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5^th Conference of PMÖ – Plattform Musikvermittlung Österreich

Organized by mdw-University of Musioc and Performing Arts Vienna, supported by mica - music austria.

Rethinking Classical Music Practice

Audience and Community Engagement in Classical Concert Life

The ONLINE-Conference took place in November 25-27 2021 and was organized by Axel Petri-Preis (mdw) & Constanze Wimmer (KUG).
The Lectures are now available on the mdw YouTube channel.

International studies have shown that only 5-15% of the population in Europe and the US regularly attend classical concerts. The average concertgoer is white, 55+, affluent and well-educated. These statistics show that classical concerts not only have been but still are places of and occasions for distinction and bourgeois self-assurance and that they do not attract a large portion of people in today’s diverse late modern society. For economic and cultural-political reasons, and even more in the light of the current Corona pandemic, music institutions and their actors have to think of new ways to attract audiences and to stay relevant to all communities. Audience and Community Engagement are therefore key concepts for the classical concert life of the 21^st century. Audience Engagement seeks to offer new live experiences to existing and new audiences with immersive or participatory concert formats and pre-concert-workshops. Community Engagement, on the other hand, aims to build mutually beneficial and sustainable relationships with diverse communities outside of classical concert venues. Both concepts face considerable challenges, but they also have the potential to open up contemporary classical concert life and to make it relevant to and beneficial for wider audiences. Most young orchestras, ensembles and festivals quite naturally get involved in Audience and Community Engagement activities, but established institutions such as state-funded orchestras or concert halls, often need to change perspective.

At the conference “Rethinking Classical Music Practice: Audience and Community Engagement in Classical Concert Life” we want to discuss the opportunities, goals and obstacles for both audience and community engagement on an international level. Questions we address relate to the following topics:

• Who do we mean by audiences and communities?
• What are the approaches and tools of Audience and Community Engagement?
• Where do the two concepts overlap? Where do they differ?
• How can music institutions as well as audiences and communities benefit from both concepts?
• What cultural and socio-political relevance do Audience and Community Engagement have, especially in view of the corona pandemic and its consequences?
• How do classical music organizations and musicians (have to) change and transform when getting involved in Audience and Community Engagement?
• How can questions of cultural hegemony and interpretative power be negotiated?
• What is the impact of Audience and Community Engagement on classical music organizations and their actors?
• What kind of mindset is needed to successfully establish Audience and/or Community Engagement activities?