our yearning to play longer, faster, louder, darker, more complex, cutting edge, etc. is secondary to pleasing the audience.
2. Look at every gig as a “commercial” gig: You’re hired to play want the audience wants (popular/standards/nostalgic) and needs (national holiday or remembrance).
3. When performing in the U.S., always start with the U.S. National Anthem (or play it after your intro song). Not only is it the right thing to do; the vast majority of regular concert goers, are patriotic citizens who appreciate a little “Americana” sprinkled in.
4. No matter what ensemble is performing, It’s ALWAYS show business. Whether it’s your flute duet, jazz band, or wind ensemble; you gotta sell it.
6. Have a variety of music ready in case you miscalculated the demographic. This may be hard to do with rehearsal time constraints. This is were #9 comes in.
7. If some songs aren’t presented…. you may be dead to the audience. i.e. you’re doing a traditional big band concert at the Elks Club and you don’t play “In the Mood”.
8. No concert, jazz, or rock band should be without a vocalist or two. Lack of vocals was one of the number one complaints during feedback surveys that I conducted.
9. Brass Bands and rock/show bands can enhance (and maybe even save) your concert band/wind ensemble show.
10. “Create-a-gig-at-school” audiences are usually small and primarily made up of insiders. If you want to reach general audiences as well, try to perform at established concert venues during regularly scheduled events. Why can’t school bands open for a local community band/symphony/jazz band or play on the town green during the art festival? Some organizations may even want to make your band the main attraction at their event. It’s a win-win.
No matter how you slice it, the audience is the key. Make them clap, make them tap, make them happy!
Here are some good examples of audience centric programing:
U.S. Navy Band - Jersey Boys:
U.S. Navy Band - Thriller:
U.S. Navy Commodores - Grinch:
U.S. Navy Band - 12 Days of Christmas:
U.S. Air Force Band - Smithsonian Flash Mob
U.S. Navy Cruisers - Wade on the Water
U.S. Navy Band and Cruisers - I Feel Good:
Navy Band Northeast Brass Band:
We used the brass band to attract the walk by traffic to Bryant Park for our wind ensemble concert. It worked - we filled up the green with over 10,000 people (for an unadvertised show).
Navy Band Northeast’s top 40 band “Rhode Island Sound” - Shake It Off
https://youtu.be/LkiJNScBYVA
U.S. Naval Forces Europe Band - Edinburgh Military Tattoo (at 21:55)
We were asked to program theme songs to popular superhero and cartoon shows for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
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ReplyDeleteSome good ways to cultivate and retain audience interest. A lot of this relates back to what we spent a good chunk of time discussing in Frank's class regarding playing music that is culturally relevant and engaging. A performance can be pretty hard to sell if it's comprised of content that's stale and dated, or if it's a piece derived from the aesthetic school of thought, designed to be intellectually contemplated instead of viscerally enjoyed. School concerts are hardly the place where "aesthetic school" music contemplatives go to analyze and interpret musical pieces and performances. Let's pick tasteful, relevant music to entertain our audiences, and give them something to move in their seats to!
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