NewHavenBIZ

32 n e w h a v e n B I Z | M a r c h / A p r i l 2 0 1 9 n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Arts & Culture and take risks. ose that do is where we see promise and signs of health and vitality." is year's overall positive data may be a result of the special attention the NHSO is receiving for 2018-19, the 12th and final season for Music Director William Boughton, along with the celebration of orchestra's 125th anniversary season. But next season should also get a boost when it launches its inaugu- ral campaign under the baton of Boughton's successor, Alasdair Ne- ale, who will be formally introduced at a June 22 performance on the New Haven Green, part of the Inter- national Festival of Arts & Ideas. So, what keeps Carroll up at night? "e stock market," she acknowl- edges. Carroll explains that 70 percent of the budget is contributed income, which means the generos- ity of donors and interest income from the $14.8 million endowment — no small factor in the orchestra's stability — and which is tied to the performance of the U.S. economy. Building new audiences But most important of all to the NHSO's continued viability is the imperative to attract new audiences. "You need to find ways to throw the doors open wide," says Carroll, pointing to 2016's "Beers & Bee- thoven" promotion, which featured six cra brewers offering samples in the lobby of Woolsey Hall to ticket-holders with wrist bands and food trucks out front of the venue. at event attracted a new wave of young people, especially from downtown and area colleges."ey bought their ticket, they had their beer, they came to the concert but they also stayed for the whole con- cert," Carroll says. "Younger people are looking for an experience." Older audiences have also welcomed new marketing ideas, she says. "ey want it to keep the symphony going, and they know that won't happen if there aren't young people, too." Says the LAO's Rosen: "Fieen years ago it was thought that ba- by-boomers would flood the con- certs as they got older. Well, that didn't happen because when they were younger they were going to concerts less oen than the gener- ation before them at that age. Each generation is now participating at a lower rate than the generation before them." Rosen says there's more urgency to develop new audiences than ever before. And to reach them, orches- tras have to be responsive to what they like — and how they wish to experience it. "We know they have different tastes and expectations than the people who are currently going, and that's where the creativity has to come in cultivating this audience," says Rosen, "while not alienating older audiences which still constitutes the core in terms of volume and revenue." Carroll says part of her efforts to expand audiences also includes being aware of New Haven's diverse community, which is made up of approximately one-third each of whites, African-Americans and Latinos. "One tremendous challenge is that we are so white onstage [the musicians], and we can't back away from admitting it's a problem," she says. e NHSO received an $80,000 national grant allowing it to recruit and support young instrumentalists of color from around the country who are looking to break into the rarified air of professional sym- phonic performance. "For children of color to see faces onstage like themselves is really important," Carroll says. "If we don't, they're going to think this is an art form for 'other people' — and that's not right. It's their orchestra, in their town, and we want to play music that they'll respond to and to see themselves reflected onstage." It's a continuing balancing act to be an American symphony orches- tra in the 21st century. n Continued from Page 30

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