“People still have the illusion that classical music is something that’s very serious,” says Yi-Chun Lin, a 30-year-old violinist in the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, in an article by Patrick Anderson in Friday’s (10/7) Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, S.D.). Lin is “excited to play David Bowie songs for an upcoming symphony show later this month…. Bringing a bevy of pop music this year—from Bowie to Ben Folds—organizers have their eyes set on the future as they face the challenge of attracting a new generation of ticket-buyers…. In the six years since [Executive director Jennifer Boomgarden’s] arrival, the orchestra and its musicians have taken their artistry beyond the concert hall … to hospitals and schools, actively engaging the community. Donations poured in, allowing the symphony to pay off debt and build up reserves. The group’s net assets topped $1.5 million last year,” following several financially difficult post-recession years. A new Overture program “later this month … will function as a socializing opportunity for young professionals…. The symphony will pilot a new membership program … for Overture members, allowing them to pay by the month instead of by the year.”
Posted October 11, 2016
