Unleash Your Inner Maven

The new TAFTO microsite is doing its job by generating interest and I’ve received a number of notes from folks planning their own events. This makes me think it would be a good idea to set up a special reader’s report section where patrons can share details about their own TAFTO events. In the meantime, the 2010 TAFTO banners are ready to be downloaded. You can select one of the general banners or ones branded with your favorite 2010 TAFTO contributor. Speaking of contributors, the 2010 list is all finalized.

Reveling In Microsite Goodness

As promised at the middle of last month, the new official resource site for the Take A Friend To The Orchestra program is up and running. The virtual ribbon was cut last night and you are now free to stop by and stay awhile. I’m very pleased with how this microsite turned out and like any worthwhile effort, it’s designed to be simple to use, easy to navigate, and provide a variety of indexed search options. But most of all, it’s designed to inspire… (more…)

Alex Ross Is Absolutely Right

The 2/3/2010 edition of the New Yorker published a piece by Alex Ross that examines attendance trends throughout the nonprofit performing arts. Unlike most of the shoulder shrugging set in this field, Ross decides to look at the issues in practical terms and concludes that in order to begin attracting members from Generation X to replace those from previous generations, it will take far more direct contact and one-on-one efforts. I couldn’t agree more… (more…)

A Sneak Peek At TAFTO 2010 Contributors

Take A Friend To The Orchestra (TAFTO) 2010 is only two months away and in order to give orchestras interested in putting together a TAFTO oriented event something to work with, I wanted to announce the first round of confirmed contributors.

• Lynn Harrell; renowned cellist and author of the weblog There’s Always Room For Cello.
• Christopher O’Riley; artist, pianist, media personality, and host of From The Top.
• Elizabeth Lunday; freelance writer, journalist, and author of Secret Lives of Great Composers.

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TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Oh Snap!

It was bound to happen sometime and it looks like the 2009 Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) month will have to come up one contribution short. My apologies to everyone stopping by for today’s contribution from Andrew Patner but due to a series of wacky events, we’ll have to leave you hanging. Nonetheless, you’ll feel better after reading Matthew Guerrieri’s brilliant (really, brilliant) TAFTO cartoon again and before you know it, you won’t even remember about the TAFTO contribution that got away. (more…)

TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Philip Paschke

It’s always a pleasure to see orchestras get involved with Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) month and it’s equally thrilling to see the idea spread across the border to Canada. In today’s contribution, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) New Media Specialist (I like how orchestras are defining these new positions), Philip Paschke, chronicles his organization’s recent TAFTO event. And true to his New Media Specialist title, Philip includes a video of the bloggers, tweeters, and other new media folk the ESO invited to their event as they share their observations about orchestras and new media…

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TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Curt Long

Curt Long is a perfect example of the sort of fantastic orchestra executives you don’t hear enough about. After a long and successful tenure as Dayton Philharmonic’s executive director, he recently assumed the same duties with the Alabama Symphony. Curt’s Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) contribution focuses on how orchestras need to get outside of what he defines as the “comfortable, insulated insiders’ view of what audiences want” and work toward creating an environment that attracts and retains new listeners… (more…)

TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Sir Andrew Davis

It isn’t uncommon for one of Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) month’s contributors to play a little hypothetical artistic programming in his/her essay and for most, that’s as far as the exercise goes. But Sir Andrew Davis is a member of the limited club of music professionals who enjoys that responsibility on a regular basis and his contribution shares some real life experiences bringing newbies to concerts as well as having a little “what-if?” programming fun… (more…)

TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Brian Bell

When it comes to Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) 2009 contributions, listening is the new reading. Then again, why would anyone be surprised that someone with more than 30 years experience and hundreds of recorded interviews with classical musicians from all walks of life wouldn’t want to put his TAFTO contribution in recorded format? So give your eyes a rest and your ears a workout, here comes Brian Bell… (more…)

TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Alan Valentine

Just in case you’ve missed the point that what makes classical music enduring is its street cred built off of shocking the bourgeoisie before there was a bourgeoisie, Nashville Symphony President & CEO, Alan Valentine, steps in with a contemporary example of what history has been telling us for decades. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you stop trying to micro manage how your audience experiences classical music… (more…)

TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Giancarlo Guerrero

Now that we have a good idea of what makes classical music special and the importance of non-musical elements on the overall concert experience along with taking an amusing look at concertgoing stereotypes, it is time to hear from an artistic leader at an organization that has been successfully putting all of this into practice. Nashville Symphony music director, Giancarlo Guerrero, shares some recent experiences interacting with new and potential patrons in Music City, USA… (more…)

TAFTO 2009 Contribution: Molly Sheridan

If we could see tomorrow’s audience today, I hope it looks like Molly Sheridan. The new cultural countess of cool is always charming, infinitely intriguing, and – most importantly – never dull. Being the new media maven she is, Molly wasn’t content with writing something for this year’s Take A Friend To Orchestra (TAFTO) event; instead, she recorded a wonderfully satirical take on everything you need to know about the modern concertgoing experience… (more…)