Though I have previously complained about people e mailing me personally with items that they should really post as comments, I have to admit that my afternoon was made when I received a personal phone call comment from Leila Getz at the Vancouver Recital Society. She said she had read yesterday’s post on concerts being promoted as special events, and noticed that she actually uses the word “special” in her marketing materials. “And why am I telling my audience that one concert is more special than another??” she asked. She also pointed out that “special” is often a word we use to promote things that aren’t selling; that is, “special” as in a sale.
So our friend Leila has one week to complete the copy for her season brochure and is looking for another word to describe the…big deal?….first concert of the season with the performing artist who…perhaps has a higher fee?…than other artists on the series.
OK, comment and help, please.
Her blog is here, and includes gems like, “Remember that iPod Touch that I confessed to stealing from my husband?
Well, now that I’m back in the swing of things, I barely get time to
listen to it…and in any case, I’ve been listening to Murray Perahia
practising in my living room for the past few days.”
At least we can all agree that Murray Perahia practicing in one’s living room is special, no air quotes necessary.
Extraordinary?
Anticipated?
Many concerts are “special,” but each combination of program and artists is special in a special way or set of ways. The task of the promoter is to communicate the specific specialness of each concert. But in order to do that, the promoter needs to know what is special about each concert — needs to know what makes this artist (not just the artist’s biography and credits) different from that artist and needs to know the repertoire deeply enough to make a specific, compelling case for the value of each program. In my experience, most season brochures and press releases are products of laziness (or maybe just lack of time) and say little that’s useful or interesting about the music or the artists. It follows (or, rather, precedes) that the organization must ground its artistic choices in compelling artistic purposes — something more than “Penelope Ivorytickler happened to be available at the right time at a fee we could afford” or “Beethoven’s Fifth sells.”
exceptional
fantastic
memorable
significant
(thanks Mr. Thesaurus!)
I think Mike Greenberg is right. Find the highpoint (selling point) of each individual concert — there’s your word.
momentous
epochal
sure-to-be-jaw-dropping
surreally promising
out-of-the-ordinary
“This concert, which, if that’s even possible, is even more compelling than the rest of our concerts…”
“The opening gala” — set the night out as a celebration, as opposed to just a concert. Encourages dressing up and feeling “special” to launch a season, or mark its high point in terms of adventurousness, calibre of guest, or whatever else is making this particular concert “special.”
Festive. The word you’re looking for is festive.