27
Aug
2002
If the Quad City Symphony Orchestra seems a little looser this year, the organization has done its job.
Its marketing for the 2002-3 season has ditched the traditional, low-key flavor of previous efforts in favor of a vibrant and energetic campaign using the work of a local commercial artist. The conceit of the campaign is that classical composers and musicians were the rock stars of their day.
Karen Brooke, the symphony's development and marketing director, said the organization was searching for a new look this season, its 88th. She said the symphony was looking for something contemporary, fun, and passionate. "We were really trying to get people's attention," she said. Other goals included being "a little less intimidating" and trying "to appeal more broadly" to the community.
And so far, the move has paid off. Brooke said season-ticket renewals are up over last year, something she attributes "to the marketing and to the season."
Indeed, the season appears to be more accessible to the casual listener, with a hook for virtually every concert for people who might not typically be part of the symphony crowd.
But the concerts wouldn't reach new people without a marketing campaign that could transform the staid image of classical music and the local symphony. And the marketing campaign won't work in the long run if people attracted by the splashy marketing don't like what they hear from the symphony orchestra.
So the task of re-casting the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's image fell to advertising agency Henry Russell Bruce, which suggested Orion-based commercial artist Paul Lange. ("We wanted art," Brooke said.")
Henry Russell Bruce came up with the rock-and-roll concept, but it was up to Lange to execute it. He used oil pastels on black paper, then "punched up" the colors on his computer, and saturated the black background to make the contrast even greater. Lange said it was a blend of the old and new, which isn't unlike what the symphony is trying to do.
The six pieces that are used in the marketing virtually crackle with energy, the result of movement and intensity both in the figures and the artistic style. Hot oranges and yellows look as if they're giving off sparks, while different musicians leap, slide, march, or pump an arm in the air. (Each piece of artwork reflects the soloist or theme for a different concert.) All the pieces have a heat to them, a suggestion of fire. If energy was the goal, it was certainly achieved.
That's partially a function of Lange and the advertising agency taking the concept behind the project literally. Lange looked at photographs of rock musicians, and emulated some of their poses for the marketing campaign. So the rock singer on his knees before an adoring crowd became a violinist raising his arms triumphantly.
The copy, too, tries to make a connection with a new audience, with little-known tidbits about composers or pieces. "As a teenager Mozart performed throughout Europe for three years," the brochure reads. "What a road trip!"
Although the worlds of classical and rock music have been mixing more these days - see Metallica's collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony a few years back, or ensembles such as the four-cello Apocalyptica covering speed metal and recording their own rock-like compositions - the Quad City Symphony Orchestra remains firmly entrenched in the classical mode.
But the 2002-3 season continues a trend toward accessibility by the symphony. Musical Director and Conductor Donald Schleicher has struck a nice balance between tradition and freshness, pieces that appeal to classical purists and those that might draw a crowd looking for a little more excitement.
The symphony kicks off its season with the popular outdoor Riverfront Pops on Saturday, September 7, in Davenport's LeClaire Park. While last year the concert featured a soprano, this year the symphony is going with the entertaining (and talented) tuba soloist Patrick Sheridan. (Like March's trombone soloist, this unorthodox choice could provide one of the highlights of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's season.)
The symphony's season proper opens October 5 and 6 with an all-Beethoven concert showcasing the talents of two Quad Cities natives, Greg and Tom Sauer. The brothers, with violinist Serena Canin, will tackle the composer's Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, & Piano, which is infrequently performed. The concert will also feature the Symphony No. 7.
The November 2 and 3 concert also promises to be an unusual experience for ticketholders, with the theme of "Drums Over the Mississippi." The program showcases the symphony's percussion section with the Percussion Symphony by the young Australian composer Carl Vine, who initially built his reputation on dance scores. The work, from 1994 and 1995, features Latin American rhythms, xylophones, marimbas, vibraphones, and drums. That concert will also feature two more traditional works, Rossini's Overture to "The Barber of Seville" and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.
The annual Holiday Pops concert is slated for November 23 at The Mark of the Quad Cities and will feature guest conductor Michael Butterman, the Santa Fe Guitar Quartet, and more. New this year is a dessert reception following the show.
The symphony's December 7 and 8 concert will have more traditional fare and feature pianist Gustavo Romero, a returning soloist from last season. The program will feature Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467, Liszt's Piano Concert No. 2, and Respighi's Three Botticelli Pictures, but it will also include a contemporary piece, 1990's Musica Celestis ("Celestial Music") by Aaron Jay Kernis, one of the youngest composers ever to win a Pulitzer Prize.
Concerts resume February 1 and 2 with guest conductor Rossen Milanov leading the symphony through the work of Schumann, Bartok, and Franck. For the March 1 and 2 show, which features violinist Glenn Dicterow, Schleicher has selected a primarily American program, with composers Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, and Leonard Bernstein keeping company with Brahms' Violin Concerto in D Major. The season closes with the Handel Oratorio Society and Quad City Choral Arts helping out on William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, with Dvorak's Serenade for Strings and a short Canzon by Renaissance composer Gabrieli.
The symphony is also continuing its intimate chamber-music series with small-ensemble concerts October 20, January 18, and April 13.
Except for chamber-music and pops concerts, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra performs Friday night at the Adler Theatre and Sunday afternoon at Augustana College's Centennial Hall. For tickets to Quad City Symphony Orchestra concerts, call (563)322-0931 or visit (http://www.qcsymphony.com).
Karen Brooke, the symphony's development and marketing director, said the organization was searching for a new look this season, its 88th. She said the symphony was looking for something contemporary, fun, and passionate. "We were really trying to get people's attention," she said. Other goals included being "a little less intimidating" and trying "to appeal more broadly" to the community.
And so far, the move has paid off. Brooke said season-ticket renewals are up over last year, something she attributes "to the marketing and to the season."
Indeed, the season appears to be more accessible to the casual listener, with a hook for virtually every concert for people who might not typically be part of the symphony crowd.
But the concerts wouldn't reach new people without a marketing campaign that could transform the staid image of classical music and the local symphony. And the marketing campaign won't work in the long run if people attracted by the splashy marketing don't like what they hear from the symphony orchestra.
So the task of re-casting the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's image fell to advertising agency Henry Russell Bruce, which suggested Orion-based commercial artist Paul Lange. ("We wanted art," Brooke said.")
Henry Russell Bruce came up with the rock-and-roll concept, but it was up to Lange to execute it. He used oil pastels on black paper, then "punched up" the colors on his computer, and saturated the black background to make the contrast even greater. Lange said it was a blend of the old and new, which isn't unlike what the symphony is trying to do.
The six pieces that are used in the marketing virtually crackle with energy, the result of movement and intensity both in the figures and the artistic style. Hot oranges and yellows look as if they're giving off sparks, while different musicians leap, slide, march, or pump an arm in the air. (Each piece of artwork reflects the soloist or theme for a different concert.) All the pieces have a heat to them, a suggestion of fire. If energy was the goal, it was certainly achieved.
That's partially a function of Lange and the advertising agency taking the concept behind the project literally. Lange looked at photographs of rock musicians, and emulated some of their poses for the marketing campaign. So the rock singer on his knees before an adoring crowd became a violinist raising his arms triumphantly.
The copy, too, tries to make a connection with a new audience, with little-known tidbits about composers or pieces. "As a teenager Mozart performed throughout Europe for three years," the brochure reads. "What a road trip!"
Although the worlds of classical and rock music have been mixing more these days - see Metallica's collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony a few years back, or ensembles such as the four-cello Apocalyptica covering speed metal and recording their own rock-like compositions - the Quad City Symphony Orchestra remains firmly entrenched in the classical mode.
But the 2002-3 season continues a trend toward accessibility by the symphony. Musical Director and Conductor Donald Schleicher has struck a nice balance between tradition and freshness, pieces that appeal to classical purists and those that might draw a crowd looking for a little more excitement.
The symphony kicks off its season with the popular outdoor Riverfront Pops on Saturday, September 7, in Davenport's LeClaire Park. While last year the concert featured a soprano, this year the symphony is going with the entertaining (and talented) tuba soloist Patrick Sheridan. (Like March's trombone soloist, this unorthodox choice could provide one of the highlights of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra's season.)
The symphony's season proper opens October 5 and 6 with an all-Beethoven concert showcasing the talents of two Quad Cities natives, Greg and Tom Sauer. The brothers, with violinist Serena Canin, will tackle the composer's Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, & Piano, which is infrequently performed. The concert will also feature the Symphony No. 7.
The November 2 and 3 concert also promises to be an unusual experience for ticketholders, with the theme of "Drums Over the Mississippi." The program showcases the symphony's percussion section with the Percussion Symphony by the young Australian composer Carl Vine, who initially built his reputation on dance scores. The work, from 1994 and 1995, features Latin American rhythms, xylophones, marimbas, vibraphones, and drums. That concert will also feature two more traditional works, Rossini's Overture to "The Barber of Seville" and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.
The annual Holiday Pops concert is slated for November 23 at The Mark of the Quad Cities and will feature guest conductor Michael Butterman, the Santa Fe Guitar Quartet, and more. New this year is a dessert reception following the show.
The symphony's December 7 and 8 concert will have more traditional fare and feature pianist Gustavo Romero, a returning soloist from last season. The program will feature Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467, Liszt's Piano Concert No. 2, and Respighi's Three Botticelli Pictures, but it will also include a contemporary piece, 1990's Musica Celestis ("Celestial Music") by Aaron Jay Kernis, one of the youngest composers ever to win a Pulitzer Prize.
Concerts resume February 1 and 2 with guest conductor Rossen Milanov leading the symphony through the work of Schumann, Bartok, and Franck. For the March 1 and 2 show, which features violinist Glenn Dicterow, Schleicher has selected a primarily American program, with composers Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, and Leonard Bernstein keeping company with Brahms' Violin Concerto in D Major. The season closes with the Handel Oratorio Society and Quad City Choral Arts helping out on William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, with Dvorak's Serenade for Strings and a short Canzon by Renaissance composer Gabrieli.
The symphony is also continuing its intimate chamber-music series with small-ensemble concerts October 20, January 18, and April 13.
Except for chamber-music and pops concerts, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra performs Friday night at the Adler Theatre and Sunday afternoon at Augustana College's Centennial Hall. For tickets to Quad City Symphony Orchestra concerts, call (563)322-0931 or visit (http://www.qcsymphony.com).
