The relationship between the MSO and its audience has wained in recent decades. Classical music is repeatedly seen as being for 'the older generation' and the organisation has found difficulty in gaining and retaining the attention of younger viewers.
Recent approaches have born some fruit such as the success of MSO at the Movies, which has seen sold-out viewings of hits like The Godfather and the Harry Potter films played to live scores. This has also paired well with the MSO summer shows at the Sydney Myer Music Bowl, bringing a more casual and relaxed atmosphere to the classical concerts. But the MSO has struggled in combining this contemporary approach with its more traditional, seasonal offering.
Research
In the initial stages of our groundwork, we were interested in the relationship between the MSO and the everyday—how we could draw a connection between the daily interactions of any person and music? We narrowed this approach down using locality: To highlight the nature of place within music (and to emphasise the uniquely Melbourne nature of the MSO). After conducting interviews with people who either work or live in the Melbourne CBD (or within a 5km radius), we brought the connection back to the MSO and the city by selecting concerts that have played a significant role in the history of the MSO and their associated venues:
– Melbourne Town Hall (Haydn's Symphony 101, the inaugural concert of 1906)
– Hamer Hall (Richard Wagner's Siegfried, inaugural concert of 1986)
– Sydney Myer Music Bowl (Elton John's Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, first contemporary collaboration in 1986)
– The Plenary (John Williams' theme from Harry Potter, first film with live score on 2017)
– Arts Centre (Gordon Kerry's Clouds and Trumpets, centenary concert of 2006)
Concept development
We began by combining live, encrypted audio from each of these locations with the recordings of each of the associated pieces of music and visualising this in a five-minute updating loop. The graphics would continually update, revealing the on-going audible relationship between the people and sounds of the street and the piece of classical music, with the intention of drawing a passer-by's attention to the soundscape around them.
Application
Using both static and updated versions of the data, we applied this over a series of posters, social media and EDMs. An interactive theatre wall was installed within the Arts Centre, which provided viewers with live, interactive information about all the Melbourne soundscapes and the history between the MSO and the city.
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The Outcome
Paired with the MSO's recent approaches to marketing and campaigns aimed at increasing audience growth, ID helped establish a relationship between the MSO, the city of Melbourne, and its inhabitants. We recorded 1000+ daily interactions on our venue-specific site installation, as well as regular social media mentions. Seasonal MSO programs have seen an uptick in younger audience representation, which was crucial following the two-year-long Melbourne lockdown.
