Klarinet Archive - Posting 001507.txt from 1998/04

From: DGross1226 <DGross1226@-----.com>
Subj: [klarinet] Attracting Wind Ensemble Audiences
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 06:10:42 -0400

In a message dated 98-04-26 04:19:51 EDT, Dr. Jim Lytthans wrote:

<< The Claremont (California) Symphonic Winds, directed by Drs. Tony
Mazzaferro and Jim Lytthans (me), will present a free concert this Sunday,
April 26, at 3:00 pm, in the Garrison Theater, corner 10th & Dartmouth, in
Claremont, California.

The program will be:

Canzona Peter Mennin
Symphony for Band Morton Gould
American Pageant Thomas Knox
Scenes from "The Louvre" Norman Dello Joio
An American In Paris George Gershwin
arr. Jerry Brubaker
Colonel Bogey March Fred J. Ricketts (AKA Kenneth Alford) >>

Trust me, it was one heck of a great concert! However, once again, even with
a wonderful program, outstanding musicians, and fine conducting leadership,
the members of the Claremont Symphonic Winds outnumbered the audience!! All
of us in the Claremont Symphonic Winds (at least me, the contrabass clarinet
player, would like to know if this is a LALA Land (Claremont is about 35 miles
due east of Los Angeles) phenomenon, or is there a proven way to attract an
audience to a really outstanding concert of wind music? Is a Sunday afternoon
performance time death? Do we "dumb down" the program? Do college and
university-based wind ensembles have an easier time filling a hall? For
example, at the last concert of the Caltech/Occidental Colllege Concert Band,
we filled the 1,000 seat Beckman Auditorium at Caltech in Pasadena. Howver,
we also showed new 3-D slides of Mars (we provided 1,000 pairs of red/blue
glasses) while actually playing "Mars" from the Planets by Holst. (One of our
trumpet players was a JPL Pathfinder Project Mission Director). Do you need a
gimmick? Are semi-professional wind ensembles just a collection of dinosaurs?

A rambling post, but a real concern. Thanks!

Don Gross
La Canada, California

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