Digital Commons Network^™

The Art Of Sustaining Orchestras Through Intentional Educational Experiences, Kimberly Souther

Dissertations, 2020-current

The purpose of this study is to identify the most current and successful advances in audience engagement that champion connection and result in sustainability through purposeful educational experiences.

The Symphony Orchestra currently serves an audience which represents a multiplicity of perspectives, background, and understanding. In an era of expanded canon and outreach to local communities, the orchestra must acknowledge that change is necessary if we are to truly create fulfilling experiences for our listeners. Unfortunately, many orchestras fail to connect their outreach to the concert hall, woefully categorizing their patrons into pre-determined subsets. What if all patrons were trusted with …

Margulis Revisited: Once More On Program Notes And Audience Enjoyment, Jocelyn Abrahamzon

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In a 2010 study, Elizabeth Margulis finds that audience members enjoy classical music less when they read information about the piece before they hear it. Her result is surprising because conventional wisdom suggests that such pre-concert information would add to an audience members’ enjoyment of a concert. To gain further perspective, I decided to conduct a similar study on JMU’s campus that differed from Margulis’ in many ways. For example, participants attended a live concert rather than listening to excerpts of music through headphones. I created a survey that asked participants questions about their experience at a concert they attended …