Engaging audiences

Awareness of local and national government policies, the development of residencies and the ability to harness local support for concert promotion are the keys to developing work in isolated and rural areas, according to the Association of British Orchestras (ABO). Its new report, ‘Beyond the Concert Hall’, examines and collates best practice from its 65 member orchestras in reaching out to audiences outside the main conurbations. In the past two years, UK orchestras have performed in all 40 English counties, 34 Scottish counties and 13 counties in Wales. However, ABO Director, Mark Pemberton, writes that current economic pressures mean that “taking an orchestra out of the concert hall can be costly and with some ensembles suffering funding cuts, rural touring is in danger of becoming a victim of resource constraints”. Suggestions for best practice in the report include enabling rural audiences to travel to large city concert halls, encouraging partnerships and making use of new technology – citing the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2007 performance using the ‘Second Life’ virtual world.