BBQ, Beers and Mahler

This is one symphony orchestra that seems to have figured out how to appeal to younger audiences. These kind of stories often make me itchy because it always seems to come down to either "if we really, really dumb down the music, we might be able to stave off bankruptcy a little longer" or "bitter in-fighting between union and management means we can't focus on the audience right now." But I don't see anything wrong with the Toronto Symphony's way of doing things. First of all, it does bring in a younger audience; second, they don't seem to be compromising the music; third, what's wrong with barbecue and beers? One audience member said, “The symphony is the same price as the movies and it’s way more fun. We bring a lot of friends to shows and it’s nice that we're not stuck with tickets from the bottom of the barrel.” Well, that's what I think!

I also liked this bit:

Known to be an enthusiastic audience, tsoundcheckers are as open to Bruckner and Tchaikovsky as they are to the New Creations Festival. As evidenced by the sold-out Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony late-night concert last year, the under-35s aren’t interested in a superficial experience.