Earplugs, chill-out zones and chat: Orchestra eases into classical music’s relaxed new era
For the uninitiated, attending an orchestra can be intimidating.
The thought of entering a concert hall and listening to classical music can provoke a deluge of questions. What will I wear? When do I clap? Will I be furiously shushed if the wrapper of my Whittaker’s bar rustles?
With this in mind, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) has curated a series of performances for audiences who may feel uncomfortable in traditional concert environments.
The events, dubbed ‘‘relaxed concerts’’, will comprise ‘‘shorter, more accessible versions’’ of main performances, explains Claire Wackrow, NZSO’s artistic manager.
With no strict dress codes, there is no need to hire a tux or purloin granny’s pearls. And rather than abide by a regimented seating plan, guests are encouraged to move around – dance, even. Chatter is encouraged, hosts and staff are around to offer help if required, and earplugs are on hand for those who need a break.
Guests are also more than welcome to jump ship, Wackrow continues, if they’re not feeling it.
‘‘The doors are open the whole time. We even have a chill-out zone outside, in the front of the house, where people can escape to. Here there is comfortable seating, water and more earplugs.’’
The relaxed concert sessions are one facet of the NZSO’s wider
Setting Up Camp series, which debuted last year just before lockdown.
Historically, the NZSO would bunny-hop around the country, one show per town. Setting Up Camp ensures the NZSO spends up to three days in one place, allowing a mix of evening and daytime performances, school programmes and local events.
The idea is to shift the public’s perception of the orchestra: rather than a highbrow activity for the elite, it is instead an art form for the whole community.
Wackrow was ‘‘humbled’’ by the public’s response to Setting Up Camp last year.
‘‘We were getting people coming through the door who had never seen a concert before,’’ she says, describing how a recurring reaction was guests describing how they finally felt ‘‘seen’’.
This year, the two concerts at the centre of the series will be and
Town and Country Soldier’s Tale.
The former traverses the first movement of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and John Barry’s Oscar-winning title theme from Out of Africa, while the latter is crafted in association with Royal New Zealand Ballet, and sees musicians, dancers and actors perform Igor Stravinsky’s pocketsized theatre piece.
Wackrow says the music shouldn’t be intimidating and we’re probably all more acquainted with the classical genre than we think. ‘‘Orchestral music is everywhere. It’s in your headphones when you’re playing a game, it’s the soundtrack to your action movies, it’s in other genres of music.’’
Wrackrow has a point; whether you’re a fan of rap, pop, punk or early rock’n’roll, you can guarantee orchestral music has been integrated into songs you already know. Nas’ I can ? It samples Beethoven. A Day In The Life by The Beatles? It’s filled with dramatic orchestral crescendos. Even Ariana Grande’s 7 Rings has been subject to the classical treatment, courtesy of Netflix sensation Bridgerton.
Point being, classical music isn’t a relic of a past age purely for fancy-dressed elites, and so the shows that provide it and the establishments that house it shouldn’t be either. The boundaries around this art form are breaking, and the NZSO is leading the charge.
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