"Big Music Doesn't Need Huge Halls": Investigating The Audience Experience of Classical Music Concerts in Alternative Music Venues

Abstract

With the live classical music audience in decline, it has been argued that alternative music venues may be an important opportunity for the classical music industry to raise its profile and contribute to securing its audience for the future. Even though the recognition of these venues has increased in recent years, there is a lack of research on how they are experienced by its audience. This thesis investigates how the audience experience live classical music concerts in alternative venues. It considers the social processes of live music listening as well as examining the effects of the music venue on the audience’s concert experience. This thesis furthermore explores the potential role of alternative venues in attracting new audiences to classical music concerts. These issues are investigated through a case study on the new music venue National Sawdust in Brooklyn, New York. It draws upon nine qualitative interviews with audience members that have attended classical music concerts at the venue, as well as two interviews with the managing staff at the venue. The findings of this study shows that a considerable aspect of the audience’s experience at National Sawdust was assigned to the influence of other audience members. Especially important was the sense of feeling included within the event, sharing musical taste and the feeling of other audience members being there for the same reasons. It furthermore illustrate how the behavior and visual appearance of the performers contributed in making the concert experience less formal and more comfortable. The findings of this study suggest that there is potential for further research into the impact of listening spaces. This research might consider both the design of the venue and how different audience groups inhabit and feel comfortable in the space. This thesis illustrate how the size of a performance space may facilitate increased interactions between the audience members and the performer. Even though certain findings of this study illustrate how alternative music venues may be an important aspect of attracting new audiences to classical music, this study also shows that there are many extra-musical variables involved in bringing a rewarding live music experience that may serve to alienate and exclude less frequent attenders at classical music concerts.