Orchestral touring goes local

Orchestras Live, a £200,000 initiative to increase the quantity and scope of chamber orchestra touring across England, will be launched this autumn. Managed by Eastern Orchestral Board (EOB), the scheme is designed to develop a network of promoters and enable chamber orchestras to tour more work to rural areas. Efforts will also go into broadening the capacity of urban promoters to programme a more diverse range of work.
The scheme, funded by Arts Council England (ACE), will run initially for a twelve month period and focus on the recruitment of a committed promoter base to develop an effective national circuit for chamber orchestras. David Richardson, Director of EOB, said “We intend to take orchestras to where people live.” The intention is to establish an association of promoters who will be subsidised to present concerts in smaller towns and rural areas. Particular areas of need have been identified, including East and North Yorkshire, the Welsh borders, Kent, Devon and Cornwall. Specific marketing and promotional advice will be given by EOB, in addition to financial subsidy.

The Orchestras Live scheme builds on recent increases in funding to chamber orchestras and is widely seen as a response to demand for this to be mirrored by support for promoters. EOB will not commission new programmes but aims to take the existing repertoire of touring chamber orchestras to a wider range of venues. In the longer term, David Richardson hopes it may “enable an orchestra to do an ambitious programme sooner than they may have planned.” David Butcher, Chief Executive of Britten Sinfonia, where funding is set to double over the next two years, said, “It’s great news. The flexible, modern chamber orchestra is ideally placed to produce this range of work. Chamber orchestras can present a fresh face for classical audiences.” However, some regional orchestras and promoters have voiced concerns about the reach of the project. Simon Ible a Devon-based promoter and Artistic Director of Ten Tors Orchestra said, “It’s a great idea and it’s always good to have orchestras in rural areas; but the question one would ask is would this work actually get to rural areas. Promoters must be comfortable and not placed under too great a financial pressure.”

EOB now plans a period of consultation with regional promoters to determine the type of work that can be presented and how soon the project can begin. ACE has enabled EOB to retain a degree of flexibility over the time-scale of the scheme. While some projects may take place in autumn 2004, many promoters are already fully booked and orchestras committed, and the scheme is likely to run through 2005. Additionally EOB is keen to allow as much time as possible to generate effective marketing for events featured in Orchestras Live. As David Butcher noted, “Successful and effective marketing will be the decisive factor for the scheme. Artistically, orchestras are fleet of foot but telling people in the right way is the key to making this work.”