Defiant Cockroaches Are We!

Every April, orchestra consultant and tireless analyzer of all things classical Drew McManus gives his blog over to an event he calls Take A Friend To the Orchestra Month. Throughout the month, he solicits guest editorials from folks all over the music industry (I wrote a decidedly tongue-in-cheek episode way back in 2005) on the general subject of how to bring newbies into the orchestral fold. To be honest, a lot of what he gets back is of either the way earnest or way bitter variety, both of which are certainly attitudes that pervade the classical music business, but neither of which hold any particular allure for me.

But every once in a while, a TAFTO entry comes along that just floors me, and not only perfectly reflects the way I wish orchestras would conduct themselves, but also gives me new perspective on how audiences and outsiders may or may not perceive us. No surprise that this year, it's Boston composer/critic Matthew Guerreri who's knocked it out of the park. Sarah and I have both linked to Guerreri's work in the past at his excellent blog, Soho the Dog, and in response to Drew's request for an article, he's instead turned in a cartoon that says, in very few words, everything that orchestra musicians and managers need to be hearing in these trying economic times.

Guerreri's prescription for orchestras struggling to sell tickets in a depressed economic climate is simple: "Don't apologize. Don't explain... Just let 'em hear the loudest, craziest thing you've got." Essentially, he's warning against the temptation for orchestras to turtle and play nothing but Classical's Greatest Hits in a downturn, when such an approach will likely appeal only to those who never stop coming to our concerts anyway. Why not take advantage of dwindling box office to showcase truly daring concert experiences and see who comes out of the woodwork to watch?

Guerreri's cartoon dog also points out (as I did a couple of weeks back) that so-called experts have been predicting the demise of orchestras for decades, and declares that our refusal to go along with the doomsday scenarios makes us "the sexy vampire of music." I like it. And I like "the defiant cockroach of the post-nuclear cultural wasteland" even better - there's gotta be a way to work that into next season's brochure, doesn't there?

Anyway, go read the cartoon. You'll be glad you did. Oh, and if you're so inclined, you might think about taking a friend to the orchestra this month...