Calling New Audiences…
It is that time of year, deadlines loom, ticket targets have to be met, and I am on the sponsorship trail to find donors and funders who will help us deliver the season ahead.
There’s always something special about pulling together the final programme which is a culmination of artistic programming, exceptional partnerships and excitement for the months ahead as we share our plans with our audiences and the community in which we work.
This year, our Grand Opening Concert features the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, a fine ensemble that are known for making music that matters. Orchestral music has long been a significant part of the Festival’s programming, but historically was a huge part of the town’s spa entertainment designed to attract visitors and ensure they stayed longer.
Despite the increasing costs and risk of staging an orchestral concert, recent research that examined over 10 years of ticketing data revealed two major facts; that more audiences members than ever before booked arts and cultural events in 2023 and that more than half of the audiences in 2023 were first time bookers.
We’re keen to ensure that we are able to find our own first-time bookers for classical music this year, and with tickets available for £5 for under 35s and a host of other ticket offers could this be your year to try something new?
Orchestral music can be visceral, exciting and moving. It tells stories, entertains and the theatre on stage between musicians and conductor is quite a powerful experience. The first orchestras formed more than 400 years ago and whilst the music has evolved over the years, the number of players on stage always guarantees some amazing music.
If you’re not sure about classical music in a space like the Royal Hall, come try something new at the ever-popular Spiegeltent. The Gildas Quartet will be performing in ‘surround sound’ allowing the audience to move around whilst they play, hear the music from different angles and get up close and personal with the music and the players. Think you’ve heard great music through the best speakers or headphones on the market? Come hear it live and adjust your sound by moving around!
As ever this classical season is packed from candlelit concerts to social media sensation and violinist Esther Abrami who is promising to shake up the classical world using 21st century digital technology and Plinio Fernandes and Braimah Kanneh Mason are two incredible talents performing together as part of the classical finale.
If you’re not sure classical music is really for you, there’s a host of music in the Spiegeltent from Ronnie Scott’s jazz sensation Jo Harrop to the Gypsy Queens, Mica Sefia and Punjabi Roots. So this year, try something new – you might even enjoy it!