It Takes Informed Concert Programming

Like any type of business, developing, preparing, and presenting the product is the main goal. In terms of the symphony, the concert and the music being played at this concert is what your audience pays for.

Programming is dependent on consumer demand and market competition.

• Research must be done before selecting pieces to ensure that patrons will actually be interested in the particular genre that is to be performed and whether people would be willing to travel to your particular venue over competitors'.
• Even if there is a high demand for classical music in the surrounding area, symphonies must be sure to differentiate their concert programs from each other if there are multiple performing groups within a close radius. 

Developing the concert program requires contribution from:

• the music director
• the artistic planning department (if the organization is established enough to have one), and
• the performers (to some extent)

As shown in the San Jose Symphony study (also mentioned in a previous post: It Takes Awareness of the Demographic in the Region), differentiating their programming was not enough to attract sufficient patrons to their concerts. They failed to realize that the demand for classical music was high, but not high enough to  provide business to the very abundant supply of classical performances available in the Bay Area.

In other words, the San Jose Symphony was screwed regardless of the quality of their concert programming. One of their problems, in my opinion, was that they were not informed well enough about their audience preferences.

It Takes Awareness of the Demographic in the Region

One of the biggest mistakes that a symphony board can make is oversight its area's demographic. Knowing the demographic can help the board plan programs that will foster the interests of the specific minorities that reside in the area.

To help illustrate how vital this is, I will explain the mistake that the formerly known, San Jose Symphony made when it failed to take the demographic into consideration, and in result, failed to make enough ticket sales to survive.

This is a picture of the Imani Quintet, a diverse group of musicians who were recently involved in the Stockton Symphony's Harmony Stockton program to promote diversity in music . This is an example of a program that would appeal more to a diverse demographic. 

The San Jose Symphony; Its Background and Demise

The San Jose Symphony was established in 1877 as American Born European musicians were increasing parallel to the rapid increase of European immigration. The market for American classical music was at an all time high at this time, but started decreasing in the late 1900's. The demand for classical groups declined greatly, which caused the San Jose Symphony to struggle with financial and budget controls, as well as consumer preferences and competition in the surrounding Bay Area. According to Wolf and Glaze, authors of And the Band Stopped Playing: The Rise and Fall of the San Jose Symphony, the Symphony also missed good opportunities to reach out to the minority demographic, as well as made poor choices in building a new symphony hall with insufficient and restricted funds.