Greeters

Last week my Juilliard course on the future of classical music began (“Classical Music in an Age of Pop). Some of the students talked about friends they’d introduced to classical music — people who didn’t know classical music, but who came to a concert, and found they liked it. That led to talk about what could attract more people to come, and, most crucially, about what happens when newcomers do show up.

I talked about a friend of mine who impulsively bought a ticket for some orchestral concert at Lincoln Center (could have been the Philharmonic, or a visiting orchestra; he didn’t remember), because he saw they were playing the Beethoven Sixth, a piece he loves. I wondered what might have brought him back for more concerts — and whether anyone addresses that problem.

That led us to talk about ways it could be addressed in the concert hall. How about a kiosk in the lobby, with a big banner: “First time here? Come talk to us!” Or greetings from the stage. Or, somebody said, how about something attached to the back of the seat in front of you, as you might find when you go to a new church for the first time?

That last is probably difficult in concert halls, since you’d have to retool the way the seats are built, but all the ideas are worth considering. If you buy a ticket by mail or phone or online, and your name isn’t on the database, why not give you a little brochure for new attenders along with your ticket? Or there could be greeters in the lobby, welcoming people to the concert, which the Baltimore Symphony says it might have in the future. These people might not have much trouble identifying people new to the concert hall, and could welcome them with special warmth.

There’s a lot to be done. It’s not very complicated. How many classical music organizations are doing any of it?