International orchestra conference in Wroclaw discusses current developments after the Covid pandemic

At the end, Natalia Klingbajl is visibly relieved and satisfied. As Deputy Director for Development, she was the main person responsible for the three-day international orchestra conference at the National Music Forum (NFM) Wroclaw in early September 2023. Co-curated by the former CEO of the British Orchestral Association, Mark Pemberton, a very intensive panel and workshop program was completed. 190 participants from four continents (excluding Africa) from orchestra managements, agencies and associations were just eager to discuss in presence the current challenges for orchestras worldwide for the first time again after the Covid pandemic.

All the big issues were called upon. What about the return of audiences and subscribers to events after the pandemic, where and why have there been substantial changes? What are the current financial, as well as political, challenges? What are orchestras’ views on increased international travel again, but also on sustainability as well as increasing diversity in staff, audiences and programming?

The panel on audience development after Covid attracted particularly great attention. In general, it can be said that audience figures have stabilized everywhere. From Great Britain, it was reported that the concert sector is still about ten percent below the attendance figures before 2020. The Finnish Orchestra Association observed a decline in concert subscriptions, but at the same time an increase in short-term single ticket sales. We hear similar things from Germany, although the picture is not uniform here either. The Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz from Ludwigshafen, for example, increased its subscription numbers by 83 percent compared to the pre-Covid era. Many opera houses in Germany, in particular, have not yet regained their pre-Covid subscriber levels. The North American orchestras face a different problem: after Covid, the trend is also toward working from home; people travel less often to the office in the city, move further out into the surrounding countryside (because of the lower housing costs), and the distance to the concert hall is greater, which reduces their willingness to attend concerts and subscribe.

The questions of which concert formats to develop and offer in which spaces for which audiences were also discussed in order to be more successful as an orchestra. The problem is apparently not the number of people who are fundamentally interested in classical music. Rather, the problem is that customers who are already familiar attend an orchestra’s events too infrequently on average over a season. Structured marketing could help here. In any case, in the future, orchestras must specifically create more proximity and opportunities for encounters between artists and audiences in the concert environment. Another problem mentioned was the difficulty of reaching out to people who have an affinity for the arts but don’t attend orchestra concerts. Here, cooperation with other cultural sectors seems to offer good options, i.e., targeted cooperation with museums, galleries, (jazz) clubs or libraries.

The Australian Chamber Orchestra presented a promising approach. Together with filmmakers and directors, it produces its own 90-minute films, e.g. on the subject of “Surfing,” “The Mountain” (mountaineering) or “The Reef” (diving), which are then performed live on tour by the orchestra with specially composed music and appeal to a completely different audience (i.e. surfers, mountaineers or divers). The 2024 film project is called “River.” Although such productions are very successful, they are also so costly that they can only be realized every two years – in addition to the chamber orchestra’s normal program. After all, the orchestra has to earn 40 percent of its 14 million AUS dollar budget (about 8.3 million Euros) through ticket sales.

Community music, which has long been established in Great Britain but is still in the beginning in Germany and other countries, is also about creating closeness and relationships. In the past, people talked about “outreach,” but today they talk about “community engagement”. The idea is not just to offer (chamber) concerts in neighbourhoods or schools, but rather to meet people in less privileged residential areas at eye level and involve them directly. Lucy Galliard from the British chamber orchestra Sinfonia Viva emphasized that conveying the passion of each individual musician for what they do and the collective creativity of an ensemble are essential factors in reaching people emotionally at eye level. Matt Robinson from the Konzerthaus Dortmund used examples of his work to demonstrate how music projects can succeed in influencing and changing the lives of people from disadvantaged groups (often with a migrant background). It is not a matter of making everyone a classical music lover, but rather of living the social relevance of the Konzerthaus in practice by including different cultural backgrounds and thus contributing to a more vibrant and tolerant urban society. In the discussion, it crystallized that there is a need for much closer cooperation within the theatre and orchestra operations between the program planning, marketing and outreach/education departments.

The panel on the question of whether and how orchestras should actually respond to very current trends and issues (Ukraine war, climate change, migration, etc.) was also interesting. It became clear that hiding in the ivory tower is not a good idea if orchestras want to be perceived much more as socially relevant. Simon Woods from the League of American Orchestras referred to the demographic changes in North America, according to which whites will only represent a minority in 2040; however, the proportion of people of colour in orchestras has hardly grown in the past 20 years. The big issues for him, therefore, are more diversity and inclusion, changing programs – fewer white, long-dead composers – and taking on more social responsibility locally through “community engagement.” With projects for disadvantaged populations, for kindergartens and schools, those in need of care and people with impairments, orchestras also secure the goodwill and acceptance of their private donors and vital supporters. But Woods also made it very clear that climate change is not an issue for U.S. orchestras: “Think alone about the fact that musicians and audiences will always have to rely on their cars because, with a few exceptions, public transportation is almost non-existent.” For the future viability of orchestras, the association rather relies on a stronger dialogue with all user and supporter groups.

Another panel addressed the reach of orchestras, their relevance and power to reinvent themselves.  Ensemble founder and conductor Joolz Gale said that artists should no longer perform out of touch, but should connect much more emotionally with the audience. Smaller music sensembles in unusual venues with exciting programs are one way to do this, he said. If a concert program tells a story or contains a unifying narrative, it seems particularly suited to creating emotional connections with the audience. From the NFM itself could be heard and exemplarily seen how it succeeds in attracting especially younger audiences to the imposing new building on the edge of Wroclaw’s Old Town: art, light installations or film projections paired with electronic or contemporary music have proven to be particularly attractive here.

The panel “The International Orchestra” featured the Budapest Festival Orchestra (just turned 40 in 2023), the Taiwan Philharmonic ( slogan “From Formosa” as the musical ambassador of a country that, under pressure from China, is diplomatically recognized by only 14 countries worldwide), the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra (with a spectacular concert hall in the former central station, a large orchestra academy, a large professional choir, its own sound and video production, and a music publishing company for Brazilian repertoire), and the internationally active artist agency TACT. The main topic was the revived tour business after the pandemic. A really good question came from the representative of the Association of Japanese Symphony Orchestras, Asuka Okishio, namely about what actually makes an international tour of an orchestra successful, for the agencies behind it, but also for the orchestra itself. Is it sold-out concerts, financial gain, positive media response, the development of the orchestra’s reputation, the promotion of identity within the orchestra, the support of diplomacy, politics and business, cultural exchange in general? Really not easy to answer. And if there is an answer, it is with different emphases for each orchestra. There were also discussions about the touring repertoire, ranging from the zero-risk blockbuster classical program to “always include a contemporary piece by an emerging national female composer.”

The final panel, “Drawing the Line,” thematically described the problems for orchestra managements between solving short-term economic problems and clarifying longer-term strategic issues. For example, although audiences are returning after Covid, they are also expressing new needs in terms of performance start times and the duration and content of concert programs. This is where orchestras need to respond. To program even more conservatively for fear of regular customers or promoters jumping off is not an appropriate response. In this sense: it remains exciting!

Gerald Mertens

Editor-in-Chief of “das Orchester” – www.dasorchester.de

Schott Music Germany