The Dallas arts & culture publication
D Magazine, writes on what other cities can learn from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's innovative methods for drawing in young adults. Thirty-five percent of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's audience is younger than 35 years old, a figure attributed in large part to the organizations attempts to reach out to younger audiences with after-work concert series, lobby parties, and the "tsoundcheck" program, a program which offers $14 tickets for 18 to 35 year olds.
"Classical music has been characterized in the past few years by labor disputes, bankruptcy scares, and aging audiences. So what is the Toronto Symphony Orchestra doing right? The LA Times' Culture Vulture reports that thirty-five percent of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's audience is younger than 35 years old, and classical music has become part of the normal cultural diet of the city's younger professionals. It is not that the TSO has not seen its share of hardship, but tough times helped the TSO right the ship and emerge as a model for other cultural organizations"
"In 2001 the choice was make massive changes or fold. Choosing the former, and, frankly, with nothing left to lose, the TSO actively reached out to new audiences by fitting programming into their schedule instead of demanding the reverse."
"The musicians have noticed."
"There's been a complete shift in the nine years I've been playing with the symphony", said horn player Gabriel Radford. "For us on stage, that has a tremendous impact. Things seem to come alive. At the end of a show, when you've put in all that work, it's great."
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D Magazine